Cyndi Smith is in her 19th year with the Gilmour Academy tennis program as the head coach of the varsity A girls team with the 2021-22 school year. She is also in her 15th year with the varsity boys tennis program, 14 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 Singles State Runner-Up. She previously was a state runner-up in doubles, playing with Claudia Althans ’17 in 2016.

The most accomplished player in Smith’s tenure at Gilmour is undoubtedly Lauren Davis. Davis finished 27-0 en route to the 2008 state singles title, the first in Gilmour history. Davis is currently in her 10th consecutive season being ranked among the top 100 worldwide. She owns over 300 career singles wins as a professional.

Other Gilmour successes in the girls singles state tournament under Smith include: Althans finishing in third place in 2015 and in fourth place in 2014; Jen Snyder ’08 making it to the Round of 16 in 2007; and Ali Althans ’11 being a quarterfinalist in 2009.

With Smith leading the way, the Lancers also finished third in the state in the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association team tournament in 2008.

Smith has guided Gilmour boys to the state tournament on three occasions, twice in doubles and once in singles. In the 2012 OHSAA Tournament, the duo of Mike Riley and Weston Noall reached the state semifinals under Smith’s guidance.

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 for 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 the USTA complex in Orlando, Fla.

The Lyndhurst, 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. Both of her sons are graduates of Gilmour: Brandon ’05, a Miami University graduate, and Jarred ’06, a graduate of Brown University. Both Brandon and Jarred spent some time in the professional hockey ranks.

Smith is a lifetime member of the USTA as well as a member of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association (OTCA), the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) 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.