After leading the Florida Gators women’s tennis program for 23 years, UF women’s head coach Roland Thornqvist abruptly stepped down on Oct. 7. After less than a month of searching, the Gators settled on his replacement: Per Nilsson.
The 52-year-old comes from Pepperdine, where he guided the Blue Wave women’s tennis program for 10 years. While in Malibu, California, Nilsson won every West Coast Conference regular season and tournament title. He finished his career at Pepperdine winning 78 consecutive conference dual matches and six West Coast Conference Coach of the Year awards.
Nilsson also qualified for the NCAA Tournament each year in his tenure at Pepperdine, making seven quarterfinal appearances and two Final Fours. In 2021, Nilsson led the Blue Wave to the NCAA Championship, arguably his most impressive feat in California.
"We are so grateful to Per for the tremendous impact he has had on the Pepperdine Women's Tennis program," Pepperdine Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner said. “He led our team to incredible heights, including two final four appearances, and he leaves behind a rich legacy.”
The experienced coach noted that while he foresaw himself remaining at Pepperdine until retirement, the Florida position was something he couldn’t pass up.
“It was an opportunity that was just impossible to turn down,” Nilsson said.
Before his time at Pepperdine, Nilsson spent seven years as the men’s head coach at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA tournament four years during his time in Starkville, Mississippi.
Those who have coached alongside Nilsson have recognized him as a strong developmental coach. Former UF player and Pepperdine assistant coach Lauren Embree believes Nilsson will be successful at Florida because of his ability to draw the best out of his players.
"There was no reason for Pepperdine to be any good competing against Stanford, UCLA, USC and Cal,” Embree said. “But he was right there, playing for championships every year."
Nilsson spoke with Florida interim head coach Jeremy Bayon on Tuesday in preparation for the transition. Bayon will be retained as associate head coach, the position he most recently held with Thornqvist.
The Lund, Sweden, native is expected to make his coaching debut for Florida when the Gators travel to the ITA Conference Masters Championships in San Diego, California, Nov. 7-10.
“The challenge is going to be showing up in the middle of a [fall] season that's almost halfway done and trying to fit in with the team and gain their trust," Nilsson said. "They're probably going to be weirded out a little bit, but we'll make it work.”
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @noahwhite1782
Noah White is a sophomore majoring in journalism and public relations and The Alligator's Women's Tennis Reporter. In his free time, Noah writes some more and plays soccer and volleyball. He also knows more about Liberty League women's soccer than you do.
