Nevada women’s tennis coach Guillaume Tonelli finished his playing career with the Wolf Pack after two seasons at Tyler (Texas) Junior College and figured he’d be off to the big city shortly after.

“I got my MBA at the University of Nevada and I actually wanted to kind of get a big-boy job in San Francisco and suit and tie,” Tonelli said.

Tonelli instead opted to shorts and a T-shirt while staying in Reno. Shortly after graduation, Tonelli replaced Nevada head coach Sylvain Malroux, who left for San Jose State (Malroux later returned to the Wolf Pack as the men’s head coach). Now 15 years into his tenure, Tonelli is Nevada’s second-longest-tenured head coach behind track and field’s Shantel Twiggs.

“It did go by as a little bit of a blink of an eye,” the Valenciennes, France native said. “When you’re passionate, it goes fast. I don’t consider going to practice, going to the office as a job.”

The job has been good of late. Nevada is coming off a record 17-win season when it finished second in the Mountain West in the regular season before crashing out of the conference tournament in the quarterfinal with a shocking loss to Air Force. Back are six of Nevada’s eight players from last a season ago, including reigning MW player of the year Amahée Charrier. That has put the Wolf Pack in a strong position entering this year, although one that’s unfamiliar.

“The most important thing is the standards are higher now,” Tonelli said. “We are the team to beat. We are the team when we step on the court, the players are, like, ‘Oh, I I wanna beat Nevada’ or ‘I’m scared of playing Nevada.’ And so the standards went up, and it’s a good thing. When you win, things get busier all around you. I I like it. It’s exciting, so we wanna keep pushing forward and as soon as you reach a level, as a coach you want to go to that next level.”

The results this fall have been positive with Charrier winning the Mountain West Fall Qualifier before reaching the quarterfinals of the ITA Mountain Regionals where she had to withdraw with a minor hip injury. Charrier is one of 32 players in the nation who qualified for the ITA Conference Masters Championships, which will be held in November in San Diego. One of Nevada’s doubles teams also made the semifinals of the Mountain West Fall Qualifier. Charrier could qualify for the individual NCAA Tournament with a semifinal or better appearance at the ITA Conference Masters.

With Nevada having a strong veteran-laden team, the expectations are higher and the bullseye bigger.

“We do communicate it,” Tonelli said of being the hunted. “We do talk a lot about it, and it’s something you have to be prepared for. When you’re the team to try to beat the favorite, it’s, like, ‘Oh, we’ll see.’ But now it’s more, like, ‘Hey, they’re gonna come punching for you. They’re gonna come after you.’ We communicate to be ready from the beginning. This is something I emphasize every single day, and the girls are probably pretty tired of me saying it.”

With only six players on the roster, the Wolf Pack expects to add at least one more player during the semester break this winter. Team play begins in the spring as Nevada aims for its first MW championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

“The NCAAs as a team or the individual singles or doubles, that’s the cherry on top of the cake,” Tonelli said. “That’s what we’re shooting for. That’s the goal for us, and it would mean everything for the program.”

You can watch the full interview with Guillaume Tonelli below.