| Phil Rogers |
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In his third decade at the helm of the Cavalier women's tennis program, Phil Rogers continues to be one of the finest coaches in the country. As he enters his 23rd season as the Virginia head coach, Rogers has the longest tenure among women's tennis coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Over the past 22 seasons, Rogers has led the Cavaliers to successful seasons year after year despite competing against opponents with greater resources. During that time the Cavaliers have won 254 dual matches, over 73 percent of the school's all-time win total. That record also makes Rogers the second-winningest coach in ACC history. Despite the challenges posed by limited resources while belonging to one of the nation's most competitive collegiate athletic conferences for tennis, Rogers has guided the Cavaliers to 65 ACC wins, fourth-most in league history. Rogers has led the Cavaliers to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last ten years, while six Virginia singles players and four doubles teams have participated in the NCAA Tournament. In the ACC, Rogers has coached 14 singles and doubles flight champions and ten All-ACC honorees. His teams have won at least 10 dual matches in 16 of the past 22 seasons.
In 1993, Rogers led the Cavaliers to one of the most successful seasons in school history. Virginia won a school record 18 dual matches and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The following year, the Cavaliers achieved a school-record No. 17 national ranking. In 1996, the Cavaliers defeated Penn to post Virginia's first NCAA Tournament win.
In 2003, the program's first fully-funded season, Rogers guided the Cavaliers to a 16-10 record, a 4-4 mark in the ACC, and a NCAA Tournament appearance, where they defeated Ohio State 4-0 in the first round before losing a tight, hard-fought match at No. 7 seed Tennessee. Overall the program climbed almost 30 places in the national rankings during the season.
"The thing that sets our team apart from most other teams in the country is the balance of athletics, academics and college life," said Rogers. "All three of these areas are extremely important for every player that comes through here. We want them to look back and feel that they had a great experience athletically at Virginia and were still able to reap the benefits of college life. The team does a great job of being part of student organizations and student life here at Virginia." Rogers' teams frequently have the best overall grade point average among all UVa teams.
A native of McDonald, Pa., Rogers graduated from the University of Virginia in 1971. He played tennis his first year, but interrupted his athletic career to study foreign affairs at the University of Nice in France.
Before joining the collegiate coaching ranks, Rogers spent nearly 15 years as a tennis pro, first at Chautaugua Institution in New York (1967-71), then at the Fair Lawn Racket Club in New Jersey (1971-74) and lastly at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville (1974-82). During that time, he coached many Middle Atlantic Tennis Association and Virginia junior players.
From 1979 to 1981, Rogers coached the No. 1 women's player in the world, Martina Navratilova. During her time with Rogers, Navratilova went from No. 3 to No. 1 in the world.
Rogers is the director of the 4-Star Summer Camps and is a member of the USPTA. He was named Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year for the 1982-83 season and Virginia State Coach of the Year for 1994. He has also been a guest lecturer at UVa's Sports Psychology Conference and the Federal Executive Institute.
Rogers lives with his wife of 34 years, the former Rachel Posner of Fair Lawn, N.J., in Charlottesville. They have two children, Josh (28) and Seth (23), both graduates of the University of Virginia.
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