Ton of Coaching Updates, NCAA/ACC Removing Championships from North Carolina; Cal vs. USTA Juniors

Stetson Athletic Director Jeff Altier announced that Travis Sandlant had been hired as the Hatters’ new women’s head coach. Sandlant, who is a 2007 East Tennessee State graduate, had been the head coach at his alma mater for the last six seasons while going 140-58 (.707). Sandlant replaces Kelly Anderson who departed after one season (9-13/.409).

Monmouth has tabbed Alex Kasarov as it’s new men’s head coach. Kasarov, who spent the last two seasons as the men’s assistant at Davidson, replaces Kyle Bailey who stepped down after five seasons to take the men’s assistant job at South Carolina. The school hasn’t officially made a release on the hire but it’s a done deal. 

 

UMass women’s head coach Judy Dixon announced that she will retire after the upcoming 2016-17 season. Dixon has a 304-219 (.581) record in her 24 years in Amherst and as expected she’ll leave as the school’s all-time wins leader. 

 

UC Irvine women’s head coach Mike Edles announced on September 1st that he was retiring after 20 years at the helm of the Anteaters. Edles won 265 matches in those 20 years while leading his squad to the NCAA tournament three times. I assume the retirement was effectively immediately although the school’s release didn’t specifically mention it.

Boise State men’s head coach Greg Patton announced the hiring of Greg Ouellette as the Broncos new men’s assistant coach. Ouellette, who spent last season as the men’s assistant at Iowa, replaces Eric Diaz who departed after one season. Diaz is now heading up a branch of the Advantage Tennis Academy in Southern California along with former teammate Campbell Johnson.

Cal Poly hasn’t made an official announcement yet but 2015 Boise State graduate Garrett Patton is the new men’s assistant. Patton replaces Michael Marquez who accepted the position of Head Tennis Coach/Director of Tennis at the Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa. Patton will also be on Marquez’s staff at Avila Bay.

Arizona State hasn’t made an official announcement but Matt Hill has hired Michal Kokta as the Sun Devils men’s assistant coach. Kokta, who played at Baylor from 2004 to 2007, comes to Tempe after serving as the men’s assistant at Purdue for the last two seasons.

UC Santa Barbara women’s head coach Simon Thibodeau announced the hiring of Maria Fernanda Alves as the Gauchos new women’s assistant coach. Alves played professionally on the WTA tour for over 10 years while also earning a college degree back home in Brazil. Alves was the volunteer assistant for the Texas A&M women’s team last season.

BYU women’s head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer announced the hiring of Ace Matias as the Cougars new women’s assistant coach. Matias played at UNLV for three seasons and graduated in 2015. Matias’s sister, Dianne, is entering her fourth season as the women’s head coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Gonzaga women’s head coach D.J. Gurule announced that Natalie Pluskota will be the Bulldogs new women’s assistant coach. Pluskota, who played at Tennessee from 2009 to 2012, spent four years on the pro tour while also serving as a tennis pro at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club in Bridgehampton, New York. Pluskota replaces Megan Falcon who took the assistant job on Kelcy McKenna’s staff at Wisconsin.

UNLV men’s head coach Owen Hambrook announced the hiring of Slim Hamza as the Runnin’ Rebels new assistant coach. Hamza played at Utah from 2012-15 and spent last season as a student assistant at Utah.

Vanderbilt women’s head coach Geoff Macdonald announced that Boomer Saia has joined the staff as an interim assistant coach. Saia, who was the women’s assistant at Oklahoma for the last two seasons, takes over for Aleke Tsoubanos who is out on maternity leave. Once Tsoubanos comes back Saia will stay on as an volunteer assistant coach. 

 

Texas A&M men’s head coach Steve Denton announced that Rick Meyers will join the staff as a volunteer assistant. Meyers, who is a member of the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, played collegiately at TCU back in the day and has taught and coached tennis in the state for over three decades.

Charlotte men’s head coach Jeremy Feldman announced that Jordi Massalle Ferrer has joined the staff as a student assistant. Massalle Ferrer graduated from Charlotte last May and finished his playing career as the school’s all-time wins leader in both singles and doubles.
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The NCAA announced on Monday that it was pulling all championship events from the state of North Carolina due to the state’s stance on civil right protections (HB2). The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) followed suit on Tuesday by announcing that it was removing all neutral site championships for the upcoming academic year. The Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina, was set to host both the ACC Tennis Championship and the Division 3 National Championship this coming season so both events will have to be relocated elsewhere. The ACC’s release mentioned that it didn’t have a problem hosting championships on-campus so it’s possible that the ACC Tournament could be split up between Duke, North Carolina, and NC State.
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EXHIBITION: Cal def. USTA Junior National Team – 6-3

Sept. 14, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (Hellman Tennis Complex)

1. Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Lukas Greif/Andrew Fenty (USTA) –6-3

2. Andre Goransson/Dominic Barretto (Cal) def. Trey Hilderbrand/Jaycer Lyeons (USTA) – 6-4

3. Bjorn Hoffman/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Christian Alshon/Axel Nefve (USTA) – 6-1

4. Michael Heller/Harris Walker (USTA) def. Billy Griffith/Gunther Matta (Cal) – 7-6(5)

1. Filip Bergevi (Cal 14.41) def. Lukas Greif (USTA 14.53) – 6-1, 6-1

2. Florian Lakat (Cal 14.19) def. Harris Walker (USTA 13.29) – 6-2, 6-2

3. Axel Nefve (USTA 13.44) def. Bjorn Hoffman (Cal 13.45) – 6-4, 6-2

4. Dominic Barretto (Cal 12.41) def. Michael Heller (USTA 13.45) – 6-3, 7-5

5. Jaycer Lyeons (USTA 13.19) def. Gunther Matta (Cal 12.22) – 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

6. Andrew Fenty (USTA 13.48) def. Ryan Shen (Cal 12.06) – 6-2, 7-6(4)

7. Andre Goransson (Cal 14.21) def. Christian Alshon (USTA 13.26) – 7-6(5), 7-5

8. Billy Griffith (Cal 14.12) def. Trey Hilderbrand (USTA 13.04) – 6-0, 6-4

Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2*, 4); Singles (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 8*, 7)

 

 

 

CiCi Bellis announced that she will not be heading to Stanford and instead will officially begin her pro career after a run to the third round at the US Open. Colette Lewis had an exclusive interview with Bellis where she talked about her reasons for deciding to take the pro plunge. Bellis was able to pocket the $144,000 that she earned for performance at the US Open. 

 

Nina Pantic wrote a nice article on Tennis.com about recent Virginia graduate Danielle Collins and the transition that she’s making from playing college tennis to going out on her own and playing on the pro tour.