Dan Silverstein named as Tech's men's and women's tennis coach
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Dan Silverstein, who
has guided ranked or championship caliber tennis programs at South
Alabama, West Virginia, Southeastern Louisiana and UNC Asheville,
has been named men's and women's tennis coach at Tennessee Tech
University.
TTU Director of Athletics Mark Wilson announced the addition of
Silverstein to the Tech staff, where he will serve as head coach of
both the men's and women's teams "Dan Silverstein has an
outstanding resume with a trail of success at every level he has
coached," Wilson said. "His teams have not only competed for and
won championships, but his student-athletes have earned numerous
academic honors, as well. It's a good indication of his abilities
to not only coach his teams on the court, but also keep them
focused on success in the classroom and earn their degrees.
"That makes him a perfect fit for Tennessee Tech," Wilson said.
Silverstein, 39, is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a four-year
letterman at Slippery Rock University where he earned his degree in
1994 in Sports Management.
"I've worked for outstanding Athletics Directors at West Virginia
and South Alabama, and I feel that coming to Tennessee Tech and
working with Mark Wilson will continue that trend," Silverstein
said.
"I look forward to continuing the team's success in the OVC, and
I'm ready to go to work," he said.
He began his head coaching career at UNC Asheville in 1997, and
directed both the men's and women's teams for two years. Both teams
posted 14-win seasons in his second year, with both reached the
semifinals of the Big South Conference tournament, the men for the
first time in school history. Both of his UNCA squads were tabbed
ITA all-academic teams and 10 players earned conference academic
honors.
In 1999, he took the post as head men's and women's tennis coach at
Southeastern Louisiana, and in 2000 he was named the Women's Tennis
Coach of the Year in Louisiana. In 2001, both teams advanced to the
Southland Conference semi-finals for the first time in school
history. Once again, 10 of his players were named to the
conference's all-academic first-team.
Silverstein moved to the University of West Virginia in 2001, where
he spent five seasons as women's tennis head coach. In four of
those years, his teams earned ITA all-academic honors, and three
times his squad topped all other West Virginia teams with a 3.6
team GPA. His 2005 team won a school-record 16 matches, including a
10-0 mark at home, and earned a program-best fifth place finish in
the Big East championships.
In January 2007 he went to South Alabama to serve as interim coach
for the nationally ranked men's team and led them to their 17th Sun
Belt title.
During his six-month stint at South Alabama, Silverstein had the
team ranked as high as 16th nationally before finishing 27th in the
final ITA poll. The Jaguars were 22-5, winning the Sun Belt
Conference championship while advancing to the second round of the
NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 7 Mississippi.
His team downed No. 37 Minnesota in its NCAA Tournament first round
match. During the regular season, USA went 10-5 against nationally
ranked opponents, defeating No. 29 Louisville on the road, No. 54
Mississippi State, No, 62 BYU, No. 36 Old Dominion, No. 29 Texas
Tech, No. 75 Indiana, No. 50 Arizona State, No. 34 Middle Tennessee
and No. 60 Northwestern.
All five of the losses during the year were to teams ranked No. 33
or higher. One of USA's wins was a 7-0 victory over Tennessee Tech
in Mobile.
After meeting with the returning players, Silverstein is optimistic
about the coming year for both Golden Eagle teams.
"On the men's side, these returnees will automatically compete for
another OVC championship," Silverstein said. "On the women's side,
with the talent we have in place and the addition of a solid
incoming class of recruits in January, I believe we'll be able to
compete for an OVC championship this year and into the future."
Silverstein said he likes the players on both roster.
"I've got a great group of kids on both teams, and I couldn't be
any happier than to be their coach," he said.
The new head coach has taken little time to settle into his new
position, which began this week.
"I'm excited to be a part of Cookeville and the Tennessee Tech
community," he said.
He attended Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh where he was a
three-sport standout, competing in tennis, football and cross
country. He was a four-year letterman at Slippery Rock, playing No.
1 doubles and No. 2 through No. 4 singles, and helped lead the team
to the Division II NCAA tournament three out of four years. His
team was also ranked in the Top 25 all four years.
Upon graduation, he worked as an assistant coach at Slippery Rock
and spent time traveling to play Satellite Tournaments. He is
currently working toward a master's degree in Administration, which
he will continue at Tech.
