Nike Tennis Camp at University of Alabama

When he assumed the role of head coach for the Crimson Tide men's tennis team in 2012, George Husack had a vision to instill a winning mentality in Tuscaloosa and bring Alabama to national prominence. After only months at the reigns, Husack had the Tide back in the NCAA Championship tournament.

"My vision for this program is to be a championship contender, not only on the conference stage but also on a national stage," says Husack. "I want to create a culture, a standard. I'm going to be instilling my own thing. I'm used to competing on the last day of the season. I want these guys to experience competing and winning on the last day of the season."

After only one season, it was evident Husack's vision was coming to life. In addition to making the NCAAs as a team for the first time in three years, Husack's development of individual players shined through. Jarryd Botha, the Tide's No. 1 player, nearly tripled his win total from the previous year, earned a national ranking and a spot in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. He, and partner David Vieyra, were awarded All-America honors in doubles, the first for any Tide doubles teams in two decades.

Despite losing three starters, and gaining only one freshman, the team collected four more wins in Husack's first year than it did in 2012, which includes a 4-3 victory in the SEC Championship tournament against sixth-ranked Ole Miss in Oxford. Botha and Becker O'Shaughnessey earned All-SEC honors, while Daniil Proskura was named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and winner of the ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award for the Southern region.

Most recently, Husack brought the Tide back to the NCAA Tournament in 2018. The Tide was not satisfied with only a berth in the tournament as UA went on a historic run to the Round of 16. After upsetting No. 23 (No. 2 seed) Tulane 4-1 in the first round of the Tallahassee Regional, Alabama moved on to only its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in program history after defeating No. 11 and host Florida State, 4-2. The Tide finished the season with 20 wins, marking only the 10^th team in UA history to do so.

The Tide’s historic season did not end after team championships, as junior All-American Mazen Osama became the first Alabama player to make it to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Championships and then topped it by advancing to the quarterfinals. Every year under Husack, Alabama has earned a berth in the NCAA Doubles Championships, in 2018 Osama and partner Edson Ortiz made it as one of the 32 pairings.

Husack, the 2012 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year, joined the Tide after having spent the three seasons as associate head coach for the four-time defending national champion University of Southern California. In his role with the Trojans, he was responsible for coaching, player development and recruiting. As a team, USC compiled an 85-6 overall record throughout his tenure and had four individuals earn a combined 10 All-America honors under his watch. Husack also helped train and motivate one of the most decorated players in collegiate tennis, Steve Johnson, who won back-to-back NCAA Singles Championships and amassed 72 consecutive singles victories.

Prior to his appointment at USC, Husack spent two seasons as associate head coach at Illinois after having been the head coach at Santa Clara for five years.

While at Illinois, Husack helped the Illini to two straight trips to the NCAA Round of 16 while coaching student-athletes that attained top-10 rankings nationally in both singles and doubles. As with USC, his primary responsibilities included player development and recruiting.

Husack assumed the reins of head coach at Santa Clara in 2002 after having served as an assistant since 1995. Throughout his tenure as head coach, he built a program that reached many milestones including the highest national singles and doubles rankings in school history, a program record for most team wins in a single season as the Broncos went 20-8 in 2007, 19 All-West Coast Conference singles and doubles selections and 14 All-WCC All-Academic and ITA Scholar-Athlete honorees.

Husack, also an accomplished player, spent two seasons competing professionally on the International Tennis Federation and United States Tennis Association tours.

In addition to his professional experiences in tennis, Husack spent time in the business sector serving as a plan specialist for Franklin Mutual Fund, an operations analyst for Wells Fargo and Director of Marketing and Corporate Partnerships in athletics at Santa Clara.

A native of San Mateo, Calif., Husack earned his bachelor's degree in finance from San Diego State in 1991, while later attaining an MBA in marketing from the University of San Francisco in 1995. As a member of the San Diego State men's tennis team, he served as team captain as a senior and helped the Aztecs attain the program's first top-25 national ranking.

Husack and his wife Kristina have three children: Nina (10) and twins Grant and Greta (8).

“I am very excited and honored to be given the opportunity to work for The University of Alabama, which has the best athletic department in the nation,” Berhane said. "I want to thank Jenny Mainz, Kevin Almond and Greg Byrne for giving me the opportunity to coach at Alabama, which I think is the biggest and best athletic brand name in the nation. I am very excited to work alongside Mainz, to help our student-athletes be successful and to have a women's tennis program that is one of the best in the nation".

During his tenure at WKU, Berhane was named the 2017 Conference USA Head Coach of the Year. He led the Lady Toppers to three-straight seasons over .500 and reached the semifinal round of the conference tournament by taking down a top-40 team in 2017. In the classroom, the Lady Toppers earned a perfect APR score for four consecutive years.

Before leading WKU, Berhane spent one season as an assistant coach for Youngstown State’s men’s and women’s tennis programs, and two years prior, he served as a graduate assistant coach at East Tennessee State.

At Youngstown State, the women’s team became the first Horizon League squad other than UIC to win the conference title since 1996. At the 2014 conference championships, the Penguins took down Wright State, second-seeded Milwaukee and top-seeded Cleveland State to claim the title. YSU went on to compete in the Charlottesville Regional against No. 3 seed Virginia to cap the historic season.

During his two years at ETSU, the Pirates won the regular-season championship in 2013, defeating two ranked opponents, and many of the student-athletes Berhane helped recruit powered ETSU to the 2014 conference tournament title.

Berhane’s other coaching experiences included instruction at New York Shelter Island Camp and at the Monaco Athletic in Denver, Colo.

Berhane graduated from Lewis-Clark State College where he ranked as a Top 15 NAIA singles players in the nation, while also ranking in the top 10 in doubles. Before transferring to LCSC, Berhane attended Virginia Intermont College, leading his team to a top five NAIA ranking.

A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Berhane achieved a No. 10 Swedish ranking and was a finalist for the Swedish Championship doubles. He earned his MBA in sports management at ETSU in 2013. Furthermore, Berhane speaks three languages – Swedish, English and Tigrinya – and he also understands Norwegian.

"I am thrilled to have Alba join our coaching staff," head coach Jonatan Berhane said. "She will be a great fit for our program. She's a fierce competitor, great at building relationships and is intelligent. She will make our tennis program better. Alba and I said a few years ago when I got a head coaching job, she would be my assistant coach, and for this to come to fruition is incredible. Alba has my complete trust and I couldn't ask for anyone better. The whole Tuscaloosa community will love her. Roll Tide!"

"I am incredibly excited and honored to join the Alabama women's tennis team as the new assistant coach", Cortina Pou said. "This program holds a special place in my heart, and I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to the place that has given me so much. Working alongside Coach Jonatan makes this experience even more special. We have known each other for the past five years, and I am thrilled to work together with our shared vision. I look forward to getting started and continuing to build this program."

Alabama - Assistant Coach (2023-Present)

• Helped guide the Crimson Tide to a 13-1 start to the season, including an 11-match winning streak
• Coached Alabama to the program’s third Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic Title, after defeating three ranked teams in two days
• Guided UA to a 4-0 start to Southeastern Conference play
• Helped the team earn the No. 13 national ranking
• The Crimson Tide remained ranked by the ITA for the entire 2024 season

Prior to Alabama

• Started for the Tide all four years of her career
• Named 2020 SEC Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• 2-time CoSIDA Academic All-American (2020, 2021)
• Received SEC Player of the Week honors (Feb. 5, 2020 and Feb. 12, 2020)
• ITA Southern Region Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award Winner
• Team Captain & Member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (2019-2021)

2020-23: Alabama Volunteer Assistant Coach

• Served as a volunteer assistant coach at Alabama for three seasons (2020-23)
• Alabama recorded 35 wins during his time as a volunteer assistant coach
• Helped coach Filip Planinsek to ITA Rookie of the Year honors in 2022 as Planinsek finished the season as the second-highest ranked freshman in the country at No. 27 and the only freshman from the SEC to hold an end-of-year ranking
• Planinsek also earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors, first honoree in program history, as he put together a team-leading 22 singles wins and team-leading 22 doubles wins
• Alabama totaled four All-SEC honorees during his first three years with the Tide
• Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto advanced to the 2021 NCAA Doubles Tournament, while Edson Ortiz qualified for the singles draw

2019-20: Volunteer Assistant Coach at Rice

2015-19: Cedar Bluff Racquet Club

• Recruited and trained junior players at the Knoxville, Tennessee club
• Led an 18A Junior Team Tennis team that finished seventh at nationals

2015: Tennessee Wesleyan

• Began his college coaching career with the Bulldogs
• There, he assisted with match coaching, led practices, and recruited players, including an NAIA All-American athlete

2012-15: As a Collegiate Athlete

• Began his collegiate career at Tennessee Tech where he was a member of the 2012 OVC regular season champions before transferring to Tennessee Wesleyan in 2014
• Was a two-time NAIA All-American at Tennessee Wesleyan, earning back-to-back All-America honors
• Finished senior season with a 17-0 mark in singles and an 18-2 record in doubles, and was named the AAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year in 2015
• A two-time team captain, Gils was named to the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete Team as a senior and named Tennessee Wesleyan's Most Representative Male Student.
• While in college, he coached at the Hugo Armando Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida where he worked with a number of players, including 2018 Australian Open junior champion Sebastian Korda