Dave Paschal
Dave Paschal became Embry-Riddle University's third head men's tennis coach and second head women's tennis in the history of the two storied programs on August 19, 2004.
In his two seasons with Embry-Riddle, Paschal has been named the Florida Sun Conference Coach of the Year twice on the men's side and once for the women as his teams have enjoyed a great deal of success. The men's team captured back-to-back FSC crowns, while the women won the conference title in 2005 and finished second in the league 2006. Both teams have won consecutive regional titles, earning back-to-back berths in the NAIA National Tournament in Mobile, Alabama.
In 2005, Paschal led the women to one of their best finishes since the program began seven years ago as they achieved a No. 5 ranking (the second highest in school history) and their first ever bye in the national tournament. They also advanced to the quarterfinals, but dropped short of their national title hopes, suffering a 5-1 loss to Azusa Pacific.
The Embry-Riddle men made it to the Final Four at nationals both years. In 2005, the Eagles came close to pulling off and upset but fell 5-4 to top-seeded Santa Fe (N.M.). A year later, they were eliminated in the semifinal match by second-ranked Aubrun-Montgomery who went on to win the national title.
Under Paschal's guidance, the Eagles have garnered FSC Men's Player of the Year honors twice and Player of the Year honors on the women's side once. 23 players have received either ITA or NAIA All-America recognition and each team has placed three student-athletes on their respective All-Conference rosters each of the last two seasons.
Paschal's coaching background includes stints as head men's tennis coach at NCAA Division I Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (1995-96) and as assistant men's and women's tennis coach at NCAA Division III power Washington College (Md.) (1994-95).
Paschal also served as head men’s tennis coach at Drake (Des Moines, Iowa) from 1996-2003 and held the women’s head coaching position from 1998-99. During his time with the Bulldogs, Paschal helped guide his squad to the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference championship four times (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001) and qualified for the ITA Region V team championships in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003. He coached 16 All-MVC honorees and his men’s squads garnered ITA National team rankings three times attaining their highest mark of 51st in the nation.
In addition to the team's on-court success, the 1993 Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville graduate also brings a coaching style and philosophy, which foster academic success. He coached 20 Academic All-MVC selections and two Academic All-Americans during his eight-year tenure at Drake and since his arrival at ERAU, 24 individuals have garnered ITA Scholar Athlete, NAIA Scholar Athlete, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America and FSC All-Academic honors. Both programs have received team recognition from the NAIA and the ITA, and the women and men had the highest GPA of any ERAU team in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Paschal and his wife, Liz have two sons - Noah (10) and Luke (4).
