Missouri tennis coach Sasha Schmid leaves for alma mater, Iowa

Missouri women’s tennis coach Sasha Schmid resigned Friday and will return to her alma mater, the University of Iowa, as its head coach.

Schmid coached the Tigers to a 54-75 record in five seasons, helping guide the transition into the Southeastern Conference and grow the program along the way.

“This is certainly bittersweet, but the chance to go back to our alma mater for both my husband Jeff and I, is too much to pass up,” Schmid said in a release from MU athletics.

Mizzou rising senior Bea Machado Santos, a second-team All-SEC performer, became the program’s first qualifier for the NCAA singles draw since 2003 last season.

Executive associate athletic director Mary Ann Austin thanked Schmid for “her hard work here and the great things she was able to accomplish at Mizzou” in a statement from the athletic department.

“She’s a special person and will be missed, and we wish her nothing but the best as she’s going home to her alma mater,” said Austin, who is the administrator in charge of women’s tennis.

Associate head coach Colt Gaston has been named Mizzou’s women’s tennis coach on an interim basis.

He is entering his second season with the Tigers, who went 16-12 last season. That record includes three SEC wins after going 0-13 in 2014-15.

“We’re excited about Colt and the passion he has for teaching tennis,” Austin said. “He has a very bright future as a coach and he is very well-respected by our team. We’re pleased to give him this opportunity to guide the program and we’re confident he’ll keep it moving forward and build on the success he was so instrumental in this past year.”

Gaston, a native of Rome, Ga., played collegiate tennis at LSU and later played professionally on the ATP World Tour.

“I’m honored to be named the interim head coach at Mizzou,” Gaston said in a release. “The girls and I are very excited about the upcoming season and feel that the sky is the limit for this program. I want to thank Sasha for bringing me in last year and her work in putting Mizzou tennis on the map the last few years. I look forward to building upon that success and leading this great group of young women.”

Missouri plans a national search to identify Schmid’s successor.

Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Missouri tennis coach Sasha Schmid leaves for alma mater, Iowa."