Timmer Willing enters his first season as head coach of the Quincy University men's and women's tennis programs in 2026-27, returning to his hometown of Quincy following more than two decades on the coaching staff at the University of California San Diego.
Timmer Willing is a highly accomplished collegiate tennis coach with 25 years of coaching experience at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), including 14 seasons as head coach of the Tritons’ men’s tennis program. He joined UC San Diego in 2002 as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s programs before assuming the men’s head coaching position in 2012.
During his UC San Diego tenure, Willing helped build the Tritons into a nationally recognized program. As an assistant coach, he helped the men’s team reach three consecutive NCAA Division II national quarterfinals and its best-ever finish at the time—a Final Four national finish in 2007. He was named the 2011 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping UC San Diego complete a perfect 20–0 dual-match season. On the women’s side, the Tritons won seven consecutive CCAA championships from 2004–2010 during his time on staff.
As head coach, Willing guided UC San Diego through its transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference, leading the Tritons to multiple NCAA postseason appearances during the Division II years and establishing the program in its new Division I era. His 2019–20 team reached No. 7 in the national ITA rankings and defeated three nationally ranked Top-10 opponents.
Prior to UC San Diego, Willing served as an assistant men’s coach at Indiana University and worked with both the men’s and women’s programs at Truman State University. He has also owned and operated a tennis and fitness business in Southern California and has worked with high-level and touring players.
Willing earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Truman State University in 1993 and a master’s degree in Teaching from the University of San Diego in 2009.
