UTRGV Athletics hired Sonia Hahn, who spent 19 seasons as the women’s tennis co-head coach at the University of Tennessee, as the new women's tennis head coach on August 18, 2016.
Hahn enters her third season at UTRGV with a career head coaching record of 332-228 (.593). She has recorded six seasons of 20 or more wins throughout her career while finishing ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings in 18 of her 21 seasons.
Hahn guided UTRGV to its first-ever Western Athletic Conference Regular Season title in her third season at the helm. She helped UTRGV to a 14-9 record, which included a perfect 5-0 record in WAC play and a perfect 10-0 record at home.
She guided UTRGV to seven All-WAC honors, including junior Dominique Ibarra to First Team All-WAC honors in singles and freshman Lasya Patnaik to Second Team All-WAC honors in singles.
In her first season at UTRGV, Hahn guided sophomore Dominique Ibarra to First Team All-WAC Singles honors after she went 11-7 throughout the spring dual match season, which included a seven-match win streak while going 4-1 in conference play.
Hahn also guided Marine Darzyan and Ibarra to First Team All-WAC Doubles honors after they posted a 10-0 record as a team, including a 5-0 record in conference place.
She also guided freshman Anastasia Belyaeva to Second Team All-WAC Singles honors after she posted eight victories in the spring dual match season. Hahn also saw junior Dominique Esparza earn All-Tournament honors after her performance in the WAC Tournament.
Hahn led her team to 17-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1998 through 2014, including the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and the quarterfinals in 2001 and 2009. She earned Co-ITA National Coach of the Year honors in 2001 and Co-SEC Coach of the Year recognition in 2001 and 2009.
She also helped guide six doubles teams and five singles players to ITA All-American status.
In 2009, Hahn led Tennessee to the No. 10 ranking in the nation and an 18-7 record. She coached Caitlin Whoriskey to All-SEC First Team honors and Samantha Orlin and Natalie Pluskota to All-SEC Second Team honors.
In 2002, Hahn guided Tennessee to its only NCAA Tournament Semifinals appearance while finishing with the No. 12 ranking in the nation and a record of 21-10. Vilmarie Castellvi was an All-American in singles, as she reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships. Crystal Cleveland earned All-SEC First Team honors in singles.
In 2001, Hahn led Tennessee to a program record No. 6 national ranking while finishing 25-4. Tennessee reached the SEC Championship match for the first time in program history that year while Alison Ojeda earned All-American status and Kim Gates reached the NCAA Singles Championships.
Prior to her arrival at Tennessee, Hahn served as a coach at the International Tennis Academy. In 1996, she was a traveling coach as she participated in the High Performance Coaches workshop for the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
From 1994-96, Hahn worked as a tennis professional at the Knoxville Racquet Club, where she was in charge of providing tennis instruction to all club members. She also coached the USTA Zonal team and the USTA-Florida Challenge team in 1995 while also working at the USTA National 12s camp.
Hahn was a four-time single and two-time doubles All-American during a four-year playing career at Kentucky from 1986-89. She won the 1987 ITA National Indoors Singles Championship and was a member of the USTA National Team in 1987 and 1988. She earned All-SEC First Team honors during each of her first three seasons.
Hahn was a gold medalist at the 1987 Pan-Am Games and a bronze medal winner at the 1987 World University Games. She was ranked among the top 200 in the World Tennis Association rankings during the 1987-88 season and captured six USTA national titles.
Hahn graduated from Kentucky in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.
