Chris Bizot is entering his fourth season back at UT Tyler as the men’s and women’s tennis head coach after leading the newly revived Angelo State women’s program from 2017-22.
The 2024-25 season was the greatest in UT Tyler men’s tennis NCAA history as the Patriots won the Lone Star Conference regular-season championship and reached the NCAA Division II national tournament. The Patriots knocked off No. 3 seed Midwestern State, 4-3, in the first round of the national tournament before beating No. 14 seed Edinboro, 4-0, and Azusa Pacific, 4-3, in the Elite Eight.
The Patriots’ season came to an end in the national semifinals with a 4-0 loss to No. 7 Washburn, which finished as the national runner-up. The Patriots were 24-3 overall (8-0 in the LSC) in 2025, setting a record for the most wins in a season in program history. The run to the semifinals was the deepest the Patriots have advanced in the national tournament in program history. The LSC regular-season championship was the third in program history (2021 and 2023 are the others). The fifth straight season the Patriots have won either the league’s regular season or postseason tournament championship.
Three Patriots earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NCAA Division II All-American honors in 2025: Carel Wessel (singles and doubles), Artiom Dorofeev (singles), and Daniil Felker (doubles). Wessel won the ITA South Central Region singles championship, and he teamed with Felker to win the ITA South Central Region doubles championship. Dorofeev was selected as the ITA Division II Rookie of the Year and the ITA South Central Region Rookie of the Year.
Bizot was selected as the ITA South Central Region Coach of the Year and was also voted the LSC Coach of the Year.
Before the 2025 season, the most successful season in NCAA program history happened just one year before, in 2023-24. The Patriots secured their third straight NCAA Round of 16 appearance and earned their first win at the final site over No. 9 seed Hawaii Pacific. The Patriots would bow out of the tournament in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Patriots finished 21-6 overall and 6-2 in LSC play.
In the 2022-2023 season, Bizot led UT Tyler to its second consecutive NCAA Round of 16 appearance and its second LSC regular-season title in the previous three seasons. The Patriots finished the year at 20-3 overall and 8-0 against LSC competition. The team won 18 matches in a row at one point and defeated eight opponents ranked by the ITA. Bizot also coached Joaquin Bianchi and Gonzalo Fernandez Gil to the ITA Cup as doubles qualifiers, marking the second consecutive year those two players have made the ITA Cup.
During his first stint as the UT Tyler head coach (2005-16), he led the Patriots to a 207-81 overall record and 70-0 mark in American Southwest Conference play and 12 straight ASC East Division championships, eight ASC Tournament championships, and nine NCAA regional tournament appearances.
Since returning to UT Tyler, he has led the Patriots to an overall record of 65-12 and a 22-2 mark in the Lone Star Conference. Before being hired as the head coach at UT Tyler, he served as the head coach at NCAA Division II (NAIA at the time) Palm Beach Atlantic University (2002-03 and 2003-04), leading the Sailfish to a record of 29-21 in those two seasons. His career record as a men’s tennis coach is 301-114 overall and 92-2 in conference play.
When combined with his career record as a women’s head coach (328-170 overall and 111-20 in conference play), Bizot has an all-time coaching mark of 629-284 overall and 203-22 in conference play.
He has accumulated several awards, including 18 ASC Division Coach of the Year, three LSC Coach of the Year, five ITA Region Coach of the Year, and the 2004 NCCAA Women's National Coach of the Year.
Bizot earned his bachelor's degree in Administration of Justice and his master's in history from Mississippi College. He also served as team captain for all four years of his Choctaw playing career.
