University of Delaware Athletics
Harper, Perrone Join Tennis Staff as Assistant Coaches
1/20/2023 2:41:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
NEWARK, Del. – Lucy Harper and Nate Perrone have joined the Delaware tennis staff, Director of Tennis Pablo Montana announced Friday. Harper will work as the assistant coach for the women's program, while Perrone will be the assistant coach for the men's program.
"I am super excited for Lucy to join our staff as she brings a lot to the table," Montana said. "Lucy has gained valuable experience the last couple of years as an assistant coach with the University of Charleston, where she helped guide her team to a conference championship and a top-25 national ranking. She is very well respected in the tennis community and I know that she will be a great role model for our student-athletes."
"I have known Nate for the past five years and he has always been a great competitor and more importantly, a great person," Montana said. "He brings a lot of playing experience as he was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year last year. He has a good understanding of the game of tennis and will be a great addition to our staff."
Harper arrives in Newark after two years as an assistant coach at the University of Charleston (WV).
"Firstly, I would like to thank Pablo and the hiring committee for giving me the opportunity to work with such an impressive group of student-athletes at the University of Delaware," Harper said. "I am looking forward to building on the success that this team has had in previous years and this past fall. I can't wait to be a part of the Blue Hen family!"
In her first year coaching the Golden Eagles, Harper helped guide the program to a MEC conference tournament championship and a regular season co-championship. The Charleston women's tennis team was also ranked #21 in the nation. They remained in the top #25 for 6 weeks straight, finishing the season 19-9.
During the season, the team headed into the NCAA Division II regional tournament as the #1 seed after defeating WVSU in the conference tournament final.
Harper played collegiate tennis at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a member of the Horizon League. Harper was a steady presence in the singles lineup throughout all four years. During her senior year with the Panthers, she helped the team tie a school record for the most wins in a season (14). She was also named to the Horizon League honor roll all four years and was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Harper is currently pursuing her master's degree in strategic leadership from the University of Charleston.
Perrone joins the Delaware staff after a stint as an assistant coach at Drexel, a role he was named to in September of 2022.
"I would like to thank Director of Tennis, Pablo Montana and everyone else involved at the University of Delaware for giving me this opportunity," Perrone said. "It is an honor for me to coach alongside Pablo and to now be apart of this great University. I have played against Delaware throughout my college tennis career in some very tough matches. I am thrilled to now be on this side as a Blue Hen. This is a very talented group of student-athletes, with unlimited potential to accomplish great things this upcoming year. I look forward to helping them reach their goals both on and off the court."
Perrone comes to the men's program after completing his bachelor's degree at Saint Joseph's University in 2021. Perrone was one of the most decorated men's tennis players in program history.
He broke the Hawks' single-season wins record with 27 in 2022 and was named the Atlantic 10's Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Perrone earned the Class of 1950 Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 2021 and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Conference First Team for three-consecutive years.
Perrone also works as a high-performance tennis coach at the Moorestown Field Club, where he works with top nationally-ranked juniors.
"I am super excited for Lucy to join our staff as she brings a lot to the table," Montana said. "Lucy has gained valuable experience the last couple of years as an assistant coach with the University of Charleston, where she helped guide her team to a conference championship and a top-25 national ranking. She is very well respected in the tennis community and I know that she will be a great role model for our student-athletes."
"I have known Nate for the past five years and he has always been a great competitor and more importantly, a great person," Montana said. "He brings a lot of playing experience as he was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year last year. He has a good understanding of the game of tennis and will be a great addition to our staff."
Harper arrives in Newark after two years as an assistant coach at the University of Charleston (WV).
"Firstly, I would like to thank Pablo and the hiring committee for giving me the opportunity to work with such an impressive group of student-athletes at the University of Delaware," Harper said. "I am looking forward to building on the success that this team has had in previous years and this past fall. I can't wait to be a part of the Blue Hen family!"
In her first year coaching the Golden Eagles, Harper helped guide the program to a MEC conference tournament championship and a regular season co-championship. The Charleston women's tennis team was also ranked #21 in the nation. They remained in the top #25 for 6 weeks straight, finishing the season 19-9.
During the season, the team headed into the NCAA Division II regional tournament as the #1 seed after defeating WVSU in the conference tournament final.
Harper played collegiate tennis at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a member of the Horizon League. Harper was a steady presence in the singles lineup throughout all four years. During her senior year with the Panthers, she helped the team tie a school record for the most wins in a season (14). She was also named to the Horizon League honor roll all four years and was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Harper is currently pursuing her master's degree in strategic leadership from the University of Charleston.
Perrone joins the Delaware staff after a stint as an assistant coach at Drexel, a role he was named to in September of 2022.
"I would like to thank Director of Tennis, Pablo Montana and everyone else involved at the University of Delaware for giving me this opportunity," Perrone said. "It is an honor for me to coach alongside Pablo and to now be apart of this great University. I have played against Delaware throughout my college tennis career in some very tough matches. I am thrilled to now be on this side as a Blue Hen. This is a very talented group of student-athletes, with unlimited potential to accomplish great things this upcoming year. I look forward to helping them reach their goals both on and off the court."
Perrone comes to the men's program after completing his bachelor's degree at Saint Joseph's University in 2021. Perrone was one of the most decorated men's tennis players in program history.
He broke the Hawks' single-season wins record with 27 in 2022 and was named the Atlantic 10's Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Perrone earned the Class of 1950 Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 2021 and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Conference First Team for three-consecutive years.
Perrone also works as a high-performance tennis coach at the Moorestown Field Club, where he works with top nationally-ranked juniors.
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