This summer, first-year MSU men’s tennis coach Per Nilsson stepped onto the court prepared to take the Bulldogs to victory.Previously, Nilsson worked as a tennis professional in Atlanta, Ga., for six years. During that time, Nilsson served as head tennis professional at Capital City Country Club for two years, where he coached juniors and adults.
He then became director of tennis at Apalachee Farms for two years and at Saint Marlo Country Club for two years.
Nilsson began his American tennis career as a high school exchange student at Jackson Academy, where he became the 1990 Mississippi Academy singles tennis champion.
A Mississippi State alumnus, Nilsson lettered four seasons under head coach Andy Jackson. In each of his four seasons, from 1991-94, MSU reached the NCAA Championships.
During his senior year, the team had a program-best national semi-final appearance.
Nilsson was also a part of the 1993 Southeastern Conference championship tennis team.
Mississippi State finished No. 20 in the nation in 1991 and held consecutive top 10 rankings during Nilsson’s last three seasons.
With an astonishing 164 victories, Nilsson ranks seventh in the MSU record books for overall career wins. He also ranks seventh in career wins in doubles competition having gained 102 victories.
During his senior year as team co-captain, he ranked 45th in the country in singles competition.
Following graduation, Nilsson served as a graduate assistant at MSU from 1994 to 1995.
Nilsson has previously served as the assistant coach for the Pepperdine University Waves in Malibu, Calif.
Before Nilsson, the Waves ranked 27th in the country. During Nilsson’s first year at Pepperdine, the tennis team ranked in the top 10 at the NCAA tournament.
The Waves rose to eighth in the nation in 2005 and finished the year competing in the NCAA quarterfinals, ending their season with a 24-3 record.
The same year, Nilsson was awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
In 2006, Nilsson coached the Waves to a 36-2 record, and Pepperdine became the only team to beat Georgia in the NCAA title match in Stanford, Calif.
During Nilsson’s fourth year, Pepperdine won the National Championship. In his five seasons on staff at PU, the team was 119-38. With Nilsson’s final year, the Waves won the West Coast Conference 17 years in a row.
As head coach of the MSU tennis team, Nilsson has set many goals for his first season.
“I want to build up the team, compete at the tournament, and do some damage,” Nilsson said.
Nilsson said his goals remain as high as they were when at Pepperdine.
“College tennis should be a team sport,” Nilsson said. “It’s so much fun when you have six men playing as a team, not just one man out there on the court.”
Based on what he has observed so far, Nilsson said he believes the Bulldog tennis team will compete well against the other SEC teams.
“I believe the Bulldogs will be one of the top teams in the conference and will compete in the national championship. MSU tennis is a team that can win,” Nilsson said.