Coaching Staff

The Herons finished their 2004-05 campaign with a 14-5 record, matching the record for wins in a single-season for the third time in program history. Last season, William Smith placed sixth at the NYSWCAA Championships out of 15 teams.

A tremendous motivator and recruiter, Fishback has mentored one ITA National Rookie of the Year, eight All-State selections, six All-Liberty League picks, and seven Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team honorees. In addition, Chelsea Rauck ’09 was named the Liberty League Player and Rookie of the Year in 2006.

Fishback, who also coaches the Heron squash team, came to William Smith after five years as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina. Before turning to coaching full time, he taught history and mathematics at Brookings (S.D.) High School, while also coaching tennis, gymnastics and football.

Fishback is a 1984 graduate of Davidson College, where he played tennis, baseball and football for the Wildcats. In 1992, he earned a master’s degree in teaching from North Carolina.

Assistant Coach Len DeFrancesco

Len DeFrancesco has served as the Herons’ assistant tennis coach for more than two decades. A 1956 Hobart graduate, he’s a student favorite on campus and has contributed greatly to the success of the William Smith tennis program. He plays an instrumental role in both team and individual workouts and is tireless when it comes to helping players improve.

DeFrancesco was a three-sport athlete at Hobart, lettering in basketball, baseball and soccer, serving as captain of the basketball and baseball teams in his senior year. He earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Rochester in 1963 and spent over 35 years teaching and counseling in the Finger Lakes area before retiring in 1993. DeFrancesco has been teaching tennis in Geneva for more than 40 years.