Adam Cohen is going into his fifth season as the head tennis coach for the men’s and women’s programs here at UT Tyler in 2022-2023. His current coaching record with the Patriots is 100-81 and he holds a remarkable 32-9 record in conference play.
Since arriving in 2018, Cohen has led the Patriots into new heights. 2018 saw Cohen lead both the men's and women's programs to victories in the ASC conference tournament, and appearances in the NCAA Regionals. In 2021, Cohen was named Wilson ITA South Central Coach of the Year after leading the men's program to a regular season LSC championship.
In the fall of 2021, Cohen was instrumental in leading Joaquin Bianchi and Gonzalo Fernandez Gil to the ITA Cup. Bianchi and Fernandez Gil each qualified as singles players and a doubles pair to be the only team to reach that distinction. These are the first ITA Cup qualifiers for the Patriots since 2017.
During the 2022 dual match season, Cohen lead the Patriots men to a 6-1 conference record. The program kept it rolling in the postseason, winning the Lone Star Conference tournament with three consecutive wins, including a thrilling 4-2 victory over Midwestern State in the finals to avenge their only regular season conference loss and sure the conference's automatic qualification into the NCAA South Central Regional.
In that regional, the Patriots caught their stride, winning over St. Mary's by an impressive record of 4-0 to claim one of two spots from the South Central Region in the NCAA Round of 16. This marks the first Division II National Championship appearance in their first year of eligibility.
While at UT Tyler, Cohen has coached an impressive 56 separate all-conference selections. In addition to those, he coached two ITA All-Americans in Arthur Fagundes and Pablo Gomez. Cohen helped lead the men's program to their first Oracle/ITA Division II National Ranking in school history as they climbed to number 24 in the 2021 season.
Cohen had an impressive 209-86 career record leading the Mesa Community College men’s and women’s programs from 2007-17, including winning nine conference championships and advancing to 17 national tournament appearances. He arrived in Tyler after guiding the Thunderbird men to four straight Arizona Community College Athletic Conference championships and the women to back-to-back titles.
“From the moment I stepped foot on the UT Tyler campus, I knew this is where I wanted to be,” Cohen said. “The pride and culture that is seen on this entire campus is something I am now honored to be a part of. I want to continue and improve upon the longstanding success the tennis program has had both on the court and in the class.”
A Chandler, Arizona native, Cohen led the men’s program to 107-41 record and the Thunderbird women to a 102-45 mark. The men’s team advanced to the national tournament in nine of his 11 seasons in Mesa, while the women have made six straight trips to the NJCAA tournament. In his tenure, MCC had over 150 all-conference selections, 11 ACCAC Player of the Year honors and seven years where his programs were honored as Academic All-American teams.
“We're excited to welcome Adam to UT Tyler's coaching staff,” said UT Tyler Vice President for Student Affairs, Howard Patterson. “He brings a highly successful coaching background and tremendous recruiting experience. The poll of finalists was very talented, but the Committee and staff felt Adam was a great fit.”
Cohen, 31, was a nationally-ranked player at Mesa Community College after helping to lead Hamilton High School (Chandler, Arizona) to a 40-0 record over a four-year high school career. After playing at MCC for two seasons, Cohen began his career as the head coach of the men’s team in 2007 before also taking over the women’s program in 2008. His programs have finished in the top-10 in the nation every year since 2012, including the women’s team finishing third in the nation in 2016 and the men’s team finishing fifth at the 2016 NJCAA national tournament. Along with recruiting talented players, Cohen has a track record of surrounding himself with skilled coaches with Roger Anstine and Ali Borhani earning ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year awards at Mesa while he was the head coach.
Cohen inherits UT Tyler tennis programs that have a 449-190 record and 17 American Southwest Conference championships since the men’s and women’s programs were revitalized and starting NCAA play in 2003. The Patriot men have won four straight and nine overall ASC titles after rolling to the 2017 title that was won on their home court over UT Dallas. The men’s program has a 235-96 all-time record, including going 19-8 last season and advancing to the national tournament for 10th straight year. The women’s program won the 2017 ASC East Division title and is 214-94 all-time with eight ASC titles.
“I enjoy watching my players develop,” Cohen said. “Not just on the court, not just as a student, but as people. The part I enjoy most is when I am able to help them in any of those aspects. They will create and make memories in college that will last a lifetime, but it’s what they learn through their experiences while in college that set them up to be successful afterwards. I want our players to leave on graduation day ready to pursue their dreams whatever they may be.”
ADAM COHEN COACHING EXPERIENCE:
2007-17 – Mesa Community College, Men’s Head Coach
2008-17 – Mesa Community College, Women’s Head Coach
2018-Present – The University of Texas at Tyler, Men's and Women's Head Coach
