The Massachusetts tennis team is set to leave the Atlantic 10 Conference and join the Mid-American Conference after nearly 32 years. UMass tennis has been in the A-10 since 1993, and the program’s early success can be attributed to former head coach Judy Dixon.
Dixon coached the Minutewomen for 25 years from 1992-2017. She changed the program forever and is the most winning tennis coach in Massachusetts history. Her coaching record stands at 316-227. Dixon was named A-10 Coach of the Year six times and was honored as Wilson/ITA Northeast’s Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year back in 2017.
As head coach, she led UMass to two A-10 championship titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. She was also inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. Dixon helped contribute to the Minutewomen’s all-time best record at 20-8 during the 2000-01 season.
Under Dixon, many successful players have been recognized and awarded. There have been eight A-10 Rookie of the Year honorees in Massachusetts program history, five of whom played under Dixon. Those five players include Francesca Mancini, Masha Pozar, Magdalena Ploch, Ana Yrazusta and Janja Kovacevic. She also coached two A-10 Player of the Year honorees in Mancini and Michelle Spiess.
Dixon did not just lead on the court; she also emphasized the importance of academics off the court. There were six A-10 All-Academic Team honorees during her time at UMass. Those players were Helena Horak, Spiess, Pozar, Maude Lecluyse (twice) and Kaitlyn Carpenter.
In 2000, the ITA East Regional Championship best doubles finishes in the semifinals was awarded to Mancini and Jafra Depontes. Dixon also helped lead two players, Ploch in 2009 and Ruth Crawford in 2017, to earn ITA Northeast Regional Championships, best singles finishes in the quarterfinals. Yrazusta also earned this honor, but only made it to Round 16 back in 2015.
Dixon also helped her players reach singles and doubles rankings in the ITA Regionals. For singles, Yrazusta was ranked at No. 14 (Northeast) in 2017 and Spiess achieved a ranking of No. 26 back in 2005 (East). In doubles, she helped lead four players to the Regional Rankings. In 2012-13, it was Chantal Swiszcz and Yuliana Motyl at No. 6 (Northeast). In 2014-15, it was Carol Benito and Yrazusta at No. 4 (Northeast), and in the following season, it was Yrazusta and Benito at No. 9 (Northeast).
The 25-year-long head coach also helped UMass’ program reach the A-10 quarterfinals or better every year from 2009-2017. Dixon’s legacy will forever be legendary with the Minutewomen as she changed the culture. In 2017, she passed the torch to current head coach Juancarlos Nunez, who has carried on the success of Massachusetts tennis.
Nunez started as head coach back in that 2017-18 season and found success right away, finishing the year as A-10 finalists and with a 13-7 record. Nunez has already earned numerous awards in his coaching career and has continued to help lead his players to success.
In 2024, Nunez won A-10 Coach of the Year and New England’s Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year. Nunez led UMass to win the A-10 Conference title in that same year.
Many Minutewomen players have achieved elite seasons throughout Nunez’s coaching tenure. Danielle Hack won New England’s 2024 ITA Senior Player of the Year and 2024 A-10 Player of the Year. That same year, Thamonpan Jonglertrakul won ITA’s Most Improved Player and ITA’s Player to Watch. He also helped the team earn a No. 7 rank in New England during the 2023-24 season.
In the ITA Northeast Regional Championships singles, Kovacevic and Jodie Lawrence-Taylor made it to the Round of 16 in 2018. In the same season, Laura Morena and Yrazusta were ranked at No. 4 (Northeast) in the ITA Regional doubles. This has been the highest-ranking UMass achieved in doubles. In 2021-22, Danielle Hack and Jonglertrakul were ranked No. 10 (Northeast) and, in 2023-24, the duo finished at No. 5 (New England).
Since Nunez has taken over as head coach of the program, the team’s record has been an impressive 86-48 (.642). He also led the team to two A-10 quarterfinals, one semifinal and finished one year as A-10 champions.
Other notable A-10 awards under Nunez’s current tenure include A-10 Rookie of the Year honorees, Lawrence-Taylor in 2019, Renata Farima in 2022 and Melisa Senli in 2023. There have been two A-10 All-Academic Team honorees under Nunez, with Kovacevic in 2019 and Hack in 2024.
The opponents the Minutewomen will face in their new conference include Miami (OH), Toledo, Buffalo, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.
Brennan McGrevy can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @BMcgrevy.
