ITA Coaches Podcast - Erin Ness, Washington and Lee Women's Tennis

In this episode, several leading media members within college tennis sit down with ITA CEO David Mullins to discuss this past college tennis season. Listen as they discuss some of the biggest surprises, breakout stars, and more on this season recap episode. 

Raleigh’s experience has fueled his mission at the University of Idaho: to make college tennis indispensable. Raleigh and Dave discuss the steps that he is taking to make sure his program is vital to his athletics department. He also gives advice that all coaches should consider implementing as soon as possible. College tennis is at a critical juncture. Coaches are encouraged to look at all aspects of their program and consider what are truly priorities at this moment. Raleigh’s call to action urges every coach to proactively invest in their program's longevity, turning a crisis into an opportunity for growth and popularity.

In this podcast, Dave & Steve discuss how he implements what he learns through his PhD, to his team, how he develops a culture of continuous improvement in his athletes, and the ways he stays innovative in managing his program. Steve also gives some great advice on how coaches can wrap up their season and the school year.

Dave & Chris discuss coaching transitions, from volunteer to full-time assistant, and across schools. Chris shares his perspective on the importance of staying in one place, working for good people and learning the ins and outs of the profession. They also discuss recruiting and the impact of NIL on tennis, the ways in which he continually learns how to improve as a coach, and new ideas he impleneted with his team.

Welcome to the ITA Student-Athlete Podcast with your host Abi Wild, a former women’s tennis player at Hawaii Pacific University. This podcast was created by college tennis players for college tennis players to share the stories and experiences of our unique sport with the world.

Paul Settles enters his 21st season as the Head Men’s Coach at Claremont Mudd Scripps. He has led the program to the  NCAA DIII National Championship finals, six times in the last 10 seasons, and earned CMS its first NCAA Championship in any sport, in 2015. Paul has served on numerous committees throughout his career and is currently the co-chair of the ITA’s Division III Operating Committee, and sits on the ITA’s Board of Directors. Additionally, Paul serves as a Professor of Leadership studies, oversees a not for profit foundation with his wife, and is an actively competitive tennis player. In this podcast, Dave and Paul discuss his transition from working as the Head of Players Services on the ATP Tour, to becoming a college tennis coach, despite having no previous coaching experience. Paul reflects on some of his biggest mistakes as a new coach, and how he’s evolved throughout his career. They also talk about how being a professor of Leadership Studies at CMS and continuing to compete in tournaments, helps him as a coach.

With over 25 years of experience working within or with collegiate tennis programs, Scott has worked with the USTA for the past eight years in the collegiate and facility departments. With a passion for college tennis and the facilities in which tennis is played, Scott is the go to person when it comes to finding opportunities to upgrade tennis facilities and what opportunities are available to collegiate programs to help offset some of the costs associated with facility upgrades. Listen to the podcast above to hear more from Scott and the opportunities available to college programs from the USTA.

In this podcast, Erin and Dave discuss what she and her staff do to achieve a 120-0 record in conference play, early lessons learned when going from student-athlete to head coach, the impact of additional duties on her role as head coach and what Dave needs to consider about DIII tennis, in his new role as CEO.

In today’s episode, Abi sits down with recently graduated Northwestern and Maryland women's tennis player, Hannah McColgan. As an influential player on two Big Ten teams, McColgan has turned her passion for the sport of college tennis into a career, becoming the assistant coach at UMass after graduation. Stepping in and immediately making an impact, McColgan earned ITA New England Region Assistant Coach of the Year honor in just her first season as an assistant. Her efforts helped lead UMass to a 15-8 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. While you listen, Abi and Hannah will discuss many different aspects of being a college tennis player, including, the experiences she gained as a player at both Northwestern and Maryland, the transition from being a player to a coach, and what she has learned from her first year of college coaching.

Rod Ray is in his 25th year as the head men’s tennis coach at Wofford College, where he also served as the head women’s coach from 2000-2008. In 2024, he published his book “Hard Comes First”, which condenses 24 years of college coaching into essential lessons for fellow coaches. In this podcast, rod and dave discuss the ideas and concepts from rod’s book, including how he gets his athletes to embrace discomfort, his philosophy on coaches having an unwavering belief in others, and how he motivates athletes to pursue greatness. He also shares why he thinks difficulty is so good for people, how coaches can get out of their own comfort zones and much more.