SAN ANTONIO – UTSA head coach Sergey Avdeyev named Cullen Dees as the men's tennis associate head coach on Tuesday.
"Cullen has been a great asset for this program." Head coach Sergey Avdeyev said. "This promotion reflects all his hard work. I am happy that he is set for another great year with the Roadrunners."
Dees has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for men's tennis.
In his first year in San Antonio, the season was cut short due to COVID-19, but the Roadrunners finished 5-6 with a notable road win against University of Louisiana Lafayette and Juri Reckow going undefeated in singles.
In his second season, Dees assisted both the men's and women's tennis teams. The women finished their 2020-21 season 9-11 under head coach Ki Kroll. Dees assisted with achievements of Alexandra Weir who finished with 13 singles wins and Aleksandra Zlatarova, ending with 12 singles wins. The men ended their season 13-8, which is the second-best record in the 9 season UTSA has been in Conference USA. The Roadrunners also claimed victory over the No. 40 Tulsa, this being the highest ranked win in the last 7 years for UTSA. Dee's influence could be seen in the performance of Joao Ceolin and Reckow who both earned All-conference USA Singles First team, Sebastian Rodriguez obtaining the title of C-USA Freshman of the Year and the duo Javier Gonzalez and Garrett Skelly who earned All-Conference Doubles-Second team.
This year, the men's team finished 12-12. This is the third best win total in a two year stretch in program history dating back to 2006-07. The Roadrunners made an appearance in the semifinals in the Conference-USA Men's Tennis Championship, the first time UTSA has advanced past the quarterfinals since their 2015 C-USA championship win. Dees aided the team to be ranked four times by the International Tennis Association, with UTSA's hitting its highest ITA ranking ever of No. 60. Notable accomplishments that Dees was a part of this season was Ceolin gaining a spot on the First Singles Team All-Conference and freshman Tiago Torres claiming a spot on the All-Conference Singles-Second Team. Furthermore, Gonzalez earned a spot on the C-USA Men's Tennis All-Academic Team. The 2021-22 season marks the best two year stretch in program history since 2006-07.
"I want to thank Sergey for this opportunity." Associate head coach Cullen Dees said. "It really means a lot. UTSA athletics is on the rise- every program is improving and competing at high levels. We are excited about the teams next season and the possibilities of this program. I am grateful to be a part of it all. I look forward to working even harder for this department and this team and being deserving of this honor."
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