Cyndi Smith is in her 18^th year with the Gilmour Academy tennis program as the head coach of the varsity A girls team with the 2020-21 school year. She is also in her 14^th year with the varsity boys tennis program, 13 as a head coach and one as an assistant (2014). On the girls’ side, five of Smith’s players have been state qualifiers, several of whom made multiple state appearances. Most recently, Carly Cohen ’20 was the 2019 OHSAA Division II State Runner-Up. She previously finished as a state runner-up in 2016 playing doubles with Claudia Althans ’17.

In singles, Smith coached 2008 state champion Lauren Davis, who ranks 62^nd in WTA Rankings as of May 2020, and is in her seventh season being ranked as a professional in the top 100. Also in singles, Smith coached Althans ’17 to a third-place finish in 2015 and fourth place in 2014; Jen Snyder ’08 made it to the Final 16 in 2007; Ali Althans ’11 was a quarterfinalist in 2009 and the Lancers finished third in the state as a team in 2008.

Smith is a volunteer coach for the Forest City Tennis program.  She also plays on a United States Tennis Association (USTA) Women’s 4.5 team which earned a State Championship five consecutive years.  Smith advanced to the National Tournament in 1993 and has won numerous tournaments throughout her career.  She was the winner of women’s doubles in the national championship in Indiana in the summer of 2009 and participated in the National Senior Games in Cleveland, Ohio, in the summer of 2014. She also earned a second national championship in 2017, playing at t he USTA complex in Orlando, Fla.

The Mayfield Heights, Ohio, resident has a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Kent State University. She is employed as a health and physical education teacher at Gilmour, specializing in exercise physiology, strength training and conditioning. Both of her sons are graduates of Gilmour, Brandon ’06, who is also a 2010 Miami University grad, who spent some time in the professional hockey ranks, and Jarred ’07, a graduate of Brown University. Smith is a lifetime member of the USTA, and a member of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association (OTCA), the United States Tennis Professional Association (USTPA) and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). She is a former Physical Education instructor at Gilmour and served as a head coach of the Gilmour Academy Middle School softball team for the 2019 season in which the Lancers won all four of their games.