Women's Tennis
- Title:
- Head Coach
Roberto Aspillaga enters his third year as head coach of the Ladyjack tennis program. Aspillaga (pronounced ahs-PE-a-ga) was announced as the new head coach on June 17, 2013, by Stephen F. Austin director of athletics Robert Hill.
Giving SFA its second Southland championship in program history, Aspillaga guided the `Jacks to a 16-7 overall record during the 2014-15 season, including a 10-1 mark in conference play. Vivienne Kulicke went undefeated in conference play under his tutelage, and was named the SLC Freshman of the Year.
Aspillaga assumed head coaching duties for the first time in his career after coming to SFA, and went 12-11 in his first year in Nacogdoches, including 7-5 in Southland Conference play. The Ladyjacks advanced to the semifinals of the 2014 SLC Tournament after taking down Nicholls State in the postseason opener.
He had previous stints as an assistant at Purdue and Kentucky and was an associate head coach at Colorado in 2013. At Colorado, he helped guide the Buffs to a season-best No. 75 ITA National Ranking on April 2, a jump of 93 spots from their No. 168 ranking at the end of the 2012 season. Also during that season, the Buffs recorded their first two Pac-12 wins in program history (Arizona, Oregon). While at Colorado, Aspillaga helped recruit Dhanielly Quevedo, No. 150 ITF and the ITA Regional Rookie of the Year. He also played a big part in recruiting Nuria Ormeno (Fall 2013), who was ranked No. 4 in Spain.
Aspillaga also helped Purdue bring in its highest nationally ranked recruiting class (No. 8) in history during the 2011 fall. For his efforts, Aspillaga was named 2012 Wilson/ITA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, capping off a season in which the Boilermakers won their first Big 10 championship in program history. Ironically, Purdue head coach Laura Glitz and freshman Lynda Xepoleas were named Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively. In two seasons with the Boilermakers, Aspillaga helped Purdue to 31 overall wins and 13 regular season victories.
Respected in coaching circles, Aspillaga has also produced a tennis training video called Dynamic Speed and Agility Training for Tennis.
A native of Santiago, Chile, Aspillaga graduated from Georgetown College (Ky.) in 2009 with a bachelor of science degree in sports administration. At Georgetown, he climbed as high as 33rd in the NAIA singles rankings and was an All-Mid-South player in 2008. He also played soccer for the Tigers during his time on campus.
Aspillaga is no stranger to tennis excellence, as his father, Eduardo, was a Federation Cup captain and Davis Cup conditioning coach for Chile. The elder Aspillaga also was a speaker for the International Tennis Federation.
Aspillaga is a certified professional by the United States Professional Tennis Registry.
SFA Athletic Director Robert Hill on Aspillaga's hire:
"We are very happy to have Roberto as our new tennis coach. He brings a wealth of experience and has coached and recruited on the highest Division I levels. Most importantly he wants to be at SFA and is committed to building our women's tennis program to be the best in the Southland Conference."
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