Toni Bickford

Toni Bickford served as the Tribe's head coach three three years from 2018-21. An Iowa Athletics Hall of Famer as a player and Bulgarian national champion, Bickfordwas named W&M's head coach on Sept. 24, 2018.

In two of her three seasons (one was canceled to due the COVID-19 pandemic), Bickford led the Tribe to the CAA Championship match in 2019 and 2021. The Tribe won four of its final five matches in 2021 to advance to the CAA Championship match. W&M capped the year with seven wins and was ranked No. 7 in the ITA Atlantic Region.

Bickford pupil Mila Saric added her name to the list of Tribe grates in 2021. She became the 16th W&M women's tennis player on the 22nd occasion to be named the league's player of the year and was also selected as the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer, going a perfect 3-0 at the top spot in leading the Tribe to the finals.

In Bickford's first season in 2019, W&M totaled nine victories, including wins over Big Ten foe Maryland and Atlantic-10 Champion VCU. The Tribe led the CAA with four All-CAA selection, including three first-team picks. Saric became the 11th Tribe player to earn CAA Rookie of the Year honors in 2019.

Academically, the Tribe earned ITA All-Academic Team honors, producing a team GPA of over 3.2, in each of Bickford's three seasons. Individually, 19 W&M student-athletes earned ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades under Bickford, including a program record eight in 2021.

Twice during her career, Bickford was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year, including last season after helping to guide ODU to its highest national ranking since 2001. In her time as an assistant, Bickford has helped teams to a combined 216-146 record with 46 nationally-ranked wins. Her teams have finished in the ITA national ranking during 12 of her 16 years as an assistant and advanced to the NCAA Tournament on four occasions.

Individually, Bickford-coached players have earned 55 total all-conference honors, including 27 first-team accolades. She has coached four NCAA Individual Championship selections, five conference rookies of the year, two ITA Region Cissie/Leary Award for Sportsmanship winners, an ITA Region Rookie of the Year and an ITA Region Senior Player of the Year.

Bickford returns to Williamsburg after spending the last seven years as the associate head coach at ODU and helping the program to success both on the court and in the classroom. Last season, the Monarchs achieved its highest end of the year national ranking (No. 48) in 17 years. ODU reached as high as No. 35 in the country and posted an impressive 19-5 record. Included in its success was a triumph over ACC power Virginia, who finished the year ranked No. 23 nationally. Academically, ODU received the ITA All-Academic Team award for the second time during her tenure and produced team GPAs of 3.48 during the fall semester and 3.54 in the spring semester. During her career in Norfolk, ODU totaled a 98-55 record and had 29 all-conference performers between singles and doubles.

As an assistant at W&M, Bickford helped the Tribe to 40 victories, including 18 over ranked teams and 10 against Power 5 conference opponents. The Green and Gold finished each of her three seasons in the national rankings, including two inside the top 50. The Tribe won the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship in her final season in 2011 and finished ranked No. 44 in the country thanks to a 16-9 record.

W&M players earned All-CAA honors on 15 occasions in her three years, including seven first-team nods. Academically, the program earned two ITA All-Academic Team awards, while nine players received W&M Provost Awards, eight garnered ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction and one was named the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Prior to joining the Tribe as an assistant coach, Bickford spent six seasons at her alma mater Iowa as an assistant coach. The Hawkeyes compiled a 78-59 mark, including a 36-24 Big Ten ledger, during her tenure with 20 nationally-ranked wins and finished inside the national rankings in in all six seasons. Iowa advanced to the NCAA Tournament on three occasions. In 2006, the Hawkeyes went 18-6, including a program-record 9-1 Big Ten mark, and achieved a final national ranking of No. 33.

Bickford had an illustrious career as a tennis player for Iowa. She played from 1999-2002 and received many accolades, including being named an All-Big Ten selection all four years and Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1999. In 1999 and 2000, Neykova qualified for the NCAA tournament in doubles with teammate Shera Wiegler. In 2002, Neykova became the first woman from the University of Iowa to qualify for the NCAA tournament in singles. Neykova helped the Hawkeyes to four NCAA Tournament bids during her time in Iowa City, including a regional title and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1999. She was inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

Bickford started playing tennis at age six in a local tennis club in her hometown of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. She won 12 junior Bulgarian National titles between singles and doubles from 1990-97. She was a member of the 1998 Bulgarian Fed Cup Team and achieved a world singles ranking of No. 650 according to the WTA in 1998.

Bickford received her B.B.A. from Iowa in economics in May 2002 and her M.A. in athletic administration in May 2006.