The York Lions tennis program has been one of the best in the province in the nine years head coach Mike Mitchell has been guiding the squad.

In 2011 he received the OUA men’s tennis coach of the year award for the third time, also winning the award in 2007 and 2009. Since coming to York, he has built the tennis program into one of the best in the league and the Lions are perennial contenders at the OUA championships. The women and men have both won titles during his tenure, the women in 2003 and the men in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Mitchell has overseen the development of several talented York players. Former top player Ash Misquith turned professional after finishing at York and Mikhail Lew has also competed at events around the world. On the women’s side, Joelle Fisher was named an OUA all-star in all five years she competed for York, the first to accomplish that feat.

A certified Level 3 tennis coach who also has certification as a badminton coach, Mitchell has more than 18 years of experience teaching and coaching elite athletes with tennis clubs in Woodbridge, Brampton and Mississauga. He also served as an instructor and assistant coach at West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas, where he played tennis as a student and graduated with a bachelor of business administration degree. As a player, is a former Canadian men’s over-35 doubles champion.

In addition to his duties as head coach of the interuniversity tennis program, Mitchell co-ordinates the Sport & Recreation racquets program and teaches tennis practicum courses in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science.

Gordon Buchan has been an assistant with the York tennis program for nine seasons.

A former player at Huntington College of the NAIA and Indiana State University, Buchan served as an assistant coach at Indiana State following his playing career.

He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in management from Huntington College in 1996 before earning his MBA from Indiana State in 1998. Buchan currently works in management with Telus.