Pablo Montana - Women's Tennis Coach - University of Delaware Athletics

Photo by: Nick Barbato

Pablo Montana

Title:
Head Coach & Director of Tennis
Email:
montanap@udel.edu

Pablo Montana enters his tenth year with the Delaware tennis programs. As Director of Tennis, he oversees the development and overall success of both teams while also serving as the head coach of the women’s squad.

Over his illustrious coaching career in collegiate tennis, Montana has accumulated over 450 team wins, with 177 Blue Hen wins. He collects a career record of 453-168 with fourteen seasons spent with the women's program of California University of Pennsylvania, seven with Delaware men's tennis, and five with Delaware women's tennis.

WOMEN'S ACCOLADES:
2024-25 held a lot of momentum for the squad with a productive fall. Graduate transfer Greta Schieroni joined forces with junior Navya Vadlamudi to make the doubles semifinals at the ITA Division I Women's Northeast Regional Championship. The two also competed in the singles draws alongside Maryia Hrynashka and Paulina Jurkowska. Due to their outstanding performance at the regional competition, Schieroni & Vadlamudi were selected as the CAA representatives for doubles in the 2024 ITA Conference Masters Championships.

Delaware was no stranger to the ITA rankings as freshman Cornelia Kack entered spring play ranked #112 in the singles category. The following week, Hrynashka entered the rankings for a five-cycle stretch, peaking at #61 on Feb. 21. Both athletes made program history as the highest individually ranked players in decades.

The team saw an overall record of 18-8 with 4-0 in conference play during their final season in the CAA. Hrynashka saw impressive defeats against #27 Sabine Rutlaka from Penn (6-3, 5-2, wr) and #28 Ozlem Uslu from Virginia Tech (6-4, 6-1). In the post-season, the Hens defeated Campbell in the quarterfinals before falling to William & Mary in the semifinals. Four Blue Hens were appointed to the All-CAA rosters and Hrynashka & Schieroni earned recognition on the CSC Academic All-District roster.

The 2023-24 year saw 20 wins for the Blue Hens squad with 5-0 in conference play. The team took down #70 VCU in a clean sweep for the program’s highest ranked win right before entering post-season play. During the CAA Championships, Delaware took down Hampton and Drexel to make the program’s debut in the championship round where they fell to William & Mary. Five Delaware athletes earned spots on the All-CAA rosters.

Senior, Eliza Askarova pulled out impressive singles wins against #20 Alina Michalitsch from #1 Barry (6-0, 6-0), #25 FIU (6-4, 6-0), and #70 VCU (6-4, 6-3). In doubles, she teamed up with transfer, Alex Staiculescu to produce record of 19-3 from the number one spot. In the fall, the pair made it to the semifinals of the ITA Atlantic Regional, where Askarova had taken the title the year prior. Additionally, for the first time in Delaware history four Blue Hens were invited to the ITA Atlantic Regional singles main draw.

2022-23 was a pinnacle season for the Hens. Their 21 wins marked the most in program history. Of their 25 matches, Delaware was a perfect 25-0 in securing the doubles point. Individually, he guided Adel-Byanu Abidullina and Askarova for the first-ever ITA Atlantic Regional title in program history. The pair would become the first-ever Blue Hens, men's or women's, to be ranked nationally. The duo peaked at third in the country.

Abidullina and Askarova would go out to compete at the Fall ITA National Doubles Championship and the NCAA Tournament. The pairing would set the program record for doubles win in a season by a pair, while Askarova set the single-season mark for doubles wins by an individual. The pair is the only Blue Hens to compete in the NCAA Tournament in program history.

In 2021-22 Delaware set the program record with 19 dual-match victories on the season, putting together three different winning streaks with four wins or more. The Blue Hens had 14 matches where their opponents registered just one point or fewer, including eight clean sweeps. A large part of that success was the team's dominance up and down the lineup in singles play as the squad held at least a .667 winning percentage at five of the six singles positions. There was no letup in doubles play, however, as the Blue Hens won 76 percent (51-6) of their matches in dual matches.

Following a five-match winning streak in February that included a road victory at Rutgers, UD entered the ITA rankings for the first time since 2013 and remained in the top 75 for a couple of weeks.

The Blue & Gold ended the regular season with four-consecutive wins, including decisive conference victories over Drexel (6-1) and Towson (7-0). The 18-5 record in the regular season, including a 3-2 mark against conference opponents, helped UD earn the No. 3 seed at the 2022 CAA Championships, tying with the 2018 squad for the highest seeding in program history. The Blue Hens defeated No. 6 Drexel 4-1 in the quarterfinals to earn the team’s second-ever appearance in the CAA Semifinals, and the first since 2013. UD lost a heartbreaker, 4-3, to No. 2 William & Mary in the semifinals in a match that came down to the deciding third set of the final singles match.

The Blue & Gold set or tied seven team and individual program records and several Blue Hens also put their names in the record books with several top performances.

Alina Vasilenko was named the CAA Co-Freshman of the Year, becoming just the second Blue Hen to earn the honor, while also earning All-CAA First Team laurels in singles and doubles. Eliza Askarova was tabbed All-CAA Second Team in singles with a 15-8 record at the No. 1 position. As a team, the Blue Hens finished ranked eighth in the Atlantic Region.

During the 2020-21 season, he served as the interim head coach of the women's tennis program, leading it to a perfect 7-0 record, the first undefeated season since 1997, and a 2-0 conference mark leading to five Colonial Athletic Association honors for the Blue Hens.

MEN'S ACCOLADES:
Montana led the Blue Hens to a 16-9 record in 2022-23 and another trip to the CAA quarterfinals. The Blue & Gold posted its fifth 10+ win season with Montana at the helm and second most wins in his seven seasons.

Delaware finished the season with a 15-9 overall record in 2021-22 but was sitting at just 5-8 in mid-March without having strung two wins together. However, starting with a 6-1 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on March 20 and then gaining serious momentum with three-straight wins over the team's Spring Break trip to South Carolina, the Blue Hens rattled off nine-consecutive wins to close out the regular season. They went 5-0 at the Delaware Tennis Courts on campus during the streak and won all three matches over CAA opponents.

Behind their nine-match winning streak and perfect 4-0 overall record in conference play, the Blue Hens earned the No. 3 seed at the 2022 CAA Championship, the highest seeding in program history. UD would cruise to a 4-1 victory over No. 6 Drexel in the quarterfinals to extend the winning streak to 10 and advance to the semifinals for the first time. Against No. 2 UNCW, the Blue & Gold won the doubles point but the Seahawks came back to claim the first four singles matches to claim the 4-1 victory.

A huge part of the team’s success was the singles play as five different Blue Hens registered at least 10 singles victories in the squad's 24 dual matches. Additionally, in doubles, the Blue & Gold registered records of at least .500 at all three positions in dual matches and a .590 winning percentage overall on the season.

Delaware was off to another amazing season in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic cut things short. The Hens were amidst a school-record 14-match winning streak when the season was halted and finished the year with a 14-1 record (.933), the highest winning percentage for UD since 1974-75. The Blue Hens also captured won their first CAA match since 2013 and wrapped the season with three CAA wins for the first time since 2011.

The success continued into Montana's third season as freshman Luis Molina captured the program's first-ever major award by winning 2019 CAA Rookie of the Year accolades. As a team, the Blue Hens registered 14 wins and saw six players with double-figure singles wins.

The following year, Delaware posted its biggest turnaround in program history and reached its most wins in 44 seasons by finishing the campaign with a 17-8 record, a win-total good for second all-time. For his efforts, Montana was named the USTA Delaware District College Coach of the Year.

In his first season at UD (2016-17), the Hens posted their most wins (nine) since the 2010-11 campaign. Delaware also had a program-record five student-athletes recognized as ITA Scholar Athletes while the squad earned All-Academic Team honors.

BEFORE DELAWARE:
Montana joined the Blue Hens after spending the previous 14 seasons as the women’s tennis head coach at California University of Pennsylvania, where he built one of the nation’s elite Division II programs.

A two-time ITA National Coach of the Year, five-time ITA Regional Coach of the Year, and eight-time PSAC West Coach of the Year, Montana was the winningest coach in program history with an outstanding record of 276-83 (.769) from 2002-2016. Cal U posted 12 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals seven times in eight seasons from 2007-14.

Montana led the Vulcans to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship in each of his last 10 seasons and mentored eight different ITA All-Americans in his last nine years.

In addition to the success on the court, Montana guided his squad into a premier program in the classroom. In each of his last 10 years, the Vulcans earned ITA All-Academic honors with 39 players receiving ITA Scholar-Athlete status. Cal U also featured a CoSIDA Academic All-District® selection four times in his last five years, highlighted by Franziska Steinhardt becoming the first Academic All-American in program history.

A three-time All-American at Tennessee from 1993-96, Montana was also a three-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, earning first-team honors in both singles and doubles play in 1996. Montana and doubles partner Chris Mahony earned the No. 1 ITA national doubles ranking after claiming the prestigious Rolex Intercollegiate National Indoor Championship title. The pair ranks second in Volunteers’ history with 75 career doubles wins.

He played on the professional tour for two seasons and ranked as high as 368 on the ATP tour world doubles rankings.

Montana entered the collegiate coaching ranks as the assistant men's coach at Vanderbilt University, where he also guided the women's program to the final eight of the World Team Tennis Championships that were held at Stanford University.

He was an integral part of the recruiting process that brought national-caliber players to Nashville which led the Commodores to the finals of the 2003 NCAA Division I Championship Tournament. He then went on to serve as the assistant men's tennis coach with Vanderbilt University for three years, helping build that program into a national powerhouse.

Montana gained valuable experience under head coach Ken Flach, who won 36 ATP doubles titles, achieved the No. 1 world ranking in doubles, and won a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics.

A native of Miami, Montana completed his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Regents (N.Y.) in 1998 before he earned his master’s degree from Cal U in 2004. He is also certified with the Professional Tennis Registry.

Montana and his wife, Karen, have two children, Alexis and Silas.

Montana's Year-by-Year Men's Head Coaching Record
Year	School	Record	Conference	Postseason
2016-17	Delaware	9-18	0-3 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
2017-18	Delaware	17-8	0-3 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
2018-19	Delaware	14-14	0-3 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
2019-20	Delaware	14-1	3-0 CAA	Season Cut Short - COVID-19 Pandemic
2020-21	Delaware	7-3	2-0 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
2021-22	Delaware	15-9	4-0 CAA	CAA Semifinals
2022-23	Delaware	16-9	3-4 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
At Delaware	Seven Seasons	92-62	12-13
TOTAL	same	same	same

Montana's Year-by-Year Women's Head Coaching Record
Year	School	Record	Conference	Postseason
2002-03	California (Pa.)	12-6	4-4 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Quarterfinals NCAA Tournament First Round
2003-04	California (Pa.)	18-8	3-5 PSAC West
2004-05	California (Pa.)	17-8	5-3 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Semifinals NCAA Tournament First Round
2005-06	California (Pa.)	17-9	6-3 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Finals NCAA Tournament First Round
2006-07	California (Pa.)	28-2	10-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2007-08	California (Pa.)	26-3	10-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Fourth Round
2008-09	California (Pa.)	23-3	7-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2009-10	California (Pa.)	24-6	7-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2010-11	California (Pa.)	22-8	6-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2011-12	California (Pa.)	24-6	8-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2012-13	California (Pa.)	17-10	5-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2013-14	California (Pa.)	15-3	6-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2014-15	California (Pa.)	15-4	6-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Third Round
2015-16	California (Pa.)	18-4	6-0 PSAC West	PSAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Third Round
2020-21	Delaware	7-1	2-0 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
2021-22	Delaware	19-6	3-2 CAA	CAA Semifinals
2022-23	Delaware	21-4	7-1 CAA	CAA Quarterfinals
2023-24	Delaware	20-7	5-0 CAA	CAA Championships
2024-25	Delaware	18-8	4-0 CAA	CAA Semifinals
At Delaware	Five Seasons	85-26	21-3
TOTAL	19 Seasons	361-106	110-18