Sonia Hahn-Patrick
Sonia Hahn-Patrick is in her 14th campaign as the first-ever co-head tennis coach for the Lady Volunteers. A four-year tennis standout at the University of Kentucky from 1985-89, Hahn-Patrick joined her husband, Mike, in 1997 after coaching at several different tennis venues. In her 12 years at Rocky Top, Hahn-Patrick has ascended to the upper echelon of the collegiate tennis coaching ranks.
In 2009-10, Hahn-Patrick continued to add to her impressive résumé, leading the Orange and White on its deepest postseason run in eight years. UT finished with a 19-9 record and advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships before falling to No. 5 Notre Dame. Tennessee finished the season ranked 13th in the Campbell's/ITA poll and had four players named to the All-SEC team. Additionally, Hahn-Patrick helped push the doubles team of Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota all the way to the individual doubles finals of the NCAA Championships. For this, she and Coach Patrick were named the ITA Ohio Valley Region Co-Head Coaches of the Year.
In 2008, UT posted another solid season, finishing with an 18-7 record after advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 15th consecutive campaign and earning a year-end ranking of No. 10 in the country. Hahn-Patrick would be named the SEC Co-Head Coach of the Year after leading the team to these stellar results.
As a result of Hahn-Patrick's tutelage, three players landed spots on All-SEC teams. Whoriskey earned All-SEC First Team honors, while Samantha Orlin and Pluskota were selected to the second team. Pluskota also made the All-SEC Freshman squad.
In the summer following the 2007-08 campaign, Hahn-Patrick was selected to serve as the head coach of the Team USA 14-and-under girls squad at the inaugural Junior International Tennis Invitational in Sandy Springs, Ga., where she led her team to a perfect 5-0 record.
In 2007-08, Hahn-Patrick oversaw a squad that finished with a 15-10 record after advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th consecutive campaign and earning a year-end ranking of No. 24 in the country.
Hahn-Patrick helped guide UT to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before it bowed out against third-ranked Georgia Tech in Atlanta. In conference play, the Big Orange racked up a 6-5 mark to place fourth in the ultra-competitive SEC Eastern Division.
During the fall portion of the schedule, Hahn-Patrick helped guide the sophomore tandem of Whoriskey and Zubor to the doubles title at the prestigious ITA All-American Championships. The duo earned seven victories in six days, including four over opponents ranked among the top 10 nationally, to become the first team since 2004 to win the doubles title at the tournament after advancing through the qualifying round. Whoriskey and Zubor later earned a national ranking as high as No. 2 in the country.
In 2006-07, the Lady Vols scored a dozen victories over ranked squads en route to earning a 14-11 overall record and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UT's most dramatic triumph came in the SEC quarterfinals against No. 23 South Carolina, where senior Blakeley Griffith, with the score tied at 3-3, closed out the win with a three-set victory over Gira Schofield, allowing the Lady Vols to advance to the tournament's semifinal round for the second straight season.
Griffith later earned All-Southeastern Conference First Team honors and was ranked 29th in the country in the season's final poll. Also found in those rankings was the UT doubles team of Whoriskey and Zubor, which paired up toward the end of the season to post an 8-4 record and claim the No. 29 spot on the doubles chart. Griffith's success carried off the court as well, where she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team.
In a season full of adversity, Hahn-Patrick helped the Lady Vols continue their streak of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005-06. The squad reached the post-season for the 13th consecutive campaign, where it came out on the short end of a hard-fought, 4-2 decision to the University of Pennsylvania.
The Big Orange concluded the campaign ranked 32nd in the final Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, while the doubles team of senior Melissa Schaub and sophomore Ghizela Schutte ended the year with a national placing of 44th.
During the 2004-05 season, Patrick and Hahn-Patrick guided Tennessee to a 15-9 record, including two wins against top-10 foes, and a spot in the top-20 ranking for the 16th time in the past 17 campaigns. The Big Orange appeared in its 11th straight NCAA Championships and easily dispatched Boston University, 4-0, in the first round. UT fell in its goal of reaching its ninth consecutive Sweet 16 as Harvard defeated the Lady Vols in the second round, 4-1.
Individuals continued to thrive under the tutelage of the tandem, as sophomore Victoria Jones picked up first-team All-SEC accolades and sophomore Blakeley Griffith and junior Sabita Maharaj earned second team honors. Maharaj received a bid to the NCAA singles championships for the second successive year.
In 2003-04, Tennessee reached its eighth consecutive Sweet 16. The Lady Vols entered the NCAA Tournament with a 13-13 mark, coming off a 4-3 loss to LSU in the SEC quarterfinals, but reached the Sweet 16 once again, this time with a pair of dramatic 4-3 victories in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Both wins came down to the final singles match, as the Lady Vols topped Wisconsin and then North Carolina on UNC's home court. Sabita Maharaj won All-SEC honors, earning recognition on the first team. Maharaj and Tammy Encina also earned invitations to the NCAA Singles Championship.
The 2002-03 campaign was another banner season, as Tennessee went 22-7, its fifth 20-win campaign during Hahn-Patrick's tenure. The Big Orange ended with a ranking of 10th, its second top-10 finish in three seasons. Hahn-Patrick also helped propel UT to its seventh-straight NCAA Sweet 16 and ninth overall. The Lady Vols finished second in the SEC for only the third time in the program's history with a 9-2 mark and saw four of their players earn All-SEC accolades. One of the award winners, Vilmarie Castellvi, became the Orange and White's first SEC Player of the Year. She later went on to earn All-America status for the second-straight season in singles and picked up the recognition in doubles for the first time. Schaub and Encina also earned All-America status, becoming Hahn-Patrick's fifth and sixth honorees.
In the 2003 NCAA Singles Championship, UT boasted a record three individuals in the tourney with Castellvi, Encina and Crystal Cleveland taking part. Hahn-Patrick was at Castellvi's side during all six of her NCAA Tournament matches en route to becoming the first Lady Vol to reach the semifinal and final rounds. Castellvi also competed in the doubles tourney with Schaub. In June, Castellvi was given the prestigious Honda Sports Award for tennis, which honors the nation's most outstanding woman athlete. She is the only Lady Vol netter to win the prize. Additionally, she earned Lady Vol Athlete of the Year honors for the second time in a row. In 2002, Hahn-Patrick helped lead the Lady Vols to their best performance in school history at the NCAA Tournament with an appearance in the Final Four. Previously, Tennessee had never advanced past the Sweet 16. Hahn-Patrick's 21-10 mark was her third-straight season with 20 or more wins. With an opening round 4-0 shutout of Arkansas at the SEC Tournament on April 18, 2002, Hahn-Patrick grabbed her 100th career victory. She also helped guide Castellvi to her first All-America certificate in singles.
In a break-out year for the Lady Vol tennis program, 2001 saw the team receive a final ranking of No. 6, the highest in school history. Hahn-Patrick and her husband brought home SEC, Regional and National Co-Coaches of the Year honors while guiding their team to a 25-4 record. The squad advanced to the SEC Championship match for the first time and once again reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament. The Hahn-Patrick combo also helped guide Alison Ojeda to All-America status in singles for the first time in her career as well as lead Kim Gates to her first individual appearance at the NCAA Tournament.
In 2000, Hahn-Patrick helped direct the Lady Vols to a 20-12 mark and their fourth straight NCAA Tournament. The squad advanced to the Round of 16 and Ojeda and Castellvi were invited to participate in the doubles version of the championship. Ojeda also competed in the individual championships.
In 1999, she helped mold a young group of Lady Vols, which included four freshmen, to an 18-8 record and Tennessee's second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under her guidance. In her first season, she helped lead the Lady Vols to a 20-11 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Championships.
Prior to 1998, Hahn-Patrick served as coach at the International Tennis Academy in Delray, Fla. Her primary duties included serving as the training and travel coach at the Academy.
In 1996, Hahn-Patrick participated in the High Performance Coaches workshop for the United States Tennis Association and traveled to Europe in the summer of that year with elite junior players as a traveling coach for USTA player development.
From 1994-96, Hahn-Patrick worked as a tennis professional at the Knoxville Racquet Club. There, she was in charge of providing tennis instruction to all club members with an emphasis on competitive junior players. In addition, she assisted in the organization and planning of tournaments and club social events.
From 1990-94, Hahn-Patrick worked as a tennis professional in Knoxville as well as serving as a traveling coach for nationally-ranked players. In 1989, she was named the assistant tennis professional at Fox Den Country Club. Hahn-Patrick was in charge of developing lesson plans, organizing league play and teaching tennis in private and group settings.
Her other coaching experience includes piloting the USTA Zonal team and the USTA-Florida Challenge team, both in 1995. She also worked at the National 12s camp for USTA in 1995. During her collegiate playing career, Hahn-Patrick was a four-time ITA All-American in singles and achieved All-America honors in both singles and doubles during her final two seasons at Kentucky. She also won the 1987 ITA National Indoors singles title, was named SEC Player of the Year in 1988 and was honored as UK's Female Athlete of the Year in 1987. She was a two-time member of the USTA National Team in 1987 and 1988 and was selected as a member of the All-SEC First Team from 1986-88.
In her freshman year at UK, Hahn-Patrick was the runner-up at No. 2 singles in the SEC Tournament. In 1987, she was the SEC Tournament champion at No. 1 singles. She was 148-45 in her collegiate career, with her best season coming in 1986-87, as she posted a 55-9 record. A gold medalist at the 1987 Pan-Am Games, Hahn-Patrick was also a bronze medal winner at the 1987 World University Games. She was ranked among the Top 200 in the WTA rankings during the 1987-88 season and captured six USTA national titles.
Hahn-Patrick, a native of Carrollton, Ga., earned her bachelor's degree in communications in the summer of 1989 from the University of Kentucky.