The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
05.23.2019 | Men's Tennis
Former interim head coach and associate head coach Bruce Berque has been promoted to head coach.
Austin, Texas – Bruce Berque, former interim head coach and associate head coach at The University of Texas, has been named the fifth head coach in the history of the Longhorns Men's Tennis program, Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte announced Thursday.
After beginning this season as associate head coach, Berque was named interim head coach midway through the year and guided the Longhorns to a 15-2 record the rest of the way, including the 2019 National Championship, which the team won on Sunday against Wake Forest at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Berque was also named the 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year and oversaw numerous individual student-athlete awards in the Big 12 this season including Co-Player of the Year Christian Sigsgaard.
"It was a no-brainer," Del Conte said. "We actually made the decision before we left for the National Championship. We had done our due diligence around the country, and we had the very best right in our own backyard. Sometimes you might think the grass is greener somewhere else, but with where we are right now and what Bruce has done with the program, from the time he took it over, we knew he was the right man to lead our program, the championship was just the icing on the cake."
"It's the absolute thrill of a lifetime to be entrusted to lead this program," Berque said. "So many great men have been a part of it as both players and coaches, and it's an absolute honor to be the fifth Men's Tennis coach in the history of the program. I want to thank Chris Del Conte for entrusting me with that, and I'm truly excited about where we are and our future."
Berque just completed his fifth season overall with the program, including over three years as associate head coach and one as a volunteer assistant. Prior to the National Championship, he helped lead Texas to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2017 and the NCAA round of 16 in 2016 and 2018.
An accomplished coaching veteran with over two decades of experience as both an assistant and head coach, Berque has been a part of two NCAA National Championship teams (2003, '19) and two ITA National Indoor Championship teams (2003, '04), and has guided two NCAA singles champions (1994, 2003) and four NCAA doubles champions (1993, 2000, '03, '15) throughout his career. In winning the 2019 National Championship with Texas, Berque moved to 10-0 all-time in national championship team and individual matches.
Prior to Texas, Berque served 10 seasons (2005-14) as the head coach at Michigan. He took the Wolverines to the NCAA Championships in his final nine seasons in Ann Arbor and led Michigan to the NCAA round of 16 in 2008.
The 2012 ITA Midwest Region Coach of the Year paced Michigan to eight top-four finishes in the Big Ten Conference, including runner-up finishes in 2007, 2012 and 2013, and led the Wolverines to No. 8 national rankings in 2008 and 2011.
Evan King, Matko Maravic and Brian Hung earned ITA All-America honors under Berque's tutelage at Michigan, and the Big Ten Conference twice selected King as its Athlete of the Year.
Berque also served as an associate head coach at Illinois for six seasons (1999-2004). The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) selected Berque as the 2003 National Assistant Coach of the Year, as he helped lead the Fighting Illini to a 32-0 dual-match record, the ITA National Team Indoor title and the 2003 NCAA title.
Under Berque, Illinois made a clean sweep of the 2003 NCAA Championships, as Amer Delic won the NCAA singles title and Rajeev Ram teamed with Brian Wilson to claim the NCAA doubles title. Berque helped lay the groundwork for Illinois' extraordinary success in 2003 after bringing in the nation's top recruiting classes in 2000 and 2002.
With Berque continuing on staff in 2004, Illinois stretched its winning streak to an NCAA record 64 matches, as the Fighting Illini reached the semifinals at the NCAA Championships and locked up its sixth consecutive Big Ten Championship. Berque also helped Illinois reach the NCAA quarterfinals in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
A native of Old Tappan, New Jersey, Berque completed additional coaching stints at Ohio State (volunteer assistant, 1997-98), Florida (assistant coach, 1990-96) and Haverford College (assistant women's coach, 1988-90).
