Temple University Athletics
Mauro Named 2023 Philadelphia Area District Tennis Coach of the Year
3.5.24 | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
PHILADELPHIA – Head coach Steve Mauro earned the Philadelphia Area District Tennis 2023 Coach of the Year award for his astounding accomplishments throughout the 2023 spring and fall seasons with both men's and women's tennis teams. Mauro has been a winning coach for 19 years, upholding a men's tennis overall record of 231-168-0 and a women's tennis overall record of 190-118-0.
"I'm honored to receive the award as there are many great coaches and tennis programs in our area," said Mauro. "To be a part of this is very special to me."
On the men's side, Mauro and assistant coach, Bruce Meyers, led the team to a 19-5 record to finish the 2023 spring season. Mauro achieved 200 wins this season.The Owls won every match at home, coming up with a victory in 15 consecutive matches, which was the longest winning streak in the NCAA. After achieving a trip to the American Athletic Conference Championship at the USTA Tennis Center in Orlando, Fla. as the eighth seed, Mauro coached Temple through a competitive match against No. 1 Memphis. Two doubles duos, Leo Raquin/Thibault Frumholz and Louis Gorregues/Hussein El Tawil won the team point for the Owls, placing Temple at a lead against the top seed. From the second seed and second to finish in singles action, Raquin earned the sole Cherry and White singles point. Although the competition resulted in a 4-2 Memphis victory, the Owls proved to be fierce opponents, keeping the scores close.
Temple's success landed the team a No. 7 ITA seat in the Atlantic region, as deemed by the ITA Regional rankings. Doubles partners Raquin and Frumholz ended the 2022-23 season with a No. 9 ITA Atlantic Region ranking with a 20-6 overall record, including 18-3 in dual play, and reaching a ranking as high as No. 81 in the ITA. The tandem's 18 wins tied for second most in single-season school history, included a 12-0 mark out of the first position, 4-2 out of the second, and 3-1 in the third. Frumholz received high accolades for his academic prowess, as he was named 2023 CSC First Team Academic All-American, 2022-23 PhillySIDA Academic All-Area, and AAC Sport Scholar-Athlete.
In singles action, Raquin had a record-breaking season in singles as he finished with a No. 8 ranking, going 27-5 overall, including 22-2 in dual play. The 22 dual singles wins became the highest win total of any Owl in school history for a single season, and his .916 winning percentage ranks fifth all-time for a single season.
Marin Delmas ended the 2023 season No. 13 in the Atlantic as he went 19-9 overall in singles, including 17-6 out of the first position in dual play, tying him for the sixth most wins in a single season. The trio of nationally ranked Owls spent at least three years in the nest, which reflects Mauro's dedication to his players' development and success.
With three returning players and eight new roster additions, Mauro and Meyers involved the men's tennis team in three invitationals at the University of Pennsylvania and Navy. Senior transfer, Dante Russo and four-year Owl Gregoire Barety earned participation in the Pre-Qualifying Singles Draw of 256 in the ITA-All American Championships in which they represented Temple during a strong performance. The following week, the Cherry and White ventured to Liberty University to compete in ITA Regionals, where several Owls found success. Temple's competitive fall schedule, created by Mauro, led the young team to achieve four impressive wins thus far in the 2024 spring season.
Temple women's tennis saw historical success throughout the 2023 spring season. Mauro and assistant coach, Frederika Girsang, led the Owls to achieve an overall record of 17-5, which led to their qualifying for the American Athletic Conference and NCAA Championships.
The AAC Championships resulted in a split performance for Temple as the Cherry and White defeated No. 9 Tulane in the first round, 4-2, and came up short to No.1 Southern Methodist University. Against the Green Wave, the Owls won in singles action, earning points from Thamara Frasser Kawaratani, Sena Takebe, Veronika Kulhava, and Maiko Uchijima.
No. 8 Uchijima and Jamie Wei represented Temple in the NCAA Championships, as the tandem faced off against No. 2 Michigan. Although the Owls fell, the duo played a competitive match in the Round of 32.
Following a stellar spring performance, graduate student, Wei and first year student, Uchijima reigned as No. 8 in ITA women's tennis doubles rankings after 29 wins, which led the team to 16 doubles points. Throughout the season, the duo was ranked No. 5 and No. 12.
Along with this remarkable ranking, the tandem was named to the AAC All-Conference Team. Uchijima earned AAC Freshman of the Year. The Toyama, Japan native went 18-1 in singles matches and 14-3 in doubles play during the dual match season and was 25-2 in singles and 28-4 in the combined fall and spring season.
Wei was 9-4 on the season in singles play, entering the lineup primarily at the No. 2 position. The graduate student upheld an eight-game win-streak in singles and won nine of her last 10 matches. Her doubles record, including tournament play, sits at 28-3, with Uchijima being her main doubles partner. The Chaiyi, Taiwan native was also named 2022-23 PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Performer of the Year.
Six returning Owls and four new additions to the nest saw a robust 2023 fall schedule, as composed by Mauro and Girsang. Temple found success throughout its four invitationals, ITA Regionals, and ITA Super Regionals, which led to the tandem of Maiko Uchijima and Samantha Nanere earning an invitation to the ITA National Fall Championships.
The duo's stellar fall run led to their national doubles ranking of No. 20, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on November 15. After pairing for the first time at ITA Super-Regionals, the duo scored a 6-2, 6-2 win against a pair from Cornell in the round of 16, won a 6-3, 4-6, 10-2 quarterfinal match against opponents from Brown and scored a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-6 semifinal victory against Yale. Nanere and Uchijima fell to Brown's top pair in the final, but were selected to compete in the doubles draw of the ITA National Fall Championships.
Uchijima and Nanere kept the ball rolling at the event with a stellar climb to the Round of Eight. Their run on the West Coast included a 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 victory against a pair from the University of Southern California in the Round of 32 and a 6-1, 6-4 win against a tandem from the University of Maryland in the Round of 16, which ultimately led to the duo's advancement to quarterfinals where they fell to Pepperdine. This marked the second straight appearance for Uchijima, who made the quarterfinal round in 2022.
Mauro's fall triumph has carried into the spring season as women's tennis has achieved five straight wins. Uchijima and Nanere have earned doubles rankings of No. 31 and No. 19 thus far this spring.
"I'm extremely happy for Coach Mauro to be receiving this award," said Girsang. "He is very deserving of this award. He has achieved great things over the past ten years and I am happy that he is finally being recognized."
