Glen Fanelli enters his third year as head tennis coach at Samford. Before coming to Samford, Fanelli spent three years coaching at Wallace State College in Hanceville, Ala., where his women's team won the NJCAA national championship in Tucson, Arizona, and an ACCAA conference championship. The women's overall record during Fanelli's three years at Wallace State was 41-12, and the team held an undefeated junior college record in 1999.
Fanelli's men's team at Wallace had great success finishing fourth in the country in the NJCAA championships. The men's team won an ACCAA conference championship and 16-1 junior college record and undefeated conference record in 1999. Fanelli's overall record at Wallace State was 51-24.
Fanelli has coached eight junior college All-Americans, one men's junior college All-Americans, nine women's junior college All-Conference Players, and ten men's All-Conference players. He was named the Coach of the Year by both the men and women's ACCAA, and Coach of the Tournament at the NJCAA national championships in 1999. Fanelli has also been honored professional of the year three times and awarded the presidents award for the USPTA three times.
A native of Pewer Valley, Kentucky, Fanelli moved to Birmingham in 1993 to serve as a tennis professional at Sports First and a part-time coach at the University of Montevallo. In 1996, he was hired the head tennis and soccer coach at Wallace State.
Fanelli graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1986. After graduation, he began coaching tennis at Louisville Collegiate Preparatory School as the head coach and was later named head assistant coach at the University of Alabama under Coach Tommy Wade. While at Alabama, at the time the Tide was a top twenty team in the country, he helped the Crimson Tide go to its first trip to the National Indoor Championships and coached two All-Americans, including Ellis Ferreria, ranked as high as Fourth in the world in doubles.
Fanelli is married to the former Amanda Elliott of Huntsville, Alabama. They have two children, Hunt 11, and Knox, eight.
