The Drake women’s tennis team has hired Breaunna Addison as the new head coach. Addison had an outstanding collegiate career at The University of Texas from 2012 to 2016 on their women’s tennis team.
The former Longhorn was a three-time academic All-Big 12 (first team), played in the NCAA championships three times and received Big 12 conference player of the year twice. Addison was a two-time all-American in singles and had an overall record of 105-29 in singles and 58-45 in doubles.
Prior to filling the head coaching role at Drake, Addison was the associate head coach at Howard University, having started in November of 2020. Before joining the Bisons, Addison spent three seasons with the Miami University RedHawks as an assistant tennis coach.
While at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Addison’s team won the 2018-2019 Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season and Tournament Championships, followed by an NCAA appearance.
Addison stated that she chose to coach at the collegiate level because “it is a privilege to be a part of their athletic, professional and personal development at this stage in their journey. It is rewarding to use tennis as a vehicle to instill invaluable skills that will help my student-athletes develop into champions on and off the court.”
Addison said she chose Drake’s women’s tennis program because the team has demonstrated they are one of the most dominant teams in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), and she recognizes their potential to achieve a top 75 ITA Team ranking.
In addition, Addison believes that Drake presents an excellent opportunity for students to excel academically and transition successfully into whichever professional pathway they pursue.
When asked to expand on her favorite collegiate experience that she had as a student-athlete at the University of Texas, Addison referenced her visit to the 2016 NCAA Championships.
“Thus far, my favorite collegiate experience as an athlete was helping the Texas Women’s Tennis team reach the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships in 2016,” Addison said.
As a coach, Addison’s most memorable moment was winning the 2019 MAC Championships at Miami University.
Addison has high-reaching goals for the Bulldogs, and she is ready to help the Drake women’s program win their second MVC Tournament Championship and to achieve a top 75 ITA Team ranking.
Not only did Addison have an outstanding collegiate career, she also had the opportunity to compete in professional tennis tournaments prior to going into college. Addison competed in International Tennis Federation (ITF) $15,000, $25,000 and $50,000 tournaments.
Addison’s first day of practice with the Bulldogs was Nov. 21. Senior Kendall Hunt expressed enthusiasm when asked about her first experiences with Addison as head coach.
“We had a great first practice with coach,” Hunt said. “I am looking forward to what the rest of this semester looks like and I can’t wait to compete in the spring season with Bre as our new head coach.”
The Bulldogs have one last week of practice for the fall semester and will return in January to prepare for their first spring match on Jan. 14.
