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The courts are quiet this time of year.
The echoes of last season have faded from the Mizzou Tennis Complex. The familiar doubles pairings are gone. The lineup cards that once filled every position have been erased. The faces that represented Missouri tennis only a few months ago have moved on.
Only one remains.
Alex Ackman walks into a program that looks almost nothing like the one she joined a year ago. Around her are new coaches, empty roster spots waiting to be filled and a program beginning one of the biggest rebuilds in recent Missouri Athletics history.
There is no gradual transition.
There is simply a new beginning.
Welcome to Tiger Top Spin, a new Monday feature series following Missouri tennis throughout the season. Every week, Tiger Top Spin will examine the biggest stories surrounding the program as it navigates a new era under head coach Robin Goodman. Beginning this Wednesday, the companion series Columns & Courts will take readers deeper inside the roster, recruiting and weekly developments shaping the Tigers throughout the season.
There is no better place to begin than here.
Everything has changed.
Former head coach Bianca Turati departed Columbia for Texas, after three years at the helm which closed a brief but memorable chapter in Missouri tennis history. Her departure was followed by an unprecedented roster overhaul, leaving Goodman with the challenge of rebuilding nearly every position in the lineup.
When the Tigers take the court this season, they will do so with one returning player.
Ackman.
For most programs, a single returning player would represent uncertainty.
For Missouri, she represents the foundation.
The former five-star recruit arrived in Columbia carrying lofty expectations after finishing among the nation’s top prospects. Ranked No. 59 nationally and No. 11 in Florida, Ackman built her reputation through a combination of consistency and competitiveness before ever stepping onto a college court.
Her freshman season offered flashes of that potential.
Ackman finished 11-13 in singles while competing primarily at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, earning an SEC victory over Ole Miss and piecing together a five-match winning streak that stretched from January through late February. In doubles, she often competed at the top of the lineup, gaining valuable experience against some of the nation’s strongest teams.
Those numbers tell only part of the story.
This season, Ackman’s biggest role may have little to do with wins and losses.
She becomes the bridge between what Missouri was and what it hopes to become.
Helping lead that transformation is Goodman, whom Missouri hired after an extensive national search.
Director of Athletics Laird Veatch described the search as one focused on finding a proven builder, someone capable of developing a program while understanding the demands of competing in the Southeastern Conference.
Goodman checked every box.
He arrives in Columbia after serving as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee, where he helped guide the Lady Volunteers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a top-20 national ranking. Before Knoxville, Goodman spent five seasons transforming Pacific’s men’s program into a conference contender, earning West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors after leading the Tigers to a 19-6 season and an appearance in the NIT Championship final.
His résumé stretches even further.
Stops at New Mexico and Baylor exposed Goodman to winning cultures before he established himself as a successful head coach. As a player at Drake, he compiled 111 career singles victories, served as team captain and finished among the winningest players in school history.
Experience matters.
Vision matters even more.
During his introductory press conference, Goodman made it clear that wins alone would not define his program.
“Our vision is to build a program that is competitive nationally, respected and relevant in the SEC, and known for the way that we compete,” Goodman said. “If you come out and watch our girls, you can expect them to fight incredibly hard for one another, for the program, for the university.”
That vision quickly extended beyond the head coach.
Goodman assembled a coaching staff with experience throughout college tennis.
Associate head coach Manny Raga arrives after helping Oklahoma reach three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including a Super Regional appearance and a top-10 national finish last season. Before joining the Sooners, Raga built Cowley College into a national power, earning Wilson ITA Men’s Coach of the Year honors while leading the program to an NJCAA national championship.
Assistant coach Bronte Murgett brings something equally valuable.
Perspective.
Murgett returns to Columbia after competing for Missouri from 2020 through 2022, reaching the NCAA Tournament, earning an ITA Regional Championship and climbing into the national rankings in both singles and doubles. After helping Virginia Tech achieve one of the best seasons in program history, she returns to the courts where she once competed, now tasked with helping build the next generation of Tigers.
Together, Goodman, Raga and Murgett inherit the SEC’s biggest rebuilding projects.
They also inherit an opportunity.
Roster turnover creates uncertainty.
It also creates possibility.
Every lineup position is open. Every practice becomes a competition. Every newcomer arrives with the chance to immediately shape the direction of the program.
The rebuilding process will not happen overnight.
In the SEC, few things ever do.
But Missouri believes it has assembled a coaching staff with experience building programs rather than simply maintaining them. That distinction may ultimately define the next several years.
For now, the first chapter belongs to a freshman no longer playing like one.
Ackman entered college as one of the nation’s top recruits.
She begins her sophomore season as the lone returning Tiger, the first player entrusted with helping establish the culture Goodman hopes will define Missouri tennis for years to come.
Every rebuild starts somewhere.
For Missouri, it starts with one returning player, three new coaches and a program determined to write a different story.
Next Monday, Tiger Top Spin returns with another feature examining the people and moments shaping Missouri tennis. On Wednesdays, Columns & Courts will take readers inside the roster, introducing the new faces who will attempt to guide the Tigers into their next era.
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