Bio entering the 2022-23 season
Jeff Thomsen, who was elevated to associate head coach in August 2019, is in his 13th season with the San Diego State men's tennis program. His philosophy of developing each competitor's unique playing style has been a valuable addition to the Aztec staff.
A native of Newport Beach, California, Thomsen has had a tremendous impact in his first 12 seasons on The Mesa, coaching 13 different all-Mountain West singles performers, including Javier Pulgar and Freddy Gelbrich, who each captured the league's player of the year award in 2012 and 2015, respectively. In addition, Thomsen has tutored 11 all-MW doubles tandems during that span.
In 2021-22, guided transfer Joe Tyler to appearances on the All-Mountain West team in both singles and doubles, where he was joined by teammates Johannes Seeman (singles) and Victor Castro (doubles). Also emphasized the student in student-athlete, as a pair of Aztecs (Jules Auffray and Roni Rikkonen) made their way onto the Academic All-Mountain West team.
Despite an undermanned roster that was heavily impacted by graduation from the previous year as well as the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, two SDSU newcomers flourished under Thomsen’s influence during the 2021 spring season, as Johannes Seeman garnered all-Mountain West accolades in singles and joined forces with Victor Castro to receive all-conference doubles recognition.
In addition, the Aztec squad continued its tradition of classroom success, as four players earned a spot on the MW all-academic team.
During the 2019-20 campaign that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomsen coached three all-MW selections, including the doubles team of Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and Ignacio Martinez, while Fabian Roensdorf was honored in singles. He also assisted in the emergence of David Hough, who led the team with a career-high 12 victories in singles.
Not to be outone, the Aztecs excelled in the classroom, as a program-record seven individuals received MW all-academic recognition, while collectively the squad posted the highest team GPA out of all San Diego State men's sports for the third straight semester in the spring.
Additionally, Thomsen was instrumental in SDSU's resurgence in 2019, as the Scarlet and Black finished with a winning record in dual-match competition (15-10) for the first time in four years and advanced to the finals of the Mountain West Championship for the first time since 2010.
Thomsen aided in the development of senior Sander Gjoels-Andersen, who captured all-conference honors in both singles and doubles, while the Aztecs landed six players on the MW all-academic team.
Additionally, Thomsen played an integral role in helping SDSU win 12 straight regular-season conference matches from 2012-14. In that stretch, the Aztecs claimed the 2013 Mountain West regular-season championship for the program's first title in six years.
Prior to his arrival at San Diego State, Thomsen spent three years with the women's tennis team at the University of Miami from 2007-10, where he served as the associate head coach his final season after serving as an assistant the previous two campaigns. With Thomsen on staff, the Hurricanes achieved a No. 10 national ranking at the end of the 2010 season.
During his tenure at Miami, Thomsen was responsible for organizing practices and assisting with recruiting. One of his first recruits, Gabriela Mejia, earned All-America honors at the end of the 2010 season. He was also influential in the development of Laura Vallverdu, who advanced to the finals of the 2010 NCAA singles championships.
Prior to his stint with the Hurricanes, Thomsen served as head coach for one season at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif. With the Pirates, he quickly turned around a struggling team and led them to a top-eight finish in the final JC rankings.
Before his brief tenure at OCC, Thomsen was head boys varsity coach and head girls junior varsity coach at Newport Harbor High School. He made the most of his opportunity, transforming the school into a dominant tennis program while taking the boys varsity team to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section playoffs in four of five years. Even more impressive, he guided the girls team to three undefeated seasons from 2002-05.
Thomsen is also a highly sought-after personal coach, spending six years as a private instructor in California mentoring professional players as well as nationally-ranked juniors. In February of 2000, Thomsen co-founded the Latin American Sports Camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Thomsen played at the collegiate level for Golden West Junior College in Huntington Beach, Calif. After reaching a No. 1 ranking in the state, he received a scholarship from University of Oregon. Thomsen earned two letters with the Ducks before graduating in 1999 with a degree in sociology.