| Tony Da Luz |
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 | Position:
Head Coach
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| Honors:
1998 ACC Coach of the Year
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Now in his fourth year at Wake Forest, head coach Tony da Luz hopes to build on the success of each of his first three seasons and continue to lead the Demon Deacons to a place among the nation's elite programs.
Just one year ago, Wake Forest enjoyed its best season ever, finishing with a 16-6-1 record and earning its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Da Luz has led the Deacons to the NCAA's each of the past three years. Wake earned a national ranking as high as seventh, the highest ranking in program history, before finishing the season ranked 12th nationally by the NCSAA.
With a 4-3 mark in the ACC, the Deacons finished 3rd in the league -- the team's highest finish since the women's soccer program was started. Despite falling in the ACC Championship game to third-ranked North Carolina, 3-0, da Luz's squad reached the tournament finals, also for the first time in program history. The Deacs advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time ever.
For the second consecutive year, a Demon Deacon was tabbed as the ACC's Rookie of the Year. Joline Charlton earned that distinction in 1999, as well as being named to the Second Team All-ACC, the ACC's All-Tournament Team, and the conference's Player of the Week.
Emily Taggart and Erin Regan earned First Team All-ACC honors, with Taggart also earning a spot on the All-Southeast Region squad. Five Deacons were named to several all-tournament teams during the season as well.
In 1998, da Luz was selected as the ACC's Coach of the Year by a vote of his peers after leading the Demon Deacons to a 13-7-1 overall record and a school-best 4-3 mark in the powerful ACC regular season race, good for a fourth-place finish.
In addition, the Demon Deacons began to earn more individual attention under da Luz's teaching, attention that continued in 1999. Taggart was named the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year and earned Freshman All-America honors in the process.
Taggart and forward Stefanie Mathews each earned spots on the All-ACC team, and they were joined by forward Anne Shropshire as the trio earned All-Regional honors. During the course of the season, seven different players earned spots on various all-tournament teams.
In his first season in Winston-Salem, da Luz guided the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament, falling to eventual national champion North Carolina in the first round. Wake Forest finished the season with an 11-8-2 overall record against a challenging slate of competition and was ranked as high as #12 in the nation.
This year, da Luz welcomes his fourth recruiting class to Winston-Salem as he hopes for even greater success in the program's eighth year of competition at the varsity level. He does so as he takes on yet another challenging schedule. Not afraid to take on the nation's best, the 1999 schedule includes a trip to perennial power Santa Clara and matchups with California and Missouri, both of which were part of the NCAA Tournament field a season ago. Additionally, the Deacons will face off against familiar ACC foes North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Maryland and Clemson.
In seven years of coaching at the collegiate level, da Luz's career record now stands at 86-63-7, including a two-year mark of 40-21-4 at Wake Forest.
Prior to coming to Wake Forest, da Luz coached for five years at the University of San Diego, where he compiled a 46-42-3 record. Da Luz was entrusted with starting the San Diego program from the ground up in 1992 and in his final two seasons he guided his teams to a 25-13-2 mark.
His final season at San Diego was his most impressive, leading the Toreros to a 14-6-1 record and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1996.
His success at San Diego earned him West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1996. He was named the West Region Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association.
No stranger to coaching soccer, da Luz has been involved in coaching for 14 years. He worked as an assistant coach for the University of San Diego men's team from 1985 until 1991. He has also been active in coaching at the youth level with his involvement with the Winston-Salem Twin Club organizations. Da Luz's U-16 boys team advanced to the semi-finals of the 1999 North Carolina State Cup competition.
Da Luz achieved success as a player as a midfielder and defender while at San Diego. He was an All-WCC honorable mention selection in both 1981 and 1982. As team captain in 1982, he led the Toreros in assists and earned the team's Most Valuable Player award.
Da Luz earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from San Diego in 1986. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Winston-Salem with their children Tyler (14), Austin (12) and Jonah, who was born in June of 1998.
The Da Luz Ledger
YEAR SCHOOL RECORD PCT POSTSEASON
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1992 San Diego 5-10-0 .333 ---
1993 San Diego 8-8-0 .500 ---
1994 San Diego 8-11-1 .425 ---
1995 San Diego 10-6-1 .618 ---
1996 San Diego 15-7-1 .652 NCAA 2nd round
1997 Wake Forest 11-8-2 .571 NCAA 1st round
1998 Wake Forest 13-7-1 .642 NCAA 1st round
1999 Wake Forest 16-6-1 .717 NCAA 3rd round
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TOTALS (8 years) 86-63-7 .554 4 NCAA appearances
