Drexel University Athletics
Men's Tennis
- Title:
- Head Tennis Coach
Entering her sixth season at the head of the Drexel tennis program, Tricia Udicious has been the central figure in the Dragons’ tennis resurgence in University City. Bringing the competitive spirit nurtured during her playing days at Rutgers, Udicious has proven that she has the ability to recruit and develop talented players and building winning programs.
Prior to her arrival at Drexel, Udicious coached at the Trenton State (now the College of New Jersey) for eight years. She was named New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the year in 1994 and ITA East Region Coach of the year in 2000. From 1993-2001 she compiled a 124-46 overall record at Trenton State. Her men’s teams went 70-26 and she went 54-20 on the women’s side.
Now into her sixth season as a Dragon after being charged with returning the team to its levels of past glory, Udicious has already guided her teams to impressive new heights of success. In the past two seasons both the men’s and women’s teams have set or matched their single-season records for victories.
Last year the women finished with an impressive 14-3 mark led by All-CAA Third Team selection Zineb Hilali at first singles. The Dragons advanced with a first-round win over Hofstra in the CAA Tournament before falling to Virginia Commonwealth. Three Udicious recruited transfers, Hilali, Gozde Unkaya and Anahita Jagtiani posted a combined record of 39-13 while playing the top three singles spots, respectively.
On the men’s side, senior Joe Koebele closed out his career with a Third Team All-CAA selection. Udicious-recruited rookie Bryan Nguyen went 11-5 in singles play and won his flight at the City 6 Tournament this fall. Despite toiling through a rain-shortened schedule in the spring, the Dragons rallied to knock off Hofstra in the first round of the CAA Tournament before being eliminated by UNC Wilmington.
In 2008 Udicious led the men’s team to a 10-8 record. The 10 wins matched the program’s all-time record for victories for the second time in Udicious’ tenure. Senior Omar Laalej earned All-Conference honors for the second year in a row. He also made a name for himself nationally by garnering a top 10 regional ITA ranking after winning the A Flight singles bracket at the Hampton Roads Invitational in the fall.
In 2006-07 Udicious helped three players earn All-Conference honors. Laalej and Joe Koebele were named an All-CAA doubles team and Laalej was tabbed an all-conference singles player. Freshman women’s singles player Gabriela Marginean earned a Third-Team All-CAA selection under Udicious’ tutelage.
In 2005-06, Udicious’ second season as head coach, both the men’s and women’s teams reached double-figures in victories, which was just the second time ever that both programs experienced this level of success in the same season. The women’s 11-8 record was the team’s second best ever at the time. For the new tennis coach it marked a second-straight season of improvement and signaled the start of a new era of success in University City
Udicious winning attitude stems from her own success as a tennis player. A 1990 Rutgers graduate, she was a four-year starter on the Scarlet Knights’ tennis team, serving as team captain in her junior and senior years. After finishing Rutgers with a degree in English, she went on to earn a master’s degree in physical education at Trenton State College in 1993. She would continue as coach at Trenton State for eight years before coming to Drexel. She currently resides with her husband Mike and his son Josh.
