The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Tennis
- Title:
- Head Coach
Michael Center has maintained the Longhorns' standing among the nation’s elite collegiate tennis programs in his 18 seasons at Texas and 27 campaigns overall as a collegiate head coach. Center, the 2007 U.S. Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) National College Coach of the Year, has instilled in his players a strong work ethic and competitive spirit that have resulted in both team success and individual accolades.
Center holds a 523-205 (.718) career record and a 365-137 (.727) mark at Texas while guiding the Longhorns to appearances in the NCAA Championship in all of his 18 seasons in Austin, including three trips to the final four.
With Center at the helm, Texas made its first NCAA finals showing in 2008, advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 2006 and 2009 and finished in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2014 and 2017. UT finished in the round of 16 on eight other occasions (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018). The Longhorns achieved their highest final national ranking (No. 3) in 2006 under Center.
| TROPHY CASE | |||
| INDIVIDUAL • USPTA National College Coach of the Year - 2007 • Big 12 Coach of the Year - 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 • USPTA State of Texas Coach of the Year - 2006 • ITA Region Coach of the Year - 2006, 2010, 2016, 2018 • WAC Coach of the Year - 2000 • NCAA Region V Coach of the Year - 1994, 1995 • ITA Central Region Women’s Coach of the Year - 1992 • Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year - 1994, 1995, 1996* • Big Eight Conference Women’s Coach of the Year - 1992 TEAM STUDENT-ATHLETES W-L RECORDS |
All-Americans
Sixteen of Center's Longhorns have earned 28 ITA All-American honors since his arrival at Texas in 2000 -- Yuya Ito, Søren Hess-Olesen, Lloyd Glasspool, Chris Camillone, David Holiner, Jean Andersen, Callum Beale, Jean Simon, Jose Zarhi, Rodrigo Echagaray, Travis Helgeson, Miguel Reyes Varela, Dimitar Kutrovsky, Ed Corrie, Kellen Damico and Josh Zavala.
2018
The 2018 Longhorns tallied a 19-7 overall record, won UT's first Big 12 tournament title since 2010 and joined four other schools to reach the NCAA round of 16 for a fifth consecutive season. Center was selected by his peers as the ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year and the Big 12 Coach of the Year, as he swept the two honors for the first time since 2010.
With Center at the helm, the Longhorns moved into their new on-campus home, the $20 million Texas Tennis Center. Texas spent much of the season in the top-10 of the ITA team poll, and the Longhorns ranked as high as eighth nationally. UT earned a first-round bye at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, and the Horns knocked off Oklahoma and Baylor to lock up Center's third Big 12 tournament title with the Longhorns.
Texas handily defeated Bryant and California in the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships in Austin. The Longhorns fell to Mississippi State in the round of 16 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Texas was one of just three schools to land five student-athletes in the final ITA men's singles rankings.
2017
Center's Longhorns finished strong in 2017, as Texas won three matches at the NCAA Championships, upset seventh-seeded Baylor and reached the national quarterfinals. Freshman Yuya Ito earned ITA All-America honors in singles after winning a pair of matches in the singles draw at the NCAA Championships.
2016
Texas fielded a team that was short on veterans and long on newcomers. However, under Center and first-year associate head coach Bruce Berque, the Longhorns made their third straight round-of-16 appearance at the NCAA Championships, finished with a No. 16 ITA team ranking and totaled a 19-12 overall record.
As is custom, Texas took on a rigorous dual-match schedule on its way to the NCAA Championships. Nineteen of Texas' 28 regular season and conference tournament matches were played against NCAA Championships qualifiers. UT knocked off eventual No. 6 national seed and ACC champion Wake Forest on its home courts, and the Horns also defeated NCAA round-of-16 qualifiers Oklahoma State, Stanford and SMU.
Texas opened the 2016 NCAA Championships with a 4-0 win over Lamar at the College Station sub-regional. Rain suspended UT's second-round match against Texas A&M on the Aggies' home courts, but when play resumed, Texas rallied from a 1-0 deficit and pulled out a 4-3 win over the 12th-seeded Aggies to advance to the NCAA Championships' third round.
UT pushed fifth-seeded Ohio State to the brink of elimination in the third round of the NCAA Championships in Tulsa. The Buckeyes needed a third-set tiebreaker to hold on for a 4-3 win over the Longhorns.
2015
Center’s Longhorns finished in the top-10 of the final ITA team rankings for a second straight season, but it was the Horns’ individual accomplishments that created the season’s defining moment. Søren Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool reached the doubles final at the NCAA Championships, where they defeated Texas Tech in three sets to win Texas’ sixth NCAA doubles title and the school’s first since 1944.
Hess-Olesen and Glasspool ended the season as All-Americans in singles and doubles. The ITA selected Hess-Olesen as its Senior Player of the Year, and the Big 12 Conference selected him as the league’s Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Hess-Olesen and Glasspool also competed in the NCAA Championships’ singles draw, where they were joined by teammate Adrien Berkowicz.
Texas completed the 2015 season with a 21-7 overall record and a No. 9 ITA team ranking. The Longhorns reached the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship and went on to host the and first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships. Texas defeated Navy and California to reach the round of 16, where it fell to Georgia.
2014
Center and the Longhorns returned to top-10 form during the 2013-14 season by winning a share of the Big 12 regular season title, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship and finishing the season with a No. 8 ranking. UT’s Big 12 title was the fourth under Center and the first since 2010.
The Longhorns compiled a 23-6 overall record and a 4-1 record in Big 12 play. Center led UT to a perfect 13-0 campaign on its home court during the final season of Penick-Allison Tennis Center, which was highlighted by a 4-3 win over No. 3 Oklahoma on March 28, 2014.
Søren Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool capped off the season with impressive runs in the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships. 11th-ranked Hess-Olesen finished the semifinals of the NCAA singles draw to ensure his second consecutive All-American campaign. The 10th-ranked pairing of Glasspool and Hess-Olesen advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles draw.
2013
Søren Hess-Olesen, Chris Camillone and David Holiner earned All-America honors for their performance in the NCAA Championship singles and doubles draw, respectively. Hess-Olesen earned his stripes by advancing to the quarterfinals of the singles draw, while Camillone and Holiner finished as the national runner-up -- the best doubles finish for UT since 1995.
Texas finished the 2013 season ranked No. 23 in the ITA poll after making its 22nd consecutive berth in the NCAA Championship. Individual accolades included three ITA All-Americans (Camillone, Hess-Olesen, Holiner), three All-Big 12 singles players (Lloyd Glasspool, Hess-Olesen, Daniel Whitehead), one All-Big 12 doubles team (Ben Chen / Whitehead) and the Big 12 regular season champion at No. 2 singles (Glasspool).
2010
Texas finished the 2010 season with a No. 4 national ranking after totaling a 27-3 overall record and a perfect 6-0 mark in Big 12 regular season matches. The Horns reached the NCAA round of 16 for a fifth straight year and won their third Big 12 Championship under Center, who also won his second Big 12 postseason tournament in 2010. The Longhorns also marked UT's first appearance in the semifinals at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship after defeating eventual NCAA Champion USC in the event's quarterfinals. Texas finished the season with nine victories over ITA top-15 opponents.
Dimitar Kutrovsky was named the 2010 Big 12 Conference Co-Player of the Year, and Center was selected as the league's Coach of the Year in a vote conducted by the conference's head tennis coaches. Kutrovsky also was selected as the ITA Texas Region Senior Player of the Year, and Center earned recognition as the ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year. Vasko Mladenov was tabbed as the region's Rookie Player of the Year, and Ed Corrie was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship.
Kutrovsky earned his third consecutive ITA singles All-America honor in 2010 while picking up his first ITA doubles All-America selection alongside classmate Josh Zavala, a first-time All-American. Kutrovsky finished his illustrious career as UT's all-time winningest player with 230 combined singles and doubles wins. Kutrovsky became Texas' first NCAA singles quarterfinalist since 2006 and also reached the round of 16 in the NCAA doubles draw with Zavala. Kutrovsky and Zavala finished the season with a No. 7 ITA doubles ranking. Ed Corrie earned a berth in the NCAA singles draw and finished the season with a No. 23 ITA singles ranking.
2009
Texas reached the NCAA Final Four for a third time under Center during the 2009 season. The Longhorns totaled a 23-7 overall record and reached the finals at the Big 12 Championship for a fourth consecutive campaign. UT opened the NCAA Championships with wins over Sacred Heart and Washington in Austin before upsetting fifth-seeded Tennessee by a 4-3 count in the round of 16 in College Station, Texas.
The Longhorns eliminated fourth-seeded Georgia by a 4-2 margin in the NCAA quarterfinals to secure their second consecutive berth in the NCAA semifinals, where UT fell to eventual NCAA champion USC. Dimitar Kutrovsky earned his second consecutive ITA singles All-America selection after earning a spot on the All-Big 12 singles team.
2008
In 2008, Texas capped Center's finest season with an appearance in the NCAA Championship match, where it fell to Georgia by a 4-2 count to finish as the NCAA runner-up with a 25-6 overall record and mark UT's highest finish at the NCAA Championships. The seventh-seeded Longhorns advanced to the round of 16 in Tulsa, Okla., with first- and second-round wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Rice, respectively, in Austin.
Texas opened play in Tulsa with a decisive 4-0 win over 10th-seeded Florida before meeting second-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals. The Longhorns ended the Buckeyes' 24-match winning streak, defeating OSU by a 4-2 count to reach the NCAA semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
Texas met third-seeded UCLA in the NCAA semifinals and scored its first win over the Bruins in nine tries, winning by a 4-2 count to secure the program's first NCAA finals appearance. Texas fell to Georgia in the NCAA title match, 4-2, but the Longhorns truly made their mark at the 2008 NCAA Championships, as UT secured all three doubles spots on the NCAA All-Tournament Team, as well as the sixth spot on the All-Tournament singles team secured by junior Miguel Reyes Varela.
The 2008 Longhorns featured three first-time All-Americans in the aforementioned Kutrovsky, Corrie and Damico. Kutrovsky, who clinched UT's NCAA quarterfinal win over Ohio State and its NCAA semifinal win over UCLA, earned singles All-America status by way of his "9-16" seed in the NCAA Singles Championships and his No. 12 final singles ranking. Corrie and Damico earned doubles All-America status by finishing at No. 8 in the ITA doubles rankings after posting a 17-7 overall record.
Kutrovsky, Corrie and Damico played in the 64-player singles draw at the NCAA Championships, and Corrie and Damico played in the 32-team doubles draw. All three were joined on the All-Big 12 singles team by senior Luis Diaz Barriga, who finished conference play with a perfect 6-0 mark and ended the season with a 31-6 overall singles record. UT also shared the Big 12 Conference regular-season title in 2008 - its second in three seasons - and earned a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle, where the Horns reached the quarterfinals.
2007
In 2007, the Longhorns advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for a second consecutive season, as the defeated Navy and Boise in NCAA first- and second-round matches in Austin. UT's season came to an end at 20-9 with a 4-3 loss to N.C. State in the round of 16 in Athens, Ga.
Dimitar Kutrovsky earned a berth in the 64-player singles draw, and Josh Zavala joined Kutrovsky in the 32-team doubles draw at the NCAA Championships. Kutrovsky earned All-Big 12 singles accolades in addition to doubles honors alongside Zavala. Junior Luis Diaz Barriga also earned an All-Big 12 singles selection after totaling a 6-0 mark in league play.
2006
The 2006 campaign marked one of the most successful seasons for Center at Texas. The Longhorns finished the season with a 26-4 finish and the program's second appearance in the NCAA Final Four. Texas knocked off Tennessee Tech and Rice during the NCAA Regional at Austin before defeating 14th-seeded Mississippi and sixth-seeded Ohio State in the NCAA Championships at Stanford. Eventual NCAA champion Pepperdine eliminated the Longhorns in the national semifinals. Texas' 26 victories marked the highest single-season win total in Center's 15 years as a head coach and the most wins for a Longhorn team since 1997.
Additionally, UT claimed a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship and knocked off Baylor in Waco to capture the Big 12 tournament title. Center was named the ITA South Central Region Coach of the Year and shared Big 12 Coach of the Year honors with Colorado's Sam Winterbotham. Sophomore Travis Helgeson earned his second singles All-America honor in as many seasons, while senior Callum Beale garnered his first singles All-America accolade.
Beale added a doubles All-America selection with freshman Miguel Reyes Varela, as the duo advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles championships. In addition, the Big 12 Conference selected Helgeson as the league's Player of the Year, while senior Roger Gubser, Beale and Reyes Varela were named to the All-Big 12 team.
2003
In 2003, Center marked the school's 12th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance with the Horns' second-consecutive berth in the NCAA round of 16. After defeating St. Bonaventure and Rice in the NCAA regional, Texas fell to Tennessee in College Station, Texas after posting a 19-7 regular-season mark.
2002
Center first took the Longhorns to the NCAA round of 16 during his second season in 2002, as Texas totaled a 23-4 mark. NCAA regional victories over UTSA and Virginia Commonwealth preceded a round-of-16 loss to Tennessee. Three of Center's players - Jean Simon, Rodrigo Echagaray and Jose Zarhi - were tabbed All-Americans, while Simon became the first Texas player ever to be honored twice as the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.
Center joined his star player on the award stand by being selected as the Big 12 Conference Co-Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 6-1 mark in conference and a berth in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. This recognition followed just one year after Center compiled an unmatched debut record of 18-6 (.750) in the Big 12, which was the best-ever start for a first-year coach since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1997.
Michael Center arrives on the Forty Acres
Center became only the fourth men's tennis coach in Texas Tennis history when he was hired on July 25, 2000. Center took over the reigns of the program following the legendary Dave Snyder, who retired after 28 years on July 5, 2000. Since Center joined the Texas family, he has continued to run the men's tennis program with the same class and integrity that was instilled upon it by Snyder, Wilmer Allison and Dr. D.A. Penick.
Taking over for a legend was nothing new for Center. When Center was hired at TCU in 1998, he replaced an icon in Fort Worth, Texas, named Tut Bartzen, who had led the Horned Frogs program for 25 years.
The TCU era
During Center's two seasons at TCU, he guided the Horned Frogs to an overall dual-match record of 36-12 (.750). In his first year (1998-99), TCU registered a 14-7 mark, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships and finished the season ranked No. 22.
In 2000, Center helped TCU to one of its finest seasons in school history, as the Horned Frogs posted a 22-5 dual-match record, won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals before falling to eventual National Champion Stanford. TCU would finish the season ranked No. 9 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national poll. For his efforts, Center earned WAC Coach of the Year honors.
Prior to arriving at Texas, Center had earned conference coach of the year honors in four out of his last five seasons as a head coach (2000 WAC, 1994-96 Big Eight). During his head coaching stints at TCU and Kansas, Center also led his squads to five straight NCAA tourney appearances.
Businessman by day, tennis coach by night
Before taking over the TCU program, Center spent two years in the business world as a stockbroker in San Francisco and served as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford (1996-98). While working under renowned Stanford coach Dick Gould, the Cardinal claimed back-to-back NCAA team titles in each of those two seasons.
The KU era
Center then started his collegiate coaching career as the head women's coach at Kansas in 1989. In three seasons with the Kansas women, he led the Jayhawks to a 39-28 dual-match record, including a 16-5 mark in Big Eight competition. In 1991-92, Kansas won the Big Eight Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Although the Jayhawks bowed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament that year, Center was recognized for his efforts by being named the 1992 Big Eight Conference as well as NCAA Central Region Coach of the Year.
Following the 1992 campaign with the Kansas women, Center was named director of tennis for KU and assumed the head coaching duties for the men's program. During the subsequent four years with Center at the helm of the men's squad, the Jayhawks posted an 83-28 dual-match record, including a 29-2 mark in Big Eight play. Kansas also recorded a streak of 25 consecutive league wins under Center's guidance.
In fact, his last three squads at KU posted undefeated league campaigns, claimed Big Eight Conference team titles each year and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of those three seasons. For these successes with the Kansas men's squad, Center garnered Big Eight and Regional Coach of the Year honors from 1994-96.
As a player
Also a tennis standout in college, Center was a four-year letterwinner at Kansas (1983-86). He captured the Big Eight No. 2 singles title during his junior year in 1985, while becoming the first player in school history to win 40 matches in a single season. Center earned his bachelor's degree from KU in broadcast management in 1986 and his master's in athletics administration in 1990.
Personal
In September of 2000, he married Allison Holt and together the couple has two children, David Abraham, born June 1, 2002, and Benjamin Holt, born May 27, 2004.
ITA All-Americans under Center
Rodrigo Echagaray - 2002
Jean Simon - 2002
Jose Zarhi - 2002
Travis Helgeson - 2005, 2006
Callum Beale - 2006
Miguel Reyes Varela - 2006
Ed Corrie - 2008, 2011
Kellen Damico - 2008
Dimitar Kutrovsky - 2008, 2009, 2010
Josh Zavala - 2010
Jean Andersen - 2011
Søren Hess-Olesen - 2013, 2014, 2015
Chris Camillone - 2013
David Holiner - 2013
Lloyd Glasspool - 2014, 2015
Yuya Ito - 2017
