Howard Joffe - Women's Tennis Coach (2024)

E-mail: howard.joffe@athletics.utexas.edu

9th season at Texas

17th season as a collegiate head coach

Honors/Awards

2021 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year

2018 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year

2018 ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year

2014 ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year (Texas A&M)

2006 ITA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year (USC)

2004 ITA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year

1992 ITA Singles All-American (Pepperdine)

1992 NCAA Singles Championship semifinalist (Pepperdine)

In eight seasons at the helm of Texas Women’s Tennis, head coach Howard Joffe has firmly entrenched the Longhorns as one of the elite collegiate women’s tennis programs. Under Joffe’s leadership, Texas claimed back-to-back NCAA team championships in 2021 and 2022 and has finished each of the last six years in the top 10 of the final ITA national polls, earning year-end rankings of No. 6 in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022 and No. 7 in 2023. The Longhorns also have captured four Big 12 regular-season championships (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023) and four Big 12 postseason tournament titles (2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023) in the last five opportunities (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic).

The 2021 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year, Joffe has registered a 165-41 (.801) dual-match record during his eight years in Austin. Peyton Stearns was named the Honda Sport Award for Tennis and the ITA National Player of the Year in 2022. Joffe has helped five Longhorns earn a total of seven ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati and Bianca Turati in 2020, Stearns in both 2021 and 2022 and Kylie Collins in 2022) and two duos earn ITA All-America accolades in doubles (Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun in 2021 and Stearns and Allura Zamarripa in 2022). Stearns became the first player in program history to win the NCAA Singles Championship in 2022, while Collins and Sun reached the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship in 2021. In addition, 15 UT players have registered a combined 22 All-Big 12 singles and 20 All-Big 12 doubles selections in Joffe’s tenure in Austin.

During his 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Joffe has tallied a 296-102 (.744) dual-match record.

Joffe at Texas

In his first season at UT (2016), Joffe led the Longhorns to a 16-9 dual-match record and a final ITA national ranking of No. 20. Texas reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since the 2012 season, posting an impressive 4-2 upset at No. 9 seed Duke in the NCAA Round of 32. Breaunna Addison earned ITA All-America honors in singles and Big 12 Player of the Year accolades. Addison, who reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship, and Neda Koprcina both claimed All-Big 12 recognition in singles, while Addison and Dani Wagland garnered All-Big 12 accolades in doubles.

Texas registered a 14-9 dual-match record in 2017, advanced to the NCAA Round of 32 and ranked No. 22 in the final ITA national poll. Bianca Turati claimed Big 12 Freshman of the Year accolades, and Turati, Neda Koprcina and Petra Granic each earned All-Big 12 honors in singles.

Year three in Austin (2018) proved to be a breakthrough for Joffe and the Longhorns. Texas recorded a 24-5 dual-match mark, swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16. UT placed No. 6 in the final ITA national rankings, its highest final ranking since the 2005 season (No. 3). The Longhorns registered a 9-0 mark in Big 12 Conference play and won their first outright Big 12 regular-season title since 2004 and first Big 12 tournament title since 2013. Texas climbed to as high as No. 5 in the ITA poll (April 10, 2018) during the regular season, marking the program’s first top-five ranking since the Longhorns were No. 3 in February 2006. UT won 19 consecutive matches, the longest winning streak by the program since 1994, before falling in the NCAA Round of 16. In addition, the Longhorns hosted NCAA First and Second Round matches for the first time since the 2012 season.

Bianca Turati earned a final singles national ranking of No. 3, claimed ITA All-America honors in singles and garnered Big 12 Player of the Year recognition. She spent nearly three months atop the ITA women’s singles rankings, becoming the first UT player to top the ITA singles rankings since Kelly Pace in 1995. Turati also was the first Longhorn since Pace in 1995 to claim the top seed in the NCAA singles draw. Anna Turati earned a final singles national ranking of No. 33 and received ITA Texas Region Player to Watch accolades. Bianca Turati, Anna Turati and Petra Granic each claimed All-Big 12 honors in singles, while the pairings of Bojana Markovic/Petra Granic and Anna Turati/Bianca Turati garnered All-Big 12 accolades in doubles. Joffe earned Big 12 Coach of the Year and ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year honors.

Texas finished the 2019 season with a 19-5 dual-match record, won the Big 12 Conference regular-season title outright with a perfect 9-0 mark and advanced to the NCAA Round of 32. UT earned a No. 9 ranking in the final ITA national poll. Bianca Turati, Anna Turati and Petra Granic each claimed All-Big 12 honors in singles, while the duo of Anna Turati and Bianca Turati garnered All-Big 12 accolades in doubles.

Texas posted an 11-3 record (2-0 Big 12 Conference) in the shortened 2020 dual-match season (Covid-19 pandemic) and held the No. 4 spot in the final Oracle/ITA national poll on March 10. UT moved to the No. 3 spot in the national team rankings on Feb. 18, 2020, marking the highest ITA team ranking for the Longhorns since February 2006 when Texas also ranked third nationally. Texas registered victories against five opponents who were among the nation’s Top-25 teams in the final ITA rankings: No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 North Carolina State, No. 9 Georgia Tech, No. 17 Michigan and No. 21 LSU.

The senior duo of Anna Turati and Bianca Turati both earned recognition as ITA Division I singles All-Americans. This marked the first time since the 1995 season that the Longhorns had at least two players claim ITA singles All-America honors in the same year. Anna Turati earned her first career ITA singles All-America honor and concluded the season at No. 4 in the final Oracle/ITA national singles rankings (March 3). Bianca Turati claimed her second career ITA singles All-America honor and concluded the year at No. 14 in the final national singles ranking. Anna Turati was named the ITA Texas Regional Most Improved Senior, while the Turati twins shared the ITA Texas Regional Senior Player of the Year honors.

Texas’ 2020 recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the nation by TennisRecruiting.net. This marked the first time since TennisRecruiting.net began its recruiting team rankings in 2005 that UT claimed the top-ranked class in the nation. Peyton Stearns, Charlotte Chavatipon and Malaika Rapolu all were ranked among the Top 10 in the Class of 2020.

Spurred on by a mixture of five talented freshmen (Stearns, Chavatipon and Rapolu along with Lulu Sun and Kylie Collins) and a pair of experienced seniors in Anna Turati and Fernanda Labraña, Joffe guided Texas to its third NCAA team title in program history during the 2021 season. The Longhorns posted a 31-1 overall dual-match record, swept the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships and ended the season on a 24-match win streak. UT’s 31 dual-match wins established a school single-season record, topping the previous mark of 29 set by the 1983-84 team (29-7 mark).

The Longhorns earned the national title with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Pepperdine in the NCAA Championship Match that last four hours and one minute, as Lulu Sun claimed a dramatic three-set victory on court 3 to clinch the win. It marked the first national team championship for the Longhorns since 1995. Texas was a dominant team throughout the 2021 season, and its only loss was a 4-3 thriller to No. 1 North Carolina in the championship match of the ITA Indoor National Championship. The Longhorns tallied six wins against top-10 opponents and 12 victories over top-25 foes on the year, and Texas posted 21 sweeps in its 31 dual-match victories.

Joffe was named the 2021 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year, and Associated Head Coach Taylor Fogleman was selected as the ITA Division I Women’s National Assistant Coach of the Year. Joffe became just the second individual in UT history to earn the prestigious honor, as Jeff Moore claimed the accolade in 1993.

Stearns earned ITA singles All-America honors, as she was No. 13 in the final ITA singles national rankings. The duo of Lulu Sun and Kylie Collins garnered ITA doubles All-America honors, as the pair were No. 5 in the final ITA doubles rankings and advanced to the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship. Sun and Collins became the first pair of ITA All-American in doubles at Texas since Cristina Moros and Sandy Sureephong earned the accolade in 1998, and they were the first UT pair to reach the NCAA Doubles final since Moros and Farley Taylor in 1996.

Stearns also was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was joined on the All-Big 12 singles first team by Anna Turati and Lulu Sun. Charlotte Chavatipon was tabbed to the All-Big 12 singles second team. Sun and Collins were selected to the All-Big 12 doubles first team, while the pairings of Stearns/Chavatipon and Turati/Labraña were chosen to the All-Big 12 doubles second team.

During the 2022 season at Texas, the Longhorns posted a 26-4 dual-match record and captured their second-straight and fourth NCAA team title in program history with a 4-1 victory against Oklahoma in the championship match. The Longhorns joined Stanford and Florida as the only schools to repeat as NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis national champions since 1982.

Stearns won the Class of 2022 Honda Sport Award for Tennis and earned ITA National Player of the Year recognition. Stearns also became the first player in program history to win the NCAA Singles title and concluded the year with a 33-2 overall record in singles play. Stearns earned ITA singles All-America honors for the second straight year, while Kylie Collins claimed ITA singles All-America honors for the first time. Collins advanced to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship. Stearns and Allura Zamarripa garnered ITA doubles All-America honors, as the pair advanced to the quarterfinals at the NCAA Doubles Championship.

Stearns was tabbed the Big 12 Player of the Year and was joined by Sabina Zeynalova on the All-Big 12 singles first team, while Chavatipon and Collins were selected to the All-Big 12 singles second team. Stearns and Allura Zamarripa were picked to the All-Big 12 doubles first team, while the duo of Collins and Chavatipon were chosen to the All-Big 12 doubles second team.

The Longhorns finished the 2023 season with a 24-5 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals before dropping a hard-fought 4-2 decision to eventual National Champion North Carolina. Texas claimed the Big 12 regular season (8-1 record) and tournament titles and were tabbed No. 7 in the final ITA national rankings. The Longhorns closed the year by winning 14 of their final 16 matches, with 12 of the 14 victories coming against opponents who were nationally ranked, including five top-25 foes. Included in the run was a dramatic 4-3 victory over No. 9 Pepperdine in the NCAA Austin Super Regional.

The Longhorns had a total of five players claim spots on the All-Big 12 Conference awards teams. Nicole Khirin became the third student-athlete in Big 12 Women’s Tennis history to earn both Player and Freshman of the Year honors in the same season. Taisiya Pachkaleva was tabbed the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Khirin and Charlotte Chavatipon were selected to the All-Big 12 singles first team, and Sabina Zeynalova was picked to the All-Big 12 singles second team. The duo of Chavatipon and Zeynalova were selected to the All-Big 12 doubles first team. In addition, Khirin and Nicole Rivkin were named to the league’s All-Freshman team. Four Longhorns also were selected as Big 12 individual champions in singles: Khirin (No. 1), Zeynalova (No. 3), Pachkaleva (No. 4) and Rivkin (No. 6).

Prior to Texas

Joffe came to UT after serving four seasons (2012-15) as the head women’s tennis coach at Texas A&M. He guided the Aggies to a NCAA runner-up finish in 2013, the NCAA Round of 16 in 2014 and 2015 and the NCAA Round of 32 in 2012. Joffe posted an 83-23 (.783) dual-match record at Texas A&M and led the Aggies to a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title in 2013. He helped three Aggies earn a total of four ITA All-America honors, while Texas A&M produced 10 All-SEC selections during his four years.

In his first season at Texas A&M (2012), Joffe paced the Aggies to a 19-6 mark, including a 7-2 record in Big 12 Conference play. Texas A&M reached the NCAA Round of 32, and Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar earned ITA All-America honors in singles.

Joffe led Texas A&M to new heights in 2013. The Aggies posted a 26-4 record, including a 12-1 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Texas A&M advanced to the finals of the NCAA Championship, where it suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to Stanford. The Aggies earned a program-best No. 3 ranking in the final ITA national poll and won a share of the SEC regular-season championship in their first year in the league. Sanchez-Quintanar claimed ITA All-America singles honors for the second straight season and earned ITA Texas Region Senior Player of the Year accolades.

In 2014, Texas A&M registered a 21-7 dual-match record, including a 10-3 mark in SEC play. The Aggies advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 and finished with a No. 9 ITA national ranking. Joffe claimed ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year recognition, while Cristina Stancu earned ITA All-America singles honors and garnered ITA Texas Region Senior Player of the Year accolades.

The Aggies recorded a 17-6 dual-match mark in 2015, including an 11-2 record in SEC play. Texas A&M, which defeated eventual NCAA Champion Vanderbilt in the regular season, reached the NCAA Round of 16 and finished with a No. 10 ITA national ranking. Saska Gavriloska earned ITA All-America honors in singles.

Prior to his time at Texas A&M, Joffe served as the head women’s tennis coach at Maryland for two seasons (2010-11). Joffe led the Terrapins to wins over top-10 foes Virginia and Georgia Tech, and Maryland ascended to a program-best No. 20 national ranking during the 2011 season.

Joffe first served as a head coach during the 2008 and 2009 seasons at Miami (Ohio). He guided the Redhawks to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history, and Miami earned its first national team ranking during Joffe’s tenure.

Joffe served for five seasons (2003-07) as an assistant women’s tennis coach at USC.The ITA twice selected Joffe as the West Region Assistant Coach of the Year (2004 and 2006).Joffe finished as the runner-up for ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2006.USC notched top-11 national finishes in each of Joffe’s five seasons.

Getting Started and the Personal Side

A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Joffe was ranked as high as No. 2 among the South African junior players. Joffe played three seasons (1990-92) of collegiate tennis at Pepperdine University and helped the Waves to three consecutive West Coast Conference titles.In 1992, he earned ITA singles All-America honors and reached the singles semifinals at the NCAA Championships.

Joffe played professional tennis from 1992-95 and ranked among the world’s top-450 in singles and doubles. He relocated to South Africa in 1995 and helped establish the Joffe-Wheeler Tennis Academy in Johannesburg.Joffe served as the head tennis coach at Rand Afrikaanse University in 1997 and coached the Gauteng Central Junior Tennis Team in 1998 before returning to the United States in 1999.

Joffe served as the Director of Tennis at Kettering Tennis Center/Quail, Inc. (Dayton, Ohio) from 1999-2001. He entered the coaching ranks at USC in 2002.Joffe completed his undergraduate work at USC and earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2006. He became a U.S. citizen in 2008.

Joffe and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Addison and Caden.

Joffe Year-by-Year Results as a Head Coach

*2020 season was shortened due to the Covid-19 pandemic