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Jo Keene returns to the University of Houston for her fifth season as an assistant coach after an impressive collegiate career with the Cougars from 2000-02. Keene's responsibilities include on-court coaching, academics, team travel, home tournament organization, strength and conditioning, housing, recruiting and racquet re-stringing. "I trust Jo, and I know what to expect from her," head coach John Severance said. "When you have someone in the program that you can trust and you know your expectations are met, it makes things run a lot smoother and it's easier to communicate when everyone's on the same page." During her four seasons as assistant coach, Keene has helped coach five All-Conference USA selections, including fellow British native, Leila Salek to the 2007 First Team All-Conference, 2007 C-USA Newcomer of the Year and 2007-08 All-Conference USA Second Team. Keene helped guide the Cougars to a 18-4 last season. After the regular season came to an end, they fell to Rice in the C-USA Championships quarterfinals. But on-court success was not the only area of her expertise as eight Cougars were selected to the C-USA Dean's List. She also helped guide Lynley Wasson to the First Team C-USA All-Academic team and Joanna Kacprzyk to Third Team All-Conference. The Cougars finished 16-11 in 2008, defeating one of five ranked teams. The Cougars will enter the 2009 season winning nine of their 12 homes games last season. Houston posted a 20-5 record in her first season in addition to an undefeated record at home. The last time the program reached those feats was during the 1989-90 season. Before returning to her alma mater, Keene was the head coach for both the varsity and junior varsity tennis teams at the Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston. She coached the team to the 2005 Division 6A District III singles, doubles and team championships. She also succeeded in taking four players to the Texas State Championships over the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Keene was also a graphic analyst for the BBC working directly with producers during the Wimbledon Championships in 2004 and 2005. As a player, Keene was a member of the Cougar tennis team from 2000-2002 after playing two seasons at McNeese State. She compiled a 25-7 mark over two seasons as a Cougar, including an 8-0 career record in Conference USA action and was a C-USA Third Team selection in 2002. She was also named team MVP in her senior season. Keene ranks 10th on the single-season winning percentage list. She recorded a .781 percent in the 2001-02 season. "I am a proud former Cougar student-athlete," Keene said. "I strive to inspire the same pride in our current team and encourage them to make the absolute most of their college experience." Keene, a native of England, graduated from Houston in 2003 with a bachelor of arts in sociology. |
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