LMU men鈥檚 head tennis coach Tom Lloyd geared up for a great season
LOS ANGELES — Tom Lloyd is the head men鈥檚 tennis coach at LMU. He is a member of the Westchester community because of his occupation, but he also moved into Westchester and counts it as his and his family鈥檚 home as well. Lloyd鈥檚 children attend Orville Wright Middle School and Kentwood Elementary. He loves the simplicity of hopping on his bike and riding to campus for practice, work, or taking his family to an LMU sporting event. He says, 鈥淲estchester reminds me of Mayberry.鈥�
While Lloyd can count himself a local, he has also been a steady hand for the LMU men鈥檚 tennis team. The year Lloyd took over, he produced a dramatic turnaround, increasing the Lions win total threefold and demonstrating what success can look like at LMU.
His most successful year to date was in 2018 when he was named the ITA Southwest Region Coach of the Year. The Lions made it to the West Coast Conference Championship Match, finished second in the conference, and recorded their most wins in a season for the better part of two decades.听
The Lions attained a ranking of No. 55 in the ITA men鈥檚 tennis rankings to close out the season, a program best. They also achieved a new benchmark of No. 36 during the season. They finished the season ranked No. 6 in the Southwest Region.
The 2022-2023 season is already off to a roaring success. Freshman Arthur Pantino recently showed what the new-look LMU men鈥檚 tennis team is capable of by winning the UCSB Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif.听 Pantino dropped his first set against Ben Keyser of Cal Poly and then would not drop another set for the remainder of the singles tournament en route to the tournament championship. 鈥淎rthur started the semester off on a great foot and was able to lock in his focus and battle through some good competition,鈥� said Lloyd.
The celebration was doubled when Pantino teamed up with John Bryan Otico to take home the doubles crown as well.听 鈥淚 look to both Otico and Pantino for strength and consistency this year moving into our spring season,鈥� Lloyd said of the pair.听 Lloyd and the rest of the Lions men鈥檚 tennis team are hoping to close out the fall singles season strong in preparation for the team season in the spring.听
At the time of publication, schedules for the spring are not finalized yet, but the West Coast Conference puts out some of the best college tennis teams in the country.
This spring, the Lions will host the University of San Diego, a team that sent a competitor to the National Championship at the end of the 2022 season.听 As Lloyd goes, the Lions will follow. He looks to continue to build on his success at LMU, and continue to thrive within the Westchester community.
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