Kristina Lott will now be Drake Women’s Tennis head coach after Mai-ly Tran left Drake to go coach for Colorado State’s women’s tennis team.
After having a successful collegiate career, making two NCAA team appearances and qualifying for the individuals’ singles draw of the NCAA, Lott decided she wanted to coach at the collegiate level. She said it is because she loves the college environment and working with high performance athletes. Lott also said she enjoys the team aspect of college tennis.
Not only did Lott play at the top of collegiate tennis, she also competed in professional tournaments throughout the states and around the world. Some of her favorite places that she played in were Australia, Canada, Thailand, Germany and Greece.
After finishing her undergraduate studies, Lott went to become a graduate assistant at Santa Clara University from 2017-2019. Previous to being head coach, Lott was the assistant coach for Drake Women’s tennis for two seasons, 2019-2021, before becoming head coach.
The Bulldogs had a successful spring season, winning the MVC conference tournament and making an appearance in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“Winning the MVC conference title last year definitely stands out. The way we blitzed through the tournament and made history for Drake Women’s Tennis is something I will never forget,” Lott said.
Lott said she looks forward to repeating an MVC tournament win for this season and other seasons to come. Lott is excited to keep working with women’s tennis because of the hard work and dedication they put in every day.
“My favorite part about working with this team is seeing the improvement every day,” Lott said. “We have a talented and hard-working group this year and seeing them progress each day is very rewarding.”
Other things Lott is looking forward to doing with the Bulldogs are growing closer as a team, continuing excellence in the classroom, and establishing presence in the conference.
“I am thrilled that Kristina is our new coach, I can’t wait to do great things with her and the team,” said Ines Stephani, sophomore.
First-year tennis player Yana Gaskell is excited for this school year with Lott.
“I can’t wait to keep working on the court with Kristina. She pushes us every day, which is great,” Gaskell said. “I am also looking forward to more tournaments with her this fall season as well as the dual matches in the spring.”
With lots of tournaments coming up for the Bulldogs this season, Lott is prepared to get the team ready for each one of them.
“We have a lot of great opportunities coming up for the team; we’ll keep working hard every day and improving day by day,” Lott said.
This past weekend, the Bulldogs had some wins here at home during the Drake invite.
“I think the whole team did a great job competing in all of their matches as well as getting some good wins to start off the season,” Lott said.
The next tournament for Drake women’s tennis will be next weekend. The Bulldogs will be traveling to Minnesota to compete in the Gopher Invite on Sept. 24.
