IRVINE, CA --- John Norton has announced that he is stepping down as Concordia's head men's and women's tennis coach after a five-year at the helm, and his successor has been named in Jonathan Sanchez, who will take the reins starting July 1.

Norton, who earned his Ph.D. in English while guiding his teams to a total of five appearances in the NAIA National Championships quarterfinals or better, steps aside after having guided his 2010 men's and women's teams to quarterfinal and semifinal finishes, respectively, for the second year in a row.

Norton will continue in his role as Associate Professor of English at Concordia.

"We are very grateful to John Norton for his service to Concordia Athletics over the past five years," Director of Athletics David Bireline said. "We're happy for John and wish him the best, and at the same time, we are very blessed to welcome Jonathan Sanchez to the Concordia coaching staff.

"We look forward to what Jonathan will be able to accomplish as head coach in the years to come."

It is the first head coaching assignment for Sanchez, who was a four-year letterman at NCAA Div. I power Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, graduating in 2009. Sanchez served as team captain in his senior year, where he played at the No. 1 position of both singles and doubles in his final collegiate campaign.

Sanchez has been coaching and giving private lessons at Fullerton and La Habra Tennis Centers since returning to Southern California, where he graduated from Servite High School in Anaheim back in 2004.

He spent his summers while a college student coaching at Rosary High School Summer Tennis Camp at the Fullerton Tennis Center, where he began coaching junior players.

"I am very excited to have this opportunity," Sanchez said. "People wait forever to get an opportunity like this, especially at a university as good as Concordia. I've played collegiately and I've coached at clubs and given private lessons, so I have a good idea of what is expected of me, but it is going to be a challenging experience to take this position and one that I'm looking forward to."

At Brigham Young, Sanchez both played for and coached with Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Famer Brad Pearce, who was ranked as high as No. 71 in the world during his career in the professional circuit.

Sanchez will look to combine lessons learned from Pearce with the success that Concordia has experienced under Norton since the tennis programs were reestablished under his leadership in 2006.

"I played for a successful program and a great coach in Brad Pearce," Sanchez said. "I learned a lot from him in terms of work ethic and intensity, and he's very knowledgeable about tennis. If I can take just a fraction of what I've learned from him and apply it here at Concordia, we will be able to see more and more success here.

"Coach Norton has done a great job over his time here. I have some big shoes to fill, but at the same time, I feel confident that I'll be able to further this program along."

Sanchez, a regular attendee at Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, received the Southern California Sportsmanship Award while a prep at Servite, which won the CIF State Championship in 2004.

He will assume coaching duties July 1.

"Jonathan was a captain on our team at BYU and showed great leadership skills during his time in the program," Brigham Young assistant coach Zack Warren said. "He is even-tempered, so you know that he won't lose his cool, but he also has an intensely competitive side. We think that he is going to be a great coach, and we believe that this is a great pickup for Concordia."