Alexander Free finished his second season with Arizona during the shortened 2019-20 season. During the campaign, Arizona finished 11-3 in dual play while ranking as high as No. 23 in the ITA team rankings and finished ranked No. 38.
Jonas Ziverts finished the season ranked No. 55 in the country and Filip Malbasic finished ranked No. 63
During the 2018-19 season, as an assistant to Clancy Shields, he helped the Wildcats reach historic heights, being featured as high as #21 in the ITA rankings, their highest since the 2009 season, on their way to their first NCAA tournament berth in a decade.
Along the way, the Wildcats complied 17 wins, including 3 wins in the PAC-12 Conference, a 13-1 home record and a championship at the Blue-Gray Invitational where the Wildcats defeated Auburn, Texas Tech and Ole Miss in route to the title. Additionally in 2019, Jonas Ziverts became the ITA Southwest Rookie of the Year and became the first Wildcat since 2006 to qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship.
The 2019 season also saw Filip Malbasic break the Arizona record for the most singles wins in a season with 26 and was named a PAC-12 Conference Honorable Mention. Throughout the season, Ziverts and Malbasic were consistently featured in the ITA Singles Rankings with Ziverts reaching a high of #66 and Jonas Ziverts and Igor Karpovets reaching a career-high #69 in the doubles rankings.
Off the court, Free also assisted in helping the Wildcats secure the ITA Southwest Community Service Award.
Prior to Arizona, Free began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. In one season, Free helped guide the Mountaineers to a 12-11 record and advance to the Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals for only the 2nd time in school history when App defeated #2 seed Louisiana 4-3. The 2018 season saw Scott Webster reach a program high singles ranking of #61 and was named first team All-Sun Belt in Singles and Doubles with Milo Bargeron. Additionally in 2018, the Mountaineers were named an ITA All-Academic Team and a Sun Belt Honor Roll Team.
Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Free was a student athlete at Tyler Junior College where was a part of the 2014 team that were the NJCAA National Championship Runner-Up. After graduating from TJC, Free spent two years at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he was apart of two American Southwest Conference Championships and was named First Team All-ASC in the 2015 season. Free finished his playing career as a graduate transfer at Appalachian State University where he was regularly featured in the doubles lineup, before entering the coaching ranks as an assistant coach in 2019. Free was a four time ITA Scholar-Athlete and was elected President of the Student Government at the University of Texas at Tyler in 2015.
Free graduated from Appalachian State in 2018 with a Master’s in Higher Education Administration with a specialization in University and Community College Leadership. In 2016, Free graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Texas at Tyler as an Honors College graduate majoring in Political Science. Additionally, Free received an Associate’s Degree in Government from Tyler Junior College in 2014.
