June 11, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF Director of Athletics and Executive Vice President Keith R. Tribble announced on Monday that Stephanie Nickitas has been named the Knights' new women's tennis head coach. Nickitas spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Duke.
Nickitas was a standout player at Florida from 1996-99, earning All-America recognition six times for the Gators. Prior to her stint at Duke, Nickitas spent three years as an assistant at Harvard.
"We are excited to have Stephanie Nickitas join our coaching family at UCF," said Tribble. "Her transition to becoming a Division I head coach should be seamless with her impeccable background as a top collegiate player and assistant coach."
With Nickitas on the staff, Duke advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2007. A year ago, the Blue Devils finished the season ranked ninth nationally and went 20-8 overall and 9-1 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
In her three campaigns at Harvard, Nickitas helped the Crimson claim three Ivy League championships. Harvard made two appearances in the NCAA Final 16 and went undefeated in Ivy League play during Nickitas' tenure.
Following the 2005 season, Nickitas was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the UCF program," said Nickitas. "I want to thank Keith Tribble and Jessica Reo for the opportunity. I am very excited about their vision for UCF athletics and I am looking forward to taking the women's tennis program to the next level."
At Florida, Nickitas was the 1996 and 1997 NCAA Doubles champion. She won 128 singles matches during her career and earned All-Southeastern Conference First Team honors all four years. Nickitas won four collegiate Grand Slam titles.
A member of the Gators' 1996 and 1998 national championship squads, Nickitas ranks second in program history in doubles winning percentage (128-15, 89.5 percent).
Nickitas is a native of Tampa and earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from Florida in 1999. She received GTE Academic All-America honors in 1998 and was awarded with the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship following her senior campaign.
Nickitas replaces Patricia Allison, who resigned as UCF's head coach in May after eight seasons.
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