St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Announces Maureen Diaz As Head Women's Tennis Coach
8/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Aug. 20, 2014
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John’s Director of Athletics Chris Monasch announced on Monday that former WTA tour professional Maureen Diaz has been named the 14th head women’s tennis coach in program history.
"We are very excited to welcome Maureen Diaz as our new head women's tennis coach," said Monasch. "She comes with an excellent background having played at the University of Southern California and on the pro tour. Since retiring from professional tennis, she has dedicated herself to coaching and instructing.”
“I am thrilled to join the St. John's women's tennis program as the head coach this fall," Diaz said. "After working with the program this past year, I look forward to continuing to build on the great work started by Taka Bertrand and know that our talented team is ready to work hard for another great season."
Diaz first became involved with the Red Storm program in 2013-14 as a part-time assistant coach, contributing to the team’s 11-9 season. The 4-0 mark in BIG EAST play was the team’s best conference record since the 2010 campaign.
Since May 2013, Diaz has worked full-time at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. working closely with the USTA Player Development Feeder Program which develops top-100 professionals.
Diaz has competed in pro singles and doubles tournaments in the U.S., Thailand, Canada, Philippines and Mexico, and won her first ITF pro event in the Philippines in 2006, reaching a career-high world ranking of 592.
Prior to joining the Tour, Diaz attended University of California, Irvine where she played first singles and led the Anteaters to the finals of the Big West Conference in 2000. Diaz transferred in 2001 to the University of Southern California where she played third singles and doubles, ending the season ranked No. 72 by the ITA in her first year with the Trojans. She also finished with the team’s best overall record in both dual and Pac-10 matches while capturing the ASU Invitational Main Draw Consolation Championship, advancing to the third round of the Rolex Regional, and the semifinals of the Pac-10 Indoor Championships. In 2002, she helped the Trojans achieve a No. 1 national ranking while being recognized individually as a Pac-10 Conference All-Academic selection and USC Marks Scholar-Athlete.
Diaz is a certified High Performance Coach, USPTA Elite professional and Cardio tennis instructor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Southern California.
