Gina Suarez-Malaguti, an All-American and the 2013 ACC Player of the Year, has been named an assistant coach with the Virginia women’s tennis program, head coach Sara O’Leary announced on Thursday (June 29).
Suarez-Malaguti joins the Cavalier coaching staff after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach at NC State where she helped the Wolfpack sign back-to-back top 25 recruiting classes in 2015 and 2016.
“I could not be more excited to welcome Gina to the UVA tennis staff,” O’Leary said. “I had the opportunity to coach her at the University of North Carolina as well as watch her develop into an incredible coach herself. She is extremely passionate about coaching and her work ethic, leadership and positivity will have a great impact on our team culture.”
“I would like to thank NC State and Simon Earnshaw for the opportunity to represent the Wolfpack the past three seasons,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “I gained great experience and am so appreciative of the relationships I built there.
“I could not be more grateful for this new opportunity to coach at UVA. Sara has been my mentor for many years. She is one of the reasons why I became a coach and is someone I have always looked up to. To have the opportunity to work along her side is a dream come true. I would also like to thank Andres Pedroso. His vision for the tennis program is so invigorating and it’s something that I am very excited to be a part of. I’m humbled to be able to join the UVA family and I can’t wait to get started.”
In the last three seasons at NC State, Suarez-Malaguti helped build the program as the Wolfpack completed the best season in school history in 2017. Last year, NC State reached the highest ranking in school history at No. 16 in the Oracle/ITA Team Rankings and a final ranking of No. 26. Suarez-Malaguti also helped the Wolfpack advance a doubles team into the Round of 16 at the NCAA championships.
Prior to joining the staff at NC State, Suarez-Malaguti spent the 2014 season as an assistant coach at Maryland. That season, she helped the Terrapins break back into the national rankings for the first time in two years.
A four-year letterwinner at North Carolina from 2010-13 while O’Leary was an assistant coach, Suarez-Malaguti earned All-America honors as a senior and she was named the 2013 ACC Player of the Year. She was also named the ITA Regional Player of the Year that season, as she maintained a top 10 national-ranking in singles the entire year and reached a season-best ranking of No. 4. Suarez-Malaguti played the top spot in the singles lineup in 2013 and helped the Tar Heels advance to the Elite Eight at the NCAA championships and capture the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Suarez-Malaguti played a part in North Carolina’s ACC regular season championship in 2010 and runner-up finish in the ACC championships. During her sophomore season, the Tar Heels captured the ACC Championship and reached the national semifinals at the NCAA championships.
Suarez-Malaguti will begin her coaching duties with the Cavaliers on Monday, July 3.
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Chris Graham
