Just weeks after leading McNeese State on a historic tennis run, Gabby Moore is getting a big promotion.

After two seasons at the helm of the Cowgirls, Moore is going to the Big Ten Conference.

The Chicago native is the next head coach of the women’s tennis program at Indiana University, just three hours from her hometown.

“It is bittersweet for us,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “Coach Moore did a tremendous, unbelievable job for us.”

Indiana Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson made the announcement Monday.

“We are pleased to welcome Gabby to our Hoosier family and excited about the future of our women’s tennis program,” said Dolson. “We had an outstanding pool of candidates during our coaching search, and Gabby’s track record of success at McNeese and Jackson State immediately jumped out on paper. 

“Then when we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with her in person, we knew we had the right person to lead our program. She has a vision for returning IU Women’s Tennis to a level of Big Ten and national success that it has previously enjoyed, and her commitment to the well-being and growth of her student-athletes is second to none. This is a great day for IU Women’s Tennis.”

Moore took a downtrodden program at McNeese and in two years turned it into a winner. Last season the Cowgirls earned their first national ranking in program history.

After a surprising first year, the Cowgirls finished last season even better, posting a 20-4 record that included a perfect 8-0 mark at home. They lost the Southland Conference title match to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-2 last weekend, keeping them from earning the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.  

“It was an incredible experience, an incredible ride,” Moore said. “There have been so many firsts. I’m proud of them.”  McNeese players went 91-29 in singles matches and 44-16 in doubles, winning at a .759 clip as a team. Freshman Anastasija Adeikyte led the way with a 17-3 singles record while junior Arina Gamretkaia followed at 15-3.

A Southwest Conference and Historically Black Colleges and Universities national champion coach, Moore, the 2022 Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, came to McNeese after spending five seasons as both the men’s and women’s head coach at Jackson State where she guided the Lady Tigers to a SWAC championship and NCAA Tournament berth in her final season.

“What (Moore) has done in this short of time has been truly remarkable,” said Schroyer. “I don’t know if people understand or knew how bad that program was. It was beyond a mess. She has changed everything.”

Now Schroyer will be looking to fill her tennis shoes with somebody who can keep the Cowgirl program going in the right direction.