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LSU Mourns The Loss Of Andy Brandi

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LSU Mourns The Loss Of Andy Brandi

BATON ROUGE, La –  Andy Brandi, a legendary figure in collegiate tennis who served as co-head coach at LSU from 2017-2022, passed away Thursday morning. 

An ITA Hall of Famer and nine-time national champion, Brandi joined the LSU Men’s Tennis program as a co-head coach along with his son, Chris, in 2017. Brandi led the Tigers to 64 wins in his five seasons in Baton Rouge, completing his tenure at LSU with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In the 2021-22 season, LSU picked up its first victory in the NCAA Tournament since 2016, a 4-3 victory over SMU. In the 2018-19 season, Brandi helped lead the Tigers to No. 18 in the ITA team rankings, an achievement that had not happened in the LSU Men’s Tennis program since 2009.

Prior to LSU, Brandi was the head coach of the women’s tennis team at the University of Florida from 1985-2001. During his time in Gainesville, Brandi led the team to three NCAA National Titles and six National Indoor Championships.

In 2006, Brandi was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame. He also earned Coach of the Year honors in 1996 and 1998 from the United States Professional Tennis Registry and was recognized for excellent teaching in the sport of tennis. In 1989 and 1996, he was voted the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year. In 2012, Brandi was inducted into the ITA Women’s Collegiate Hall of Fame.

Brandi earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Trinity University in 1975. While at Trinity, he played collegiate tennis, and afterwards, found his calling to be a coach while establishing himself in the pro circuit. After discovering his calling, Brandi went on to coach top 10 WTA players Kathy Rinaldi and Carling Bassett. He also has coached professionals such as Elena Dementievea, Shahar Peer, Maria Kirilenko, Lisa Raymond, Ryan Sweetin and Jesse Levine.