Aug. 6, 2003

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Megan Fenton, a former head coach at UC-Santa Barbara, and Tom Haley, a former volunteer assistant at the University of Alabama, have been named assistant gymnastics coaches at the University of Kentucky, head coach Hajile “Mo” Muhammad announced.

“I’m very excited about hiring two assistants with high levels of expertise,” Muhammad said. “Megan comes with a lot of experience from elite colleges and Tom will bring a lot to our program as well.”

Fenton was head coach at UC-Santa Barbara from 1998-2001. In 1998, she led the Gauchos to a fifth-place showing at the USA Collegiate National Championships, and she coached four All-Americans during her tenure.

In 2002, she left UC-Santa Barbara to become an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University where she coached Natalie Hashimoto, the 2003 MAC Senior Gymnast of the Year. Prior to coaching, Fenton was a 1993 first-team All-PAC-10 performer on bars for UCLA.

“I was looking for something that could help me take that next step in my career as a coach,” Fenton said. “I think that ‘Mo’ has a lot to offer me and the team, as well.”Haley is very familiar with the competitiveness of SEC gymnastics as a former volunteer assistant at the University of Alabama in 2000 and 2001. In Haley’s two seasons, the Crimson Tide amassed a 29-5-1 record and produced 23 All-Americans as well as two fifth place NCAA Championship finishes.

In July 2002, Haley became a team coach at the Gwinnett Gymnastics Center in Lilburn, Ga. The center produced two Region 8 all-around champions as well as a U.S. Championships qualifier in the junior international division.

“Megan and Tom have coached elite athletes and championship teams and we are looking forward to doing great things with them on board,” Muhammad said.