Coastal Carolina University men's tennis head coach Chris Powers enters his 12th overall season at Coastal Carolina and his ninth as the head coach of the Chanticleers. Entering the 2012-13 campaign, Powers is the second longest tenured coach in the Big South behind Mike Anderson of Radford.
This season will also mark Powers' third year as a member of the ITA Carolina Regional Coaches Committee.
Behind Powers the Chanticleers finished the 2012 season in tie for second place with a 14-6 record and have now finished in the top half of the Big South for six straight years. In fact, the second place finish was CCU's highest under Powers and the best Chanticleer finish since 1996. The Chants also secured a berth in the Big South semifinal before dropping a 4-3 decision to Presbyterian. Under Powers' direction last season, Matias Di Pasquale and Yusuke Kusuda received Big South All-Conference Singles honors. Additionally, Danny Heidecker was named to the Big South All-Academic team.
Powers guided the 2010 Chanticleers to a 14-8 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the Big South en route to a third place finish in the conference standings. Powers led the Chants to their second straight appearance in the Big South Tournament semifinals and helped land Matt Gordon on the All-Big South Team. Three Chants were named the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Men's Tennis Player of the Week under the direction of Powers, while Plamen Tzvetkov was selected to the Big South All-Academic Team. Powers reached a milestone of his own and earned his 75th career victory in the Chants' 6-1 win over UNC Asheville on Feb. 28, 2010. He later set the school record for the most wins as head coach.
The 2009 season was arguably one of the best under Powers. The Chanticleers battled their way to a 16-6 overall record and a 4-2 league mark, finishing in third place. Coastal had a great 10-0 start to the season, beating Georgia Southern, 4-3, Gardner-Webb, 6-1 and Campbell, 4-3. Another first happened under Powers as the doubles team of German Perez and Ernesto Ramos were ranked #68 nationally. In the Big South tournament, the Chanticleers posted a 5-0 win in the first round over UNC Asheville, but fell in a heartbreaker to No. 2 Winthrop 4-3. Powers was coach to All-Big South Conference selections Ernesto Ramos and German Perez in both singles and doubles and Dmitry Vlaskin, who earned All-Big South Academic selection.
The 2008 season had a bittersweet ending as the team ended with a 10-12 record overall, but finished 3-3 in the Big South. After receiving the fourth seed at the 2008 Big South Tennis Championship, Coastal Carolina captured its first Big South Championship victory since 1998 with a 4-0 sweep of Liberty in the quarterfinal.
In 2007, Powers guided Coastal Carolina to its first back-to-back winning seasons since the Chanticleers posted three straight during 1994-96. Coastal Carolina concluded the season with a 14-11 overall record and were 3-4 in the Big South Conference. Out of the Chanticleers' 14 wins, 12 were produced during separate six-match winning streaks.
Powers led Coastal Carolina to its first overall and Big South winning seasons in 2006, breaking a drought that stemmed back to the 1996 season. The Chanticleers closed out the season going 11-5 and completed the year with an overall record of 15-8 and 4-3 in conference matches. In singles play, six Chants had winning percentages of .500 or better. As a team, Coastal Carolina was 77-57 in singles action, posting a .575 winning percentage, while playing to a 37-25 for a .597 winning percentage in doubles action.
In Powers' first season, Coastal Carolina improved its overall record by winning seven more matches than the previous year posting an 8-16 overall record.
Under the guidance of Powers and the Coastal Carolina academic staff, the men's tennis team has excelled in the classroom. As a team, Coastal Carolina has been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team twelve consecutive seasons, an honor bestowed upon any team that posts a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher during the academic year. Individually, 17 players have been selected as ITA Scholar-Athletes, which require's a 3.5 GPA or higher. After taking reins of the program in 2005, Powers mentored Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipients Brian Dowis (2005) and Richard Redding (2007), who were also named to the First Team Academic All-District as presented by CoSIDA. Redding went on to became the first ever ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American in Coastal Carolina men's tennis history.
Before he was named head coach in 2004, Powers served as the assistant coach for both men's and women's programs at Coastal Carolina for four years, helping the 2001 women's squad to the Big South championship and a NCAA Tournament appearance.
Powers arrived at Coastal Carolina after spending two seasons at Virginia Tech as the assistant women's tennis coach. He helped the Hokies to back-to-back Atlantic-10 Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Virginia Tech earned a No. 28 national ranking during the 1999 season, the highest-ever ranking in the program. Powers guided Tech's top doubles team to a final four appearance in the 1998 National Clay Court Championships. Powers also coached three nationally-ranked singles players during his tenure at Virginia Tech.
Powers also served as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Alabama assisting in all aspects of the Crimson Tide, while working toward a master's degree in history.
A native of Moneta, Va., Powers played at Ferrum College where he completed his four-year career with 46 career victories. As a senior in 1997, he received the President's Cup, the top athletic award at Ferrum, and was voted by his class to give the senior commencement address. Powers was also an Academic All-American, registering a 3.4 GPA.
Powers, who played in the Grand Strand Pro League in fall 2007-08, also teaches American history at Coastal Carolina.
Q&A with Coach Powers...
What qualities do you look for in a prospective student-athlete?
I am looking for a true team player who wants to succeed on and off the court. I am very proud of the progress of the program and the direction we are headed. We have taken a step forward every year and now I believe we are a legitimate contender in the league. During that process, I have looked for players who are hard working and understand the full responsibilities of being a student-athlete. I am very proud that we consistently earn the ITA All-American award, but I'm even happier that we've accomplished that goal while constantly improving our results on the tennis court.
Describe your coaching philosophies?
I ask my players to do two things - work hard and appreciate the blessing of college tennis and college life. Four years goes by quicker than one could ever imagine and my hope is that there are no regrets when it is over. I enjoy the partnerships I have on the court with my players, especially in match situations. I think my strength as a coach is assisting players with the mental game and overall match strategy, but I also enjoy the day-to-day preparation that goes into the season.
What does Coastal Carolina tennis have to offer a potential student-athlete?
Without a doubt, Coastal Carolina offers the full college experience which includes tennis, academics and a great social scene. The people are friendly, the weather is great and the beach is in our backyard. I'm very proud of the things my players have gone on to accomplish after they graduate and I know Coastal Carolina played a significant role in their success.
Stats
News
Schedule
Roster
