Ojeda Named National Wilson ITA Coach of the Year – University of Tennessee Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s tennis head coach Alison Ojeda is the 2024 National Wilson Intercollegiate Tennis Association Coach of the Year, as announced Thursday. This prestigious award recognizes Ojeda’s exemplary leadership and her significant contributions to the team’s performance both on and off the court.

“We have so many amazing coaches who do an outstanding job all over the country,” Ojeda said. “It is an honor to have been voted National Coach of the Year by my esteemed colleagues. I love the sport of tennis, I love coaching and I love Rocky Top. To be able to come to work every day at my alma mater and work with the incredible administrators, coaches, players and staff is just a daily dream come true. I can’t thank my team and coaches enough for all their hard work and dedication. This award is because of each of you!”

In her eighth season as the head coach at her alma mater, Ojeda led the Lady Volunteers to one of the finest seasons in the program’s history. She guided her team to 22 victories, the highest number during her tenure for the second consecutive year. The team also triumphed over 12 ranked opponents, including seven in the top 25, notably defeating No. 1 Oklahoma State. The Lady Vols have now produced back-to-back seasons of at least 21 victories for the first time since 2002-03. This is the winningest two-year stretch for the program since those two campaigns.

“Alison has been one of the elite coaches in the sport, and we are thrilled to see her recognized on a national level for the tremendous work she has done leading our women’s tennis program,” said Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White. “Alison has built a program that handles things the right way on and off the court and competes at the highest level in pursuit of championships.”

Ojeda’s leadership also led the team to its eighth consecutive NCAA Team Championship appearance, continuing her success of taking every team she has coached at Tennessee to the NCAA tournament. This season, the Lady Vols earned the No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced all the way to the Final Four.

After sweeping back-to-back opponents in Knoxville in the first two rounds, the Big Orange traveled to Stillwater, Okla., to face the top-seeded Cowgirls for a spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Under the direction of Ojeda, the Lady Vols snapped No. 1 Oklahoma State’s 29-match winning streak, securing a 4-2 victory to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 2010. The team continued their monumental run by defeating No. 8 UCLA and returned to the Final Four for just the second time in program history, mirroring the 2002 squad. Tennessee became the lowest seed to reach the semifinals since the start of the 64-team field in 1999.

This season, Ojeda has developed two All-Americans, three All-SEC selections, the Ann Lebedeff Leadership recipient and the Ohio Valley recipient of the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship award (Esther Adeshina), the ITA Ohio Valley Senior Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year (Sofia Cabezas), alongside first-year and ITA Ohio Valley Region Assistant Coach of the Year Matias Marin.

Throughout her coaching career at Tennessee, she has developed four All-Americans and 15 All-SEC or SEC All-Freshman honorees, with nine of those coming during the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons.

This award marks just the second occurrence in program history a coach has been given the distinguished ITA national honor. Ojeda joins Mike and Sonia Patrick, who shared the award in 2001.

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