Danny Westerman begins his second season as head coach of the Denver men's tennis program. Westerman was named Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Coach of the Year after leading the Pioneers to a 13-7 record and school-best second place finish at tthe conference tournament last season. The Pioneers also achieved its highest ITA team ranking at No. 43. Westerman also helped Adam Holmstrom became DU's first All-American in NCAA Division I history.
Westerman arrived at DU after serving three years as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin. The Los Angeles native was a four-year letterwinner and Big Ten Medal of Honor winner during his illustrious career for the Badgers from 1998-2002. Westerman replaces Geoff Young as head coach of the Pioneers. Young guided DU to a 71-68 record over six seasons, including a program-best fourth-place finish at the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Westerman is one of the most successful men's tennis players in UW history, compiling a 92-53 record in singles play. The 92 career wins ranks fourth in Badger history, while his .634 winning percentage ranks eighth all-time. Westerman reached No. 16 in the individual rankings and registered a 63-47 doubles record in his four seasons. Westerman was Wisconsin's 2002 Big Ten Medal of Honor winner following his senior season with the Badgers. During the fall of 2001, he became the first UW player to win the ITA Midwest Regional championship. Westerman posted a 27-12 record in 2002 and finished the season ranked 29th in the nation. He also earned his first trip to the NCAA singles championship that year, becoming one of only 16 Badgers since 1950 to do so. Westerman was a three-time All-Big Ten pick, making him just the fifth Badger in school history to accomplish the feat. He earned three Academic All-Big Ten selections in his career and was the 2001-02 team co-captain.
Following his career at Wisconsin, Westerman went on to play professionally, earning a world ranking in both singles and doubles as well as a Top 100 ranking among United States professional players. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2004. Westerman helped guide Nolan Polley to the 2005 Big Ten Men's Tennis fall singles title and Jeremy Sonkin to three Big Player of the Week honors during the 2006 spring season.
Westerman graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from Wisconsin in 2002 and earned his MBA from the School of Business at UW in 2005. He and his wife Elizabeth wed in June of 2008.
