July 10, 2014
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU has named Jonatan Berhane its new head women's tennis coach, Director of Athletics Todd Stewart announced Thursday. Berhane is a decorated player and has had immediate success in his previous coaching stops.
Berhane comes to WKU after one season as an assistant coach for the 2014 Horizon League champion Youngstown State squad. Berhane joined the YSU program in January 2014 after two seasons at East Tennessee State, and he helped make an immediate impact with the Penguins.
"It is a real privilege to have this opportunity, and I am very grateful to Director of Athletics Todd Stewart and Associate Athletic Director Jim Clark for putting their faith in me," Berhane said. "WKU is a great university, a wonderful community, a great athletic department, and Bowling Green is a beautiful city. Tennis is my passion, and we have high goals and want to establish WKU women's tennis in the conference and nationally. I would like to thank Yaser Zaatini, Mickael Sopel and Carlos Drada for all of their guidance at my previous stops in my tennis journey, and I am excited for the future."
Last season, the women's program at YSU became the first Horizon League squad other than UIC to win the conference title since 1996. At the Horizon League Championships in April, the Penguins knocked off Wright State, second-seeded Milwaukee and top-seeded Cleveland State to claim the crown. YSU participated in the Charlottesville Regional against No. 3 seed Virginia. The Penguins battled the Cavaliers before falling in the match.
The men's team had a strong showing in the conference tournament. YSU defeated third-seeded Wright State in the quarterfinals in a 4-3 thriller. The Penguins won the doubles point and clinched the win when Rodrigo Campos won in three sets. In the semifinals against Cleveland State, YSU dropped a hard-fought 4-2 decision to the Vikings.
Before arriving at YSU, Berhane spent two seasons as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State. ETSU won the regular-season championship in 2013, beating two ranked opponents, and many of the student-athletes Berhane helped recruit powered ETSU to the 2014 conference tournament title.
His other coaching experiences include the New York Shelter Island Camp, and at the Monaco Athletic in Denver, Colo.
Berhane came to ETSU after graduating from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewistown, Idaho. In his time at LCSC, Berhane was ranked a top-15 NAIA singles player and was also ranked in the top-10 in doubles. During his senior year, Berhane was given the honor of being selected as the Warriors team captain.
In August of 2009, Berhane was honored with the Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. The award recognizes one outstanding male and female player from each level of competition for exhibiting outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Berhane was honored during a special ceremony in New York during the U.S. Open.
Before transferring to LCSC, Berhane attended Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va., helping his team to a top-five NAIA ranking.
A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Berhane achieved a No. 10 Swedish ranking and was a finalist for the Swedish Championship Doubles. He earned his MBA and master's degree in sport management at ETSU. Berhane speaks four languages - Swedish, English, Tigrinya and Norwegian.
Carlos Drada, University of Kentucky Head Women's Tennis Coach: "Jonatan has always impressed me in the areas I value most as a head coach - class, competitive spirit and positive attitude. He is one of those coaches who empowers student-athletes and gives them the life skills necessary for their future endeavors, and he is a fantastic instructor on the court. His positive attitude, high levels of intensity and class that both he and his player exhibit during competitions also stands out."
Mickael Sopel, Youngstown State University Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach: "I am very excited for Jonatan to see all of his hard work rewarded and have the opportunity to prove himself as a Division I head coach. In a very short amount of time, Jonatan had a huge influence on the team at Youngstown State, both on and off the court. As a coach, he was able to quickly earn the trust of the players, which allowed him to work with them efficiently. I was very impressed with his knowledge of the game and his ability to reach out to the girls, especially in match situations. There is no doubt in my mind that he was instrumental in our team winning our conference tournament and in our overall success this past season. He deserves full credits for his efforts and dedication to the program. It will be extremely difficult for me to find someone to replace him. Few coaches I know have his work ethic and passion for college coaching. Jonatan is one of the best coaches I know, and I am convinced that that it will not take long for him to positively impact the Lady Topper tennis program."
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