Mike Patrick Position: Co-Head Coach Experience: 22nd season Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee State, '79

A respected leader in the coaching community, Mike Patrick has established a reputation for his ability to elevate collegiate tennis programs and players to the highest level of performance. For the 12th consecutive season, his efforts will continue to be bolstered by his wife and co-head coach, Sonia Hahn-Patrick. The union has proven to be very beneficial in all aspects of Tennessee women's tennis.

Last year, Patrick continued to add to his résumé, leading the Orange and White to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-consecutive campaign and a final ranking of No. 24 in the nation. He also earned his 18th winning season in 21 years at Tennessee, concluding the campaign with a 15-10 record.

On Jan. 26, Patrick reached the 400 career wins milestone as UT defeated Illinois, 6-1. By the end of the year, he had run his career record to 412-244 (.628) in 23 years of coaching. Already the winningest coach in Tennessee women's tennis history with a mark on 356-216 (.622), Patrick also put up a record of 47-12 (.797) in two years as the head coach at Kentucky, as well as a 9-16 (.360) record as the leader of the men's team at Arkansas in 1986-87.

During the fall portion of the 2007-08 season, Patrick helped guide the sophomore tandem of Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsófia Zubor to the doubles title at the prestigious ITA All-American Championships. The duo earned seven victories in six days, including four over opponents ranked among the top 10 nationally, to become the first team since 2004 to win the doubles title at the tournament after advancing through the qualifying round. Whoriskey and Zubor later earned a national ranking as high as No. 2 in the country.

In 2006-07, the Lady Vols scored a dozen victories over ranked squads en route to earning a 14-11 overall record and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UT's most dramatic triumph came in the Southeastern Conference quarterfinals against No. 23 South Carolina where senior Blakeley Griffith, with the score tied at 3-3, closed out the win with a three-set victory over Gira Schofield, allowing the Lady Vols to advance to the tournament's semifinal round for the second straight season.

Griffith later earned All-SEC First Team honors and was ranked 29th in the country in the season's final poll. Also found in those rankings was the UT doubles team of Whoriskey and Zubor, which paired up toward the end of the season to post an 8-4 record and claim the No. 29 spot on the doubles chart. Griffith's success carried off the court as well, where she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team.

In one of the more trying years of his career, Patrick continued his NCAA Tournament streak in 2005-06, leading a depleted squad to an appearance in Atlanta, Ga., where it dropped a heartbreaking, 4-2 decision to the University of Pennsylvania.

The Big Orange concluded the campaign ranked 32nd in the final Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, while the doubles team of senior Melissa Schaub and sophomore Ghizela Schutte ended the year with a national placing of 44th.

During the 2004-05 campaign, Patrick and Hahn-Patrick guided Tennessee to a 15-9 record, including two wins against top-10 foes, and finishing in the top 20 nationally for the 16th time in the past 17 campaigns. The Big Orange qualified for its 11th straight NCAA Championships and easily defeated Boston University, 4-0, in the opening round. With a trip to its ninth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance on the line, UT battled hard against host Harvard but fell, 4-1. Individuals flourished under the tutelage of the coaching tandem, as sophomore Victoria Jones picked up first-team All-SEC accolades, while sophomore Blakeley Griffith and junior Sabita Maharaj found homes on the second team. Additionally, Maharaj was awarded a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight year.

In 2003-04, Patrick and Hahn-Patrick led UT to its eighth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The Lady Vols entered the NCAA Tournament with a 13-13 mark, coming off a 4-3 loss to LSU in the SEC quarterfinals, but reached the Sweet 16 once again, this time with a pair of dramatic 4-3 victories in the first and second rounds. Both wins came down to the final singles match, as the Lady Vols topped Wisconsin and then North Carolina on the Tar Heels' home court. The second victory gave Patrick his 300th as a Lady Vol head coach. Maharaj claimed All-SEC honors, earning recognition on the first team. Maharaj and Tammy Encina also earned invitations to the NCAA singles championships.

The 2002-03 season was another successful venture for Tennessee, as Patrick and Hahn-Patrick led UT to a 22-7 record, its sixth 20-win campaign in seven years and seventh under Patrick's leadership. The Big Orange finished with a national ranking of 10th, its second top-10 finish in three seasons. The Lady Vols finished second in the SEC for only the third time in the program's history with a 9-2 mark and saw four of their players earn All-SEC accolades. One of the award winners, Vilmarie Castellvi, became the Orange and White's first-ever SEC Player of the Year. She later went on to earn All-America status for the second-straight season in singles and picked up the recognition in doubles for the first time. Schaub and Encina also earned All-America status, becoming Patrick's eighth and ninth honorees.

At the 2003 NCAA Singles Championship, UT boasted a record three individuals in the tourney with Castellvi, Encina and Crystal Cleveland. Castellvi went on to become the first Lady Vol to reach the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament and ended the year with a final ranking of No. 1. She also competed in the doubles tournament with Schaub. In June, Castellvi was given the prestigious Honda Sports Award for tennis, which honors the nation's most outstanding woman athlete. She is the only Lady Vol netter to win the prize. Additionally, she earned edSouth Lady Vol Athlete of the Year accolades for the second campaign in a row.

In 2002, Patrick assisted in leading Tennessee to its best showing in school history at the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols, who had previously never advanced past the NCAA Sweet 16, reached the Final Four before falling to SEC-rival Florida. The Big Orange posted a 21-10 record, marking Patrick's third straight season with 20-plus victories. The Lady Vols' final national ranking of No. 12 represented the 14th time in Patrick's 15-year tenure with the UT women's tennis program that his team garnered a top-25 year-end rating. He also coached Castellvi to her first All-America team as a singles player, as she became the seventh All-American under Patrick's tutelage. Patrick also captured his 300th-career victory as a head coach at the collegiate level with a 7-0 win over Illinois on Jan. 27, 2002.

The previous season, Patrick helped guide the Lady Vols to one of their most successful campaigns to date. In the process, he and his wife were named SEC, Regional and National Co-Coaches of the Year. The Lady Vols notched a 25-4 mark and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee opened the season ranked No. 17 but ascended as high as No. 2 before receiving the final ranking of sixth. Patrick also tutored Alison Ojeda to All-America singles recognition for the first time in her career.

In 2000, Patrick guided the Lady Vols to a 20-12 mark and their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament and another ITA Top-25 ranking as the team finished ranked 17th. The squad advanced to the round of 16, and Ojeda and Castellvi were invited to partake in the doubles version of the championship, while Ojeda also competed in the individual NCAA Championships. Patrick achieved his 200th win with Tennessee on Feb. 5, 2000, when the Lady Vols netted a 6-1 decision over Illinois.

Now in his 22nd season as mentor of the Lady Vols, Patrick has led 18 of his Tennessee teams to top-25 finishes and has made the Orange and White a fixture in the national spotlight. He guided the Lady Vols to their first top-10 ranking in 1992 before the team finished 11th in the nation at the conclusion of the season. In 1996, the Lady Vols snared a second top-10 ranking when they appeared at ninth in the preseason. UT finished as the nation's 15th-ranked team. In 1999, he picked up Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors for the second time after guiding a youthful Lady Vol squad to an impressive 18-8 mark, including a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The 1999 edition of Patrick's teams finished 14th in the final national poll.

The winningest coach in Lady Vol tennis history, Patrick revived the program from an SEC cellar dweller into a national contender. He inherited a Lady Vol team which finished eighth in the conference and has transformed it into a perennial force in the SEC. His first Tennessee squad finished the season ranked 22nd in the country. Since then, the Lady Vols have enjoyed 18 trips to the NCAA Championships, eight berths in the ITA National Indoors and seven 20-win campaigns.

Patrick was named by his peers as the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the first time in 1992 after leading Tennessee to its first 20 win season since 1983. The 1992 squad also celebrated its first win in the main draw of a national team event with a 5 3 upset over then No. 7 Arizona at the ITA National Indoors. UT later followed that with a win over 10th ranked Miami in the consolation round.

In 1993, Patrick earned his 100th win at Tennessee when the Lady Vols defeated Kentucky in their final regular season dual match. His record stands at 356-216 (.622 pct.) after 21 years of guiding the Orange and White. He has a 403-228 (.639 pct.) overall record in 23 years as a women's head coach and a 412-244 (.628 pct.) mark over 24 years as an intercollegiate tennis coach, which includes one season at Arkansas as the men's coach.

Patrick began his coaching career at the University of Kentucky in 1984. He earned his reputation as a coach with the "Midas Touch" at UK. His first Lady Kat team held the school record for most wins in a season with 25 until the 2005 Kentucky squad went 26-6.

Kentucky enjoyed two 20 win seasons during Patrick's two-and-a-half year stint in Lexington. The Lady Kats were ranked as high as sixth in the country under Patrick, and his 1985 86 team finished second in the SEC, a feat that earned him SEC Coach of the Year honors.

He left Kentucky to become the head men's tennis coach at the University of Arkansas. In what he calls one of his greatest accomplishments as a head coach, Patrick guided a Razorback team plagued by turmoil to a 9 16 record and a fifth-place finish in the Southwest Conference.

Patrick's duties and success extend far beyond the UT campus. He is highly active in coaching on the national and international scenes as well as with the area's top junior talent. He has also served on various ITA committees.

Some of his previous tours of duty have included coaching U.S. Soisbaut Cup teams and serving as a coach for the USTA National Team. In 1987, he served as head coach of the U.S. tennis team at the World University Games and coached the U.S. World Youth Cup and Continental Cup teams. He was also the coach of the U.S. Junior Federation Cup team in 1986 and 1987 and the U.S. National Team from 1988-92.

Patrick regularly holds tennis clinics for area juniors and hosted a tennis camp for some of the Southeast Region's best juniors for nine consecutive summers. Additionally, Patrick served as an associate director at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla., from 1979-84. While there, he helped write the book, Tennis Your Way. He has also been the touring coach for numerous professional players.

Patrick played collegiate tennis at Middle Tennessee State and was on two Ohio Valley Conference championship teams. He graduated from MTSU in 1979 with a B.A. in international relations and attended the Cecil C. Humphries School of Law at Memphis State.