New Coaches Join Eastern Florida for Men's and Women's Tennis, Women's Golf

Two experienced coaches have joined the Eastern Florida State College Athletics Department.

Introduced Monday were Jerry Thor as head coach of the Titans existing women's tennis program and its new men's program that will begin competition in the fall of 2016 and Anne Gannon who will direct the new women's golf program that also will debut in the fall of 2016.

Thor joins Eastern Florida from Niagara University, an NCAA Division I program outside Buffalo, New York. He also coached Seward Community College of Liberal, Kansas to two national championships in doubles and coached four All-Americas.

Thor will work out of the college's new, state of the art tennis complex on the Melbourne Campus.

Gannon, a full-time instructor in accounting on the college's Melbourne Campus, played professionally on the Futures Tour and in college at Rutgers University and Florida Atlantic University. She qualified for the U.S. Golf Association Amateur Championships in 2002 and 2003 and was 11th in the national amateur rankings in 2003.

Gannon's team will be based at the Fred Gay Golf Academy Driving Range in Cocoa along with the men's golf team.

"We are very excited to welcome Coach Thor and Coach Gannon to the Titans family," said Eastern Florida Associate Vice President for Athletics Jeff Carr.

"Both are outstanding individuals and leaders, and we are lucky to have them on the Eastern Florida team."

Eastern Florida's women's tennis team begins its third season as a program this fall. The Titans were 4-9 in their spring 2015 championship season, an improvement from their inaugural 3-11 season. They were ranked 17th nationally in 2015.

Thor got started with the women's first practice at 2 p.m. Monday.

"I am very excited to be named the head tennis coach at Eastern Florida State College and want to thank Jeff Carr and (college President) Dr. (Jim) Richey for this outstanding opportunity," Thor said. "There's a robust tennis community in Brevard County and I am looking forward to building a nationally competitive program to represent it.

"With EFSC's location, facilities, and educational opportunities, we should be a top destination for the best tennis players around the world looking to have a great student-athlete experience."

Gannon will begin recruiting immediately for the 2016 fall season and 2017 spring championship season.

"I am excited to be named the women's golf coach at Eastern Florida State College," Gannon said. "Jeff Carr and the rest of the athletic department are so supportive of building a women's golf program, and I look forward to helping bring the first class of women golfers to EFSC in 2016."

Eastern Florida joins the women's golf programs at Seminole State College and Daytona State College in the Florida College System Activities Association and NJCAA Region 8.

Eastern Florida's men's tennis team will be the only NJCAA program in Florida as is its men's golf team.

Eastern Florida's women's tennis team is one of six competing in the FCSAA and Region 8.

The addition of men's tennis and women's golf gives Eastern Florida 11 varsity sports, the most of the 24 teams competing in the FCSAA.