Coach Profile
Camp Director
Ulises Hernandez
Ulises Hernandez is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Youngstown State men's tennis program.
YSU tied a school record with three All-Horizon League honorees in 2021. Vasilis Vardakis and Laurentiu Mandocescu were first-team all-league recipients while Joao Garretto was a second-team selection. The Penguins won 12 dual matches and tied for second in the Horizon League regular season. The Penguins reached the semifinals of the HL Championships for the fourth straight season.
Garretto ended his career as the program's all-time leader in singles and doubles victories. During the spring, five players won at least 11 singles matches - Mandocescu (14), Vardakis (12) Garretto (12), Erik Gran (11) and David Alvarez Moreno (11). Vardakis ended his career ranked in the top 10 in singles victories.
The Guins opened the new YSU Indoor Tennis Center on an impressive note. YSU was a perfect 10-0 on its new home courts which are located just East of the YSU campus.
In his first year with the Penguins in 2018-19, YSU finished in sole possession of second place in the Horizon League standings for the first time in school history. The Guins went 5-1 in Horizon League matches and finished with 12 dual victories.
YSU was led by senior Danylo Veremeichuk who was named first-team All-Horizon League for the second straight year. Vardakis earned second-team accolades for the Penguins. In HL play, YSU won five matches and its lone loss was a 4-3 defeat to eventual champion Cleveland State. The Penguins earned a bye to the semifinals of the Horizon League Championships for the first time in school history.
During the 2019-20 campaign, the Penguins had a strong fall and opened the spring slate with three straight victories. Gran posted 18 singles wins to lead the Guins while Mandocescu had 14 victories and Vardakis and Will Everett each had 10. YSU was strong in doubles posting 33 overall victories for the campaign.
Hernandez spent two years serving as an assistant coach for Silviu Tanasoiu with the Cornell men's tennis program prior to coming to YSU.
During his tenure with the Big Red, Cornell earned a share of the Ivy League in 2017. In 2016-17, Cornell had one of its best seasons in school history. The Big Red went 22-4 for the year winning the Ivy League Tournament and sharing the regular-season crown with Columbia. In the NCAA Regionals, the Big Red beat Rice in their opening match before losing to Baylor. Cornell's final win total of 22 ranks second-highest in program history, though its winning percentage this year was actually higher (.846) than its 26-5 season in 2011 (.839). It was also the program's first-ever trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During the year, Cornell was ranked as high as 15th in the ITA rankings before ending the year 26th.
In 2018, the program was ranked 45th entering the Ivy League Tournament and had dual wins against Penn State, Iowa and Oregon during the regular season.
Hernandez joined the Big Red after competing for four years at Loras College in Iowa. He earned his bachelor's in Sport Management & Marketing with a minor in Public Relations in 2016. Hernandez has also served as a tennis camp counselor at Vanderbilt and as an assistant coach with Dubuque High School tennis team in Iowa.