SAN ANTONIO -- The 2019 ITA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year, Sergey Avdeyev has been named the head coach of the UTSA men's tennis program, it was announced on Tuesday by UTSA Vice President/Athletics Director Lisa Campos.
"I am very excited to take on the new role at UTSA," Avdeyev said. "I would like to thank Dr. Lisa Campos and (associate athletics director) Colin Howlett for this great opportunity. My family and I are thrilled to move to San Antonio and get to know the Roadrunner community. I am looking forward to getting to work immediately."
Avdeyev takes over the helm of the Roadrunners after serving as the associate head coach at Old Dominion since 2016. He helped lead the Monarchs to the 2018 Conference USA Championship.
"We are excited to announce Sergey Avdeyey as our new men's tennis head coach," Campos said. "Sergey was very impressive throughout the process and is the right person to lead our program. He has developed a strong familiarity with the league during his time at Old Dominion and great experience as a student-athlete at Oklahoma. We are thrilled to welcome Sergey, his wife Lisa and children Aleksandra, Annalisa and Mikhail, into the UTSA family."
In 2018, Avdeyev was named the ITA Atlantic Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, while helping the Monarchs to the C-USA Championship. Avdeyev guided ODU to a national ranked as high as No. 25, and over the past three seasons, he has helped lead ODU to national team rankings as one of the top teams within C-USA and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Avdeyev has worked with some of the top players in collegiate tennis, helping three student-athletes earn regional championships during his time in Norfolk, Va., including a pair of doubles championships. Three athletes earned NCAA individual appearances under his tutelage.
In 2018, the Monarchs won the C-USA Tournament and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. In 2019, Aziz Kijametovic won the Regional Singles crown. Avdeyev also helped Kijametovic to a national singles ranking, as well as a doubles ranking with teammate Francois Musitelli.
Prior to his time at ODU, Avdeyev spent the 2016 season as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma. The Sooners went 20-11 in 2015-16, but ended the season with a spectacular run to the NCAA Championship match. OU recorded upsets over No. 3 UCLA, No. 6 Wake Forest and No. 7 Georgia en route to the title match, before falling to top-seeded Virginia.
At Oklahoma, Avdeyev coached numerous nationally-ranked players and guided several Sooners at the Fall ITA Indoor National Championships and other individual fall tournaments. He helped to develop three players that earned All-America honors at OU.
A 2009 graduate of Oklahoma, Avdeyev was a ranked player for the Sooners in both singles and doubles. He played in the top spot for OU and served as team captain during his senior year in 2008-09.
Following his collegiate career, Avdeyev also competed on the professional circuit for two years. A native of Kazakhstan, Avdeyev was ranked in the top 10 in his country and was also a member of the junior Davis Cup team for Kazakhstan.
Avdeyev takes over for Rodrigo da Silva, who left in September for the head coaching job at Louisville.
What They're Saying About Avdeyev:
"UTSA landed a great coach and person. He will do a tremendous job building the men's tennis program at UTSA and I am sure his student athletes will represent the university well."
- John Roddick, UCF Head Coach
"I've known Sergey since we played national level tournaments. He has always been a hard-worker and I'm not surprised he is continuing to impact other players as a coach. I'm sure he will help bring the level of the UTSA tennis program to new heights."
- Dias Doskarayev, Vice-President of Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, Davis Cup and Fed Cup Captain
"Sergey is a man of high character and integrity. His combination of tennis knowledge, passion and relationship with his players will provide great success for the program in the future. "
- Bobby Reynolds, Auburn Men's Head Coach
"Congratulations to UTSA for making an exceptional hire. Sergey is a proven winner and has shown that at ODU for the past 3 and a half years. He knows what it takes to win and will bring that mentality with him. I'm very happy for him because he worked hard for this opportunity. He will do amazing things, I'm certain of that."
- Dominik Mueller, Old Dominion Head Coach
- UTSA -