The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Tennis
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
Austin Rapp, a former ITA All-American in doubles as a student-athlete at UCLA, was named volunteer assistant coach for Texas Men's Tennis in September 2020.
This past season, despite the team facing an unprecedented string of injuries that prevented a fully healthy lineup from ever taking the court throughout the year against a daunting schedule, the Longhorns still reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 and posted at least 18 wins each for an eighth-consecutive season. All of Texas' 11 losses came to opponents ranked at least in the top 15 with nine of those against teams in the top six, including 4-3 defeat against No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Ohio State. The season also featured wins versus that same Gators team at ITA Indoor Nationals, which Texas reached for the fourth-straight year, and at No. 9 USC. It was then capped by Richard Ciamarra and Cleeve Harper winning the NCAA Doubles National Championship.
In 2021, Rapp helped the Longhorns to a 24-6 overall record, a share of the regular season Big 12 Championship, an appearance in the NCAA Final Four and an ITA Final Ranking of No. 3 after being rated as high as No. 2 earlier in the season. Texas also posted wins over three of the four teams that at one point had been ranked No. 1 during the season, including eventual National Champion Florida, eventual runner-up Baylor and two wins over USC, which was No. 1 in the first meeting at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Rapp was a four-year letterman with the Bruins from 2015-18, earning his All-America status as a senior in 2018. That year, he partnered with Keegan Smith to finish No. 6 in the ITA doubles rankings and advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship. Additionally, he was named the ITA Southwest Region Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award winner, an ITA Scholar-Athlete, and to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team. Overall during his career, he was a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree.
Following his college career, Rapp reached career-high ATP rankings of 328 in doubles and 672 in singles, along with ITF rankings of 38 in doubles and 302 in singles.
Born in Davenport, Iowa and native of Rancho Mirage, Calif., Rapp earned a bachelor's degree in political science and government from UCLA. His brother, Connor, also played on the Bruins men's tennis team.
