NSUSPARTANS.COM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Communication ( FB, MBB, BSB, T & F, MTEN, WTEN )
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- Assistant Athletic Trainer ( FB1 & SB )
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- Assistant Men and Women 's Tennis Coach
- Assistant Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
- Volunteer Assistant Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
Popovic also served as a volunteer assistant coach for one year in 2019. The Spartan women went 4-1 in the MEAC that year and were awarded the Northern Division crown. Naz Karagoz become the first women's MEAC Player of the Year in program history, and she and men's player Vini Da Silva were named first-team all-conference. The Spartan men placed second in the division in 2019 as well.
The 2020 season, her first as an assistant coach, was cancelled after March 12 - before MEAC play - due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Popovic spent five years with the program as a player between 2013 and 2018 and provided valuable leadership on and off the courts.
She earned 20 singles wins in her career and finished with a winning record in MEAC competition at 8-7. Off the courts, the Belgrade, Serbia native received NSU Athletics Director's Honor Roll recognition six times, was voted team captain prior to the 2017-18 season, and was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
A kinesiotherapy major, Popovic graduated from NSU in 2018. She currently serves as a tennis director at Cape Henry Racquet Club and is a certified tennis coach by the Professional Tennis Registry.
Andres Alcaraz was named the MEAC Player of the Year, the third in men's program history. He was one of four All-MEAC honorees, including first-teamer Federico Rebecchini and second-team players Ignacio Guevel and Santiago Rendon. It marked the first time since 2014 NSU had four all-conference honorees.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
Former Division III All-American Artsiom Prostak joined the Norfolk State men's and women's tennis programs as an assistant coach prior to the 2014-15 season. Prostak arrived at NSU after a stellar career at North Carolina Wesleyan.
He was the USA South Conference Player of the Year in 2013 during current NSU head coach Worth Richardson's one year as the head coach there. Prostak was a member of four-straight conference championship squads during his time at N.C. Wesleyan.
He qualified for the NCAA Championship in both singles and doubles in his senior year in 2013 under Richardson. Prostak ended his career as an All-American after advancing to the final of the NCAA Doubles Championship with teammate Robert Kjellberg.
Prostak finished with a 48-16 career singles record at N.C. Wesleyan, including a 39-6 dual mark. He also posted a 40-21 doubles record during his time with the Battling Bishops, including a 31-12 dual record. He went 10-0 in both singles and doubles against conference opponents during his career.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Head
- Assistant Women 's Bowling Coach
- Head Women 's Bowling Coach
Job Titles:
- Recruiting Coordinator / Running Backs Coach
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- Assistant Athletic Trainer ( M / W XC / T & F )
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- Assistant Coach ( Pitching )
Job Titles:
- Assistant Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
- Head Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
- Men's and Women 's Tennis Head Coach
Brittany Pilkington Baine enters her first season as the head coach of the Norfolk State tennis teams, and her fourth season overall as a member of the NSU tennis coaching staff. Baine brings a wealth of experience, both as a player and a coach, to NSU.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Head
- Athletics Academic Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Coach
- Assistant Women 's Bowling Coach
Job Titles:
- Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
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- Assistant AD / Academics and Student Services
Job Titles:
- Assistant Coach ( Throws )
Dajana Cvjetkovic earned All-MEAC honors once again in 2018, being named to the first team for the first time in her career.
Job Titles:
- Head Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
Darryl Cummings enters his third season as the head coach of the Norfolk State men's and women's tennis teams heading into 2019. He arrived at NSU after accumulating 600 wins during more than 20 years as a head coach at the NCAA level.
His overall coaching record stands at 631-428, including 336-188 on the men's side in 22 years and 295-240 in 24 seasons as a women's head coach.
Cummings is married to Beth Gregory, and the couple has three children, Clark, Connor and Jessica.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Athletic Trainer ( MBB )
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- Athletics Business Manager
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- Associate Head Women 's Tennis Coach
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- Faculty Athletics Representative
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- Associate AD for External Relations
- Corporate Partnerships & Marketing
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- Associate Women 's Head Coach
Freshman Liza Gordeeva became NSU's first all-conference player in five years in 2014 when she was named to the All-MEAC second team.
Job Titles:
- Volunteer Assistant Women 's Bowling Coach
Job Titles:
- Special Assistant to the Director of Track & Field Programs
Igor Braga was voted the MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2012, while Zyhmantovich captured the award in 2013. Arsenio Culver earned first-team all-conference honors in 2012 for the third year in a row, and he and Ben Marks ranked ninth in the final ITA Atlantic Region doubles rankings.
Job Titles:
- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach
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- Director of Corporate Sponsorships and Marketing
Job Titles:
- Associate Men 's Head Coach
Job Titles:
- Assistant Coach / Defensive Coordinator / Recruiting Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Volunteer Assistant Men and Women 's Tennis Coach
- Volunteer Assistant Tennis Coach
Prior to his first year with NSU during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 spring season, Brinkman coached across town at ODU for 12 years as a volunteer assistant coach from 2008-19. He worked with both programs his first seven years and then exclusively with the men the last five.
He helped coach seven players to the NCAA Tournament in either singles or doubles. Several players also went on to capture player of the year honors in either the Colonial Athletic Association or Conference USA.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administrative Operations
Job Titles:
- Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Hitting Coach
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- Director of Alumni Relations / Player Development Assistant
Job Titles:
- Director of Track & Field Programs
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- Associate AD Student Services
- Compliance
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- Special Teams Coordinator / Linebackers Coach
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- Associate AD Internal Operations / SWA
Job Titles:
- Associate AD of Facilities, Operations and Events
Job Titles:
- Director of Video / Tight Ends Coach
Job Titles:
- Head Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
Holmes joined the Spartans in January of 2021 with barely a month to prepare before the spring season got underway. He led both the men's and women's teams to MEAC Northern Division championships, just the second official regular season titles for both programs. He was named MEAC Coach of the Year on the women's side and Co-Coach of the Year for the men.
Holmes was the head coach at Benedictine University in Tempe, Arizona, from 2014-16. He was responsible for recruiting players for Benedictine's inaugural season in both men's and women's tennis.
Marta Gomar was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year, and Andrea Macchiavello earned second-team all-conference honors. In addition, Richardson was voted the MEAC Coach of the Year for women's tennis after his team's top finish. It marked the first time NSU took home the MEAC rookie and coach of the year awards for women's tennis.
NSU swept the rookie awards in 2016 when Benedikt Henning was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year on the men's side. He was also voted first-team all-conference, continuing a trend in which NSU has had at least one all-conference player every year since at least 2002. The Spartan men finished second in the Northern Division at 4-1 in 2016.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Sports Communications ( WBB, SB, VB, BOWL )
Job Titles:
- Administration
- Director of Athletics
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Coach of the Norfolk State
- Head Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
Nate Feldman completed his third year as head coach of the Norfolk State tennis programs in 2013-14, and once again Feldman had the Spartans on the rise after another successful season in 2014.
Fluent in Spanish, Feldman has been heavily involved in competitive tennis in Colombia, providing numerous charity clinics in the city of Medellin. He has also given countless hours of free coaching and consultation, resulting in the placement of a number of top Latin tennis players into Division I programs.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Equipment Manager
Job Titles:
- Assistant Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
- Coach at Norfolk State
- Volunteer Assistant Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
Warren is plenty familiar with the inner workings of NSU and its tennis teams, having spent 17 years as the head coach of the men's team after starting the program up in 1992-93. He was also responsible for the startup of the women's team in 1994-95.
In 17 seasons as the men's head coach and 15 as the women's head coach through 2009, Warren's teams went a combined 402-216 unofficially (.650 winning percentage).
Job Titles:
- Director of Sports Medicine ( WBB )
Job Titles:
- Head
- Assistant Coach for Sacred Heart
- Head Men's and Women 's Coach
- Head Tennis Coach
Norfolk State Athletics announced Peter Banas as the head coach of men's and women's tennis on Feb. 25, 2022.
Banas comes to NSU after spending over four years with Fordham University's women's tennis program, where he served as an assistant coach from 2017-19 and the associate head coach from 2019-21. He was also a part of the Sacred Heart University coaching staff for one year in 2016.
While at Fordham, Banas handled important recruiting duties to bring prospective student athletes to the program, including scouting national and international tournaments. In 2019, he helped the Rams bring in two four-star recruits according to TennisRecruiting.net, the highest-ranked class in the Atlantic 10.
As an assistant coach for Sacred Heart, Banas ran women's and men's team practices and performed major recruiting duties. He prepared the schedules for the fall and spring seasons and organized pro-am tennis tournaments in Fairfield County.
Before joining the staff at Sacred Heart, Banas served as head tennis professional at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy from 2015 to 2017. During his time with the academy, Banas coached and advised Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska (career-high No. 2 in WTA rankings), French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko (No. 5), Japan Open champion Christina McHale (No. 24), and Junior Wimbledon Champion Noah Rubin. He was also McEnroe's hitting partner during the latter's stint on the ATP Senior Tour.
Job Titles:
- Director of Football Operations / Player Personnel / NFL Liason
Job Titles:
- Director of Strength and Conditioning
Job Titles:
- Assistant Athletic Trainer ( FB2 & BSB )
Job Titles:
- Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance / NIL
Former All-CIAA player Sharmane Tonkins joined the Norfolk State University men's and women's tennis programs as assistant coach in the fall of 2021.
Before joining NSU, Tonkins served as the head coach for the Heritage High School girls tennis team in Newport News from 2019-21. Heritage made consecutive appearances in the Group 5A regional tournament in her tenure.
Prior to joining Heritage, Tonkins was head coach of the Hampton High girls tennis team from 2016-17. There, she was instrumental in restoring the program, and in her first year, four of her players qualified for the regional championships.
Her other coaching experiences includes serving as an associate instructor at An Achievable Dream Academy and coaching elite juniors at The College of William and Mary as a summer tennis camp instructor.
Tonkins earned her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Virginia State in 2015.
Job Titles:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
Job Titles:
- Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Coordinator / Safeties
Job Titles:
- Director of Men 's Basketball Operations
Job Titles:
- Athletics Business Manager
Job Titles:
- Assistant Tennis Coach
- Associate Head Women's Tennis Coach / Assistant Men 's Tennis Coach
Torrie Browning finished her fifth year with the Norfolk State men's and women's tennis programs in 2013-14. It also marked her first season as associate head coach for women's tennis while serving as the assistant coach for the men's team as well.
She was elevated to associate head coach in the summer of 2013. With the new title, Browning held more responsibilities with recruiting, scheduling, travel arrangements, practices and the budget for the women's program.
A native of Tucson, Ariz., Browning graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in integrated marketing communications and a minor in sociology. She resides in Virginia Beach.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Head Men's and Women 's Tennis Coach
MEAC Coach of the Year Worth Richardson finished his second year leading the Norfolk State men's and women's tennis teams in the 2015-16 academic year. A total of seven players earned all-conference honors during his first two years with the program, and the NSU women's team captured its first-ever regular season title in 2016.
Job Titles:
- Associate Athletic Trainer ( VB & M / W Tennis )