Arron Spencer enters his seventh season with the men's tennis team, and fourth as the program's associate head coach. He was promoted from assistant following the 2021 campaign. Spencer, who was a UO student-athlete (2002-06), returned to Eugene as the team's assistant coach in July 2018.
Over the past six seasons, Spencer has helped guide the Ducks to a 84-61 overall record and an appearance in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In 2022, the Ducks saw doubles pair Joshua Charlton and Quinn Vandecasteele earn a trip to the doubles championships, the second time in program history a doubles team has reached the individual championships.
Oregon recorded a 17-7 mark in 2021 that led to a No. 31 national ranking in the year-end poll, the program's highest finish since 2017. The Ducks also finished the 2021 season with a pair of national player rankings. Senior Emmanuel Coste checked in at No. 93 in the final singles rankings. In 2023 Joshua Charlton and Quinn Vandecasteele capped the year at No. 8 in the doubles rankings, the highest finish for a UO doubles team since 2016.
For their efforts in 2021, Coste and Charlton both earned spots on the All-Pac-12 Second Team. Oregon ended the year as the No. 2 team in the ITA Northwest Region rankings. In 2023, Charlton earned his third straight All-Pac-12 honors, with Vandecasteele joining him on the Second Team.
Prior to his return to Eugene, Spencer spent three seasons as an assistant at Arizona (2013-2016). With the Wildcats, Spencer took the lead in recruiting while also organizing and scheduling all practices, travel and home events.
After leaving Arizona, Spencer spent some time as a private coach in Scottsdale, Ariz., before taking over as the director of high performance at the Umpqua Valley Tennis Center for a year. Spencer also worked as the head coach of player development at The Village DC Ranch/TPA.
Spencer got his first collegiate coaching job in August of 2011 at the College of Charleston, where he was the men’s and women’s assistant coach for two seasons. He served as the recruiting coordinator for both programs and was awarded the CofCFaculty award for outstanding service to first-year students.
After graduating from Oregon in 2007 with a Bachelor’s of Science in political science, Spencer worked for two years as the head coach of a junior academy in Charleston, S.C., before spending a year as the head tennis professional at the Albany Tennis Club.
He took a break from tennis from October 2010 to December 2012 as the co-founder and director of Positive Change Project Inc., where he was responsible for creating meal and garden programs in South Africa.
As a player with the Ducks, Spencer was a team captain and was ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in doubles. He helped UO to the NCAA Tournament in 2004, just the third appearance in program history. When he graduated, Spencer ranked fifth all-time in individual doubles victories.