Steve Tallakson is entering his first season as the head coach of the women's tennis program at Whittier College.  He is a former professional tennis player and assistant coach at the University of California-Irvine. Tallakson graduated from UC Irvine in 1997 where his team went to the NCAA championships each of the two years he played.  Prior to that, Tallakson played at Ball State University and went to the NCAA championships both years there.  At UC-Irvine, the team was ranked in the top 25 nationally. He was ranked during his senior season in the top 30 in both singles and doubles.   He earned first team all-conference honors each year at UCI and Ball State University.  During his senior season at UC-Irvine, he defeated the #1 player in the nation in singles and also defeated the #1 doubles team in the nation.