Arizona women’s tennis has entered a new era. And Ryan Stotland is leading the charge.
Athletic director Dave Heeke named Stotland the Wildcats’ new women’s tennis coach June 9. Stotland replaces Vicky Maes, who left the program in May after 17 years at the helm.
The new coach spent the last six years in charge of the women’s tennis program at Fresno State, but is more than familiar with Arizona due to a four-year stint (2009-2012) as one of Maes’ assistant coaches.
Ultimately, Stotland’s connection to the Wildcats is what brought him back.
And he’s excited to implement changes.
“I think that being here for four years as an assistant really helped me know the program, what the culture’s about here in Arizona, the championship culture,” Stotland said. “I think just bringing a fresh new perspective will be good. I think I can bring a different kind of personality to Arizona, because I’ve seen it first-hand.”
Ryan Stotland
Stotland, 35, said he was happy at Fresno State, where he was named the 2014 Mountain West women’s tennis coach of the year. But he started getting an outpour of support and attention from old coworkers at Arizona about its coaching vacancy. People started contacting Stotland before the job was even open to applicants, he says.
While Stotland hadn’t been looking for a new gig, he said he always knew he wanted to get back to Arizona.
“I think Arizona is the place where people improve and you win a national championship,” Stotland said. “That’s my goal — to have a national championship-caliber team, but also mostly just a team to compete and be one of the best in the country every year. I think Arizona provides that and I think that’s why I’m excited about the job.”
Now that Stotland is back in the United States and on campus (he was in the middle of an international trip when he received the news, and got back from Russia on Thursday), he’s hitting the ground running.
Last year’s team graduated two seniors. As of now, Stotland has one incoming freshman making her way to Tucson, but he’s still working on making sure he retains the remainder of the team.
The Wildcats finished their most recent season with a 9-16 overall record, which was brought down by a 0-10 Pac-12 record.
“When I first came to Arizona, we turned the program around very quickly,” Stotland said. “At Fresno State, I turned the program around very quickly. I think what I’ve implemented there, and at Arizona once again, is the fact that I can really help them explore the game.”
With a coaching background in both college and the pros, Statland said he believes a comprehensive knowledge of the game of tennis really helps the athletes grow and improve.
Stotland said he will also change up the style of the game. He hopes to develop aggressive baseliners and net players.
At the end of the day, he’s looking for three things from his players: head, heart and hustle.
“So, I just need them to give me those every day,” Stotland said. “I think we’ll be competing, but I don’t know where we’ll finish in the Pac-12 — because it is the best conference in the country — but I think you’ll see a lot of competitive kids.”
