Gene Orlando

Gene Orlando guided the Spartans as the men's head tennis coach for 31 seasons. Coach Orlando retired in 2022 and is in his 24th year as a Nike Tennis Camp Director at MSU.

The winningest coach in MSU men’s tennis history with 346 victories, Orlando led the Spartans to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013. Four doubles teams have competed at the NCAA Championships under Orlando in addition to four singles qualifiers. His student-athletes have also earned All-Big Ten honors 20 times.

A trademark of the Michigan State program under Orlando has been outstanding success in the classroom. In his tenure, there have been a total of 138 selections to the Academic All-Big Ten team, including three ITA Academic All-Americans (Aaron Murray, 1996-97; Mark Findling, 1999-2000; Adam Hourani, 2002-03).

During the pandemic-shortened 2021 season while playing a conference-only schedule in the spring, Michigan State won five Big Ten duals and also won a match in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Spartans swept the season series over Purdue, posted road wins at No. 48 Iowa and Nebraska, defeated Minnesota for the first time since 1998, and had a first-round Big Ten Tournament win over the Hawkeyes.

The team once again excelled in the classroom, winning the Athletic Director’s Award for a record-setting 15th time under Orlando. The award is presented annually to the team in the MSU Athletic Department with the highest cumulative grade-point average. The Spartans posted a 3.755 GPA to win the award in 2021. The Spartans also won the Athletic Director’s Award in 2020 and set a record by becoming the team (male or female) with the highest cumulative GPA (3.812) since the inception of the award in 2001.

During the 2014-15 season, the Spartans earned ranked wins over Elon (No. 55), Penn State (No. 42), Iowa (No. 53) and Indiana (No. 43) while going 13-16 overall. Senior Gijs Linders was recognized as First-Team All-Big Ten, and senior Harry Jadun and junior John Patrick Mullane received an at-large doubles bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Championships in Waco, Texas. Jadun and Mullane advanced all the way to the national semifinals and became the first doubles team to earn All-America honors at Michigan State. The team was also honored with the Athletic Director's Award for achieving the highest team cumulative grade point average after the fall 2014 semester for the ninth year in a row.

The Spartans hosted the Big Ten Tournament in 2014 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. MSU went 12-14 overall, including 10-1 at home with a 4-1 mark against ranked foes in East Lansing. Orlando helped senior Drew Lied earn All-Big Ten First Team honors and sophomore John Patrick Mullane earn All-Big Ten Second Team accolades. Additionally, for the eighth consecutive season, the men's tennis team was also recognized as having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all men's teams on campus.

During the 2012-2013 campaign, the 100th season of Spartan tennis, Orlando led the Spartans to one of their most successful seasons in program history as he led MSU to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. After receiving an at-large bid, MSU fell to No. 25 Tulsa in the first round of the tournament. The Spartans finished the season with an overall record of 14-14, including a 6-5 mark in the Big Ten. MSU notched seven total wins over ranked opponents throughout the season, including a 6-1 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt and a 4-3 win over No. 17 South Carolina. Orlando also helped junior Aaron Pfister earn first-team All-Big Ten accolades in addition to seeing junior Drew Lied be honored with a second-team All-Big Ten selection.

During the 2011-12 season, Orlando helped the Spartans tie for the most wins in program history with an 18-11 record, while posting their winningest Big Ten conference record at 7-6. The Spartans finished with an impressive 13-2 record at home. The team notched notable victories over conference opponents, Indiana and Northwestern, while also advancing in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament past Purdue. Sophomore Aaron Pfister earned First-Team All-Big Ten Conference honors. For the sixth straight year, the team was also honored with the Athletic Director's Award for achieving the highest cumulative GPA after the fall 2011 semester at MSU.

In 2008-09, Orlando led the Spartans to 12 dual wins and an 11-6 home record. Meanwhile, the doubles tandem of seniors Nick Rinks and Adam Monich earned an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships for the second straight year. Five Spartans also earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Honorsz: Alex Forger, Brendan Kinkopf, Scott Rasmussen, Clark Richardson and John Stratton.

In 2006-07, Orlando mentored a young Spartan squad featuring just one senior to 11 dual wins. Furthermore, junior Nick Rinks climbed into the national rankings and advanced to the NCAA Championships, marking the fifth time a Spartan singles player made it to the national tournament.

Orlando surpassed his 200-career win during the 2005-06 season, the head coach's 15th year mentoring the Green and White.

The 2003-04 campaign marked the 90th season in program history, and it was one of the best in school history. The Spartans racked up 17 victories, which tied the most for a Michigan State squad since 1963. Furthermore, MSU was ranked in every ITA poll during the season. During the campaign, Orlando recorded one of the biggest wins of his career, leading the Spartans to a 4-3 win over 2003 NCAA runner-up Vanderbilt on Feb. 14.

Orlando came to MSU from Bowling Green, where he spent three seasons guiding the Falcons. He played collegiate tennis at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, helping the Cardinals to four MAC championships during his career.

Orlando won conference titles his junior and senior seasons at BSU. His overall record was 91-40 in singles and 98-24 in doubles. Orlando was ranked as high as 21st nationally in doubles and made an NCAA appearance his senior season. He was also honored as the MAC Scholar of the Year in 1987, and spent one year as a graduate assistant for Ball State, which went on to win another MAC crown. In September 1997, Orlando was inducted into the Ball State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Born in Heidelberg, Germany, on Aug. 23, 1965, Orlando earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Ball State in 1987. His family includes his wife, Janice, daughters Magalene Elizabeth and Gabrielle Marie, and son Vincent Alden.