College of Charleston director of tennis
Angelo Anastopoulo announced the addition of Elias Fernandez as an assistant coach on October 5, 2023.
Fernandez comes to The College via Newberry College where he led both the men's and women's programs.In just one spring, Fernandez guided the Wolves to their highest ITA Ranking on the women's side in program history reaching #10 behind a 17-4 record and South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Championship match appearance.
Five Wolves earned All-SAC recognition under Fernandez's tutelage including the 2023 Player of the Year Natassia Chamoun and 2023 Freshman of the Year Sofia Cardenas. It was the first time Newberry women's tennis had earned both SAC Player and Freshman of the Year in the same season in program history.
Chamoun posted a record of 20-1 including an 10-1 mark in SAC matches and perfect 17-0 on the second flight in singles play. Cardenas finished 15-3 in singles and perfect 11-0 in SAC matches.
On the men's side, Mate Bivol took home SAC Player of the Year honors to headline three All-Conference awards, just the second Player of the Year in men's program history. Bivol finished the season 16-2 overall and 12-0 in SAC play and reached as high as No. 44 in the ITA individual rankings.
Prior to his time leading Newberry, Fernandez spent a fall as the volunteer women's assistant at Columbia University in New York. In his time with the Lions, Winta Tweolde and Shivani Amineni made a run to the ITA Super Regional Finals.
Fernandez got his collegiate coaching start at Newberry as an assistant coach for the men's and women's programs in January 2022. During his time as the assistant coach, the women's team reached as high as No. 11 in the ITA Rankings setting a program record with a 24-5 mark. That spring also saw the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win.
