Mike Patrick

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. This season, his efforts will continue to be bolstered by his wife, Sonia Hahn-Patrick, who returns for her fourth season as co-head coach. The union has proven to be very beneficial in all aspects of Tennessee women's tennis.

Last season, 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 Alison Ojeda and Vilmarie 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 on February 5, 2000 when the Lady Vols netted a 6-1 decision over Illinois.

Now in his 14th season as mentor of the Lady Vols, Patrick has led 12 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-ever top 10 ranking in 1991-92 before the team finished 11th in the nation at the conclusion of the season. In 1995-96, 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 1998-99, 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 in Gainesville, Fla. The 1998-99 edition of Patrick's team finished 14th in the final national poll.

The winningest coach in Tennessee history, Patrick revived the Lady Vol program from a Southeastern Conference cellar dweller into a national contender. He inherited a Lady Vol team that 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 nine trips to the NCAA Championships and five berths in the ITA National Indoors and four 20-wins 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 1991-92 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 decision over 10th-ranked Miami (Fla.) 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 217-138 after 13 years of guiding the Orange and White. He has a 273-166 overall record in 15 years as a head 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 still holds the school record for most wins in a single season with 25.

Kentucky enjoyed two 20-win seasons during Patrick's two-and-a-half year stint at UK. 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 which 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 finished fifth 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 to 1992.

Patrick regularly holds tennis clinics for area juniors and hosted a tennis camp for some of the Southeast Region's best juniors for seven consecutive summers. Additionally, Patrick served as an associate director at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla., from 1979 to 1984. 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. He is married to Sonia Hahn-Patrick, a former Kentucky tennis player who was a four-time All-American and is now the first-ever co-head coach in Lady Vol history.

PATRICK'S OVERALL RECORD

At Tennessee (women)
217-138 (.611)
Year		Record	Pct.	Conference	National
1999-2000	20-12	.625	5th SEC		17th ITA
1998-1999	18-8	.692	7th SEC		14th ITA
1997-1998	20-11	.645	6th SEC		15th ITA
1996-1997	20-10	.667	4th SEC		13th ITA
1995-1996	16-13	.552	4th SEC		15th ITA
1994-1995	16-8	.667	3rd SEC		12th ITA
1993-1994	6-16	.273	9th SEC		39th ITA
1992-1993	13-14	.481	6th SEC		15th ITA
1991-1992	20-9	.690	3rd SEC		11th ITA
1990-1991	17-14	.548	5th SEC		14th ITA
1989-1990	19-8	.704	4th SEC		12th ITA
1988-1989	15-7	.682	3rd SEC		17th ITA
1987-1988	17-8	.680	5th SEC		22nd ITA


At Arkansas (men)
9-16 (.360)
Year	Record	Pct.	Conference	ITA
1986-87	9-16	.360	5th SWC		N/A


At Kentucky (women)
47-12 (.797)
Year	Record	Pct.	Conference	ITA
1985-86	22-6	.786	2nd SEC		24th
1984-85	25-6	.806	3rd SEC		12th


Totals	16 years	273-166 (.622)