CJ Williams enters his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Wesleyan tennis teams in 2021-22. During his inaugural year, he was a part of both programs history-making performances.
The historic 2018-19 season concluded with No. 1 Wesleyan capturing its first women’s team National Championship. The victory improved the Cardinals school record for most wins in a season with 20. En route to its title, Wesleyan concluded its home matches with an unblemished 10-0 mark, won its first Little Three title and its first NESCAC Championship. The NCAA Semifinal appearance was the first-ever for the Cardinals. Venia Yeung ’22 advanced to the NCAA singles final, while sister duo Victoria and Kristina Yu competed in the doubles quarterfinals. Yeung and Yu sisters all earned All-American status, while Victoria Yu was named ITA Senior Woman of the Year and was an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. The men's team also made history in 2018-19, as they finished the year with a program-record 16 victories en route to the program's second Elite 8 appearance. On the individual side, doubles duo Noah Lilienthal ’22 and Adrian Roji ’21 advanced to the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship, which marked the first Championship appearance of any tandem in men’s history. Andrew Finkelman ’21, Lilienthal and Roji all earned All-American honors, while Lilienthal was named ITA Rookie of the Year.
Faced with a shortened season and a month to prepare for competitive matches, the 2021 women's squad rattled off wins over nationally-ranked Wililams, Amherst and Middlebury in the regular season before defeating another ranked opponent (Tufts), 6-3, at home in the 2021 NESCAC Championship match, giving Wesleyan back-to-back conference titles. The Cardinals' season-opening 6-3 win at Williams marked the first road win for Wesleyan over the Ephs in program history (0-22 previously) while a 7-2 triumph over Amherst the following weekend secured Wesleyan a second straight Little Three title. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Wesleyan was dominant in earning 5-0 sweeps over Moravian, Linfield and Washington & Lee to make it to the national semifinals. In that Final Four match, Wesleyan posted a 5-1 win over Williams' alma mater Kenyon, advancing to the title match for the second straight contested season. In the title match, however, Wesleyan fell to national power Emory, as the Cardinals closed the season as the national runner-up.
Prior to his arrival in Middletown, Williams coached players of all ages and levels at Weymouth Club in Weymouth, Mass.
A 2013 graduate of Kenyon College, Williams began his college playing career at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. before transferring to Kenyon in 2010. While competing at Kenyon, he earned All-American honors in Doubles (2011), finished the fall 2011 season ranked No. 13 in the country in Singles, competed in the NCAA team finals (2012), and helped place Kenyon at No. 1 in the country after winning an ITA Indoor Championship in 2013. He was also a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete.
After graduating, he became the assistant coach for Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Va. for the 2013-14 season. Williams then went on to coach tennis in his hometown of Richmond, Va. at The Westwood Club, where he coached and traveled with nationally ranked junior players, and worked with players of all ages and abilities.
