HEAD COACH MIHA LISAC

Miha Lisac enters his 10th season as the head coach of the West Virginia University tennis program. The 2009 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Coach of the Year, Lisac previously spent six seasons as head coach at Georgia State, where he built one of the top Division I programs in the nation.

Lisac is a former student-athlete at Georgia State and served as the men’s assistant coach for two years. In 2007, Lisac was named head coach of the women’s tennis team at his alma mater. While at Georgia State, Lisac led the women’s tennis program to one conference title, back-to-back CAA Championship final appearances and two other berths in the CAA Championship semifinals

His overall record as a head coach stands at 118-162. The highlight of his tenure came in 2009 when he guided Georgia State to the first NCAA Championship appearance in school history and was named CAA Coach of the Year.

At West Virginia

In his ninth season at West Virginia, Lisac coached the first doubles team (Camilla Bossi and Ting-Pei Chang) in school history to be ranked in the ITA doubles ranking, climbing as high as No. 42. Also, during the fall slate, sophomore Momoko Nagato and junior Penny Hsieh advanced to the quarterfinals at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) Atlantic Super Regionals. The duo’s appearance in the quarterfinals marks WVU’s first time since Kat Lyman and AnneSophie Courteau in 2019.

Additionally, Momoko Nagato and Anastasiia Bovolskaia earned spots on the Acadmeic All-Big Big 12 first team.

Lisac’s eighth season at WVU provided him with some unprecedented challenge which were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. West Virginia’s fall tournament schedule was shortened as the Mountaineers competed in one event of the inaugural Intercollegiate Tennis Association Fall Circuit. In the event, newcomer Momoko Nagato earned a trio of wins to claim a second-place finish and catapult WVU into the spring season.

Beginning the season a month later than usual, WVU rattled off three consecutive victories to open its dual season, including a sweep over Cleveland State to open the 2021 campaign. The Mountaineers faced five ranked opponents to open Big 12 play, before injuries and roster limitations forced the team to end its season on April 7. West Virginia concluded the season with a 3-6 mark.

In his seventh season with the Mountaineers, Lisac led the team to a 7-3 mark and the first winning season since 2010, when WVU finished the year with a record of 17-7. West Virginia began the season with a pair of sweeps before rattling off five more wins to begin the season 7-0. It marked the best start to a season since 1986, when WVU began the year 12-0. Following a rocky start to Big 12 Conference play, Lisac and the Mountaineers saw their season cut short in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lisac and the Mountaineers finished the 2019 season with a record of 10-12, the best mark WVU had achieved since 2010 (17-7). WVU competed against six ranked opponents in 2019, including four in the top 25 nationally, and swept four opponents. West Virginia’s four sweeps were the most since 2008, when WVU finished the season with eight.

Led by two 30-win seasons from Anne-Sophie Courteau and Anastasiia Bovolskaia, six Mountaineers finished with 15 or more wins, five finished with 20 or more wins and three finished with 25 or more wins.

Seven Mountaineers were named to Academic All-Big 12 teams in 2019, including five student-athletes who were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, the most in the Big 12 conference. Abigail Rosiello capped the season by being named to the CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District and All-America Teams, West Virginia’s second selection in as many years.

West Virginia wrapped up the 2018 season with a 7-14 overall record while competing against at least eight teams ranked in the top 50 of the ITA/Oracle team rankings for the second consecutive year. The highlight of the campaign came with a 4-1 win over Iowa State, WVU’s first Big 12 conference win in program history. The win solidified the program’s growth under Lisac’s watch and marked another milestone in his goal to become consistent Big 12 contenders.

In addition to leading WVU past in-state rival Marshall for the second straight year, West Virginia also saw four Mountaineers post at least 20 wins in singles and doubles play during the year. Paula Goetz capped the season by being named to the CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District and All-America Teams, the Mountaineers’ first selection in program history.

WVU concluded the 2017 campaign with a 4-16 overall record, facing eight opponents that were ranked in the top 50. Lisac led the Mountaineers to a win over Marshall, ending the Thundering Herd’s four-match winning streak in the series.

The season also saw two Mountaineers, Christina Jordan and Habiba Shaker, head to the ITA All-American Championships for the first time under Lisac. In the spring, Shaker led the team in singles play with a record of 8-5 at the No. 1 position, while Paula Goetz paced the Mountaineers in doubles with a 9-7 record.

West Virginia capped its 2016 season with a 6-15 overall record, competing against seven opponents ranked in the nation’s top 50 throughout the spring season. Lisac guided the Mountaineers to a No. 75 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national ranking for what was believed to be the first time in program history. In that same week, West Virginia edged Cornell in a 4-3 battle for the first time since 1995 to tie the all-time series record at two apiece on Feb. 27, 2016.

West Virginia concluded its 2015 campaign with a 9-13 overall record. The Mountaineers recorded nine straight wins for the first time since 2010 and earned the program’s 450th win at Toledo on Jan. 31.

In the spring season, WVU competed against nine ranked opponents, with its last five competitors ranked in the nation’s Top 40. Hailey Barrett earned her first victory over a ranked opponent in 2015, defeating Baylor’s then-ranked No. 82 Rachael Jakes-Baker in straight sets.

Carolina Lewis was the first player since 2003 to tally 20 singles wins in a season, ending her freshman campaign with a 24-6 singles record. Habiba Shaker also held a team-best mark in doubles play (125) as she teamed up with Lyn Yuen Choo, Yvon Martinez, Barrett and Lewis throughout the spring season.

In his first season at West Virginia, Lisac led the freshmen tandem of Kaja Mrgole and Oana Manole to a No. 9 ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in the Atlantic Region entering the spring season. The WVU duo finished the fall season at 5-8 and battled their way to the quarterfinals at the USTA/ITA Regional in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Vivian Tsui tallied three straight wins at the USTA/ITA Regionals and made it further in the main singles draw bracket than any other Mountaineer, after surviving the qualifying bracket.

In the spring season, freshmen Oana Manole and Kaja Mrgole led the team with a combined 24 wins in singles and doubles. Mrgole posted a team-high 13 wins in the spring.

At Georgia State

Lisac’s final season with Georgia State was a benchmark year for the program, as Abigail Tere-Apisah became the school’s first-ever tennis All-American, after advancing to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship. Tere-Apisah also took home CAA Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Performer honors. Whitney Byrd and Maryna Kozachenko became just the second pair in Lisac’s tenure to earn All-CAA First Team Doubles honors. The team advanced to its second straight CAA finals and earned its highest ITA Ranking in school history (No. 38 on Feb. 25, 2012). The team finished the season ranked in the ITA National Team Rankings for a third consecutive year, after defeating three nationally ranked opponents.

In 2010-11, the Panthers achieved a No. 55 ranking to finish the season, earning a spot at the national indoor tournament in the spring. The tournament took the top 64 teams in the nation. GSU enjoyed an outstanding season, advancing to the CAA Championship final and earning a 15-4 overall record, including an 8-2 mark on the road.

In Lisac’s third season as coach, the team reached the semifinal round of the CAA Tournament for the third straight year, while also producing two All-CAA athletes in Diana Nakic (first team singles, second team doubles) and Linda Hricistova (second team doubles). Nakic was named CAA Co-Player of the Year, after recording a perfect 17-0 season (in singles and dual match play). She was selected for the NCAA Singles Championship.

In 2009, Lisac presided over one of the most successful women’s tennis campaigns in Georgia State history, as the Panthers captured their first conference title to reach the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. GSU posted an 11-5 record and finished the year with a national ranking of No. 47. For his efforts, Lisac was honored as CAA Coach of the Year.

In his coaching debut, Lisac led the Panthers to an 11-9 dualmatch record and a berth in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament during the 2008 season. Three Panthers earned All-CAA honors; Dariana Kozmina, Martina Nitkova and Katerina Gresova.

Academic Excellence

Since Lisac came to Morgantown in 2013, West Virginia has been a standard of excellence in the classroom. During his tenure, 65 student-athletes have earned Academic All-Big 12 honors, including 34 who have been selected to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. WVU also has been named an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) every year of Lisac’s career, while 23 studentathletes have earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.

In 2019, the Mountaineers placed five student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, the most in the conference. Of those five selections, Caputo and Abigail Rosiello earned a perfect, 4.0 grade point average (GPA). Rosiello also was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, after Paula Goetz received the same honor a year earlier. Additionally, Rosiello was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Women's At-Large Second Team by CoSIDA ad received the Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship from the Big 12.

The academic successes continued under Lisac and the Mountaineers in the 2017-18 season. Three Mountaineers, Goetz, Yvon Martinez and Rosiello, were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, marking the fifth straight year that at least three members of the team have earned first-team honors. In addition to the three first-team recipients, Lyn Yuen Choo earned Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. Along with WVU’s Big 12 Honors, the Mountaineers were named an ITA AllAcademic Team for a fifth straight year. Five student-athletes were given ITA Scholar-Athlete Recognition – Martinez, Goetz, Kirsten White, Giovanna Caputo and Anne-Sophie Courteau.

At the end of the 2016-17 campaign, four Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 teams. Three netters earned firstteam honors, Paula Goetz, Kaja Mrgole and Habiba Shaker, while Lyn Yuen Choo earned a spot on the second-team. Additionally, the Mountaineers were named an ITA All-Academic Team for the fourth consecutive season. Six student-athletes earned ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition, Goetz, Yvon Martinez, Mrgole, Abigail Rosiello, Shaker and Makenzie Stolar.

Following the 2015-16 season, six Mountaineers earned All-Big 12 Academic honors. Hailey Barrett, Kaja Mrgole, Lyn Yuen Choo, Carolina Lewis and Habiba Shaker were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, while Yvon Martinez landed on the second team. WVU also was named an ITA All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year and Barrett was tabbed as an ITA Scholar-Athlete.

In 2014, Lisac’s team posted the highest GPA among all WVU teams with a 3.54 GPA, while four players received Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors: Irinka Toidze, Vivian Tsui, Chahal and Barrett. The Mountaineers also were named to the ITA All-Academic Team, with three individuals earning ITA Scholar-Athlete awards: Oana Manole, Chahal and Toidze.

At GSU, Lisac’s team posted the highest GPA among all GSU teams on several occasions, recording its highest GPA of 3.72 in the fall of 2007, AS multiple Panthers were named to the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award list. Mateja Podgorsek also was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team in 2008, while Martina Nitkova was honored as the 2009 CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s tennis.

As an Assistant

From 2005-07, Lisac worked under Nick Brochu, former coach of the GSU men’s tennis squad, before transitioning to the men’s coaching position. In 2007, Lisac helped guide the men’s tennis team to its first league title as a member of the CAA and an NCAA berth.

That year, Martin Steigwardt became the first Panther in history to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship. The 2007 squad set the school record for dual match victories with a 19-5 mark and ended the season ranked No. 36 in the country.

Personal

Lisac was born and raised in Velenje in the European nation of Slovenia, where he was ranked among the country’s top-10 juniors. A 2005 graduate of Georgia State, Lisac lettered four years for the Panthers and was a two-time All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection and a four-time conference academic honoree