Courtesy of Saginaw Valley State's Sports Information Department
UNIVERSITY CENTER -- Saginaw Valley State University Director of Athletics John Decker has announced the hiring of Ryan Ruzziconi as the new head coach of the Cardinal Women's Tennis program. Previously, Ruzziconi served as Interim Head Women's Tennis Coach for SVSU, coming onboard in early February of 2020. Ruzziconi will have a limited role as the SVSU Athletic Development Coordinator as well.
"When Ryan arrived to serve as our interim coach, he already was well ahead of the curve with his philosophy and plans for the program, which was very encouraging. He acted like a head coach in control from the get-go and the players immediately responded positively and enthusiastically to his leadership. SVSU Tennis is fortunate to have a person with Ryan's credentials and personality to lead our program forward."
Ruzziconi led the SVSU Women's Tennis Team through its 2020 spring schedule, including the team's match swing through the state of Florida. He has also navigated the team through the Covid-19 pandemic and recruiting for 2020. Under his guidance the SVSU Women's Tennis Team was named a 2020 ITA All-Academic Team and four members of the team were named 2020 ITA Scholar-Athletes.
"I would like to thank John Decker, Angela Pohl and the entire search committee for providing me with this opportunity," said Ruzziconi. "I am honored to be leading and working daily with a great group of Student-Athletes and Coaches. The future inside the SVSU Tennis Program is bright and I am excited to push the program to the next level."
Coach Ruzziconi brings a wealth of experience to SVSU having been either a player or coach at various levels, including USTA juniors, high school, USTA, NCAA/ITA. For the past several years, Ruzziconi has worked with collegiate level players and some of the top junior players in the Midwest as a teaching professional. In addition, he has spent several years in Michigan as a high school coach. In leading Oxford High School (MI) Boys Varsity Tennis Team, Ryan built the program into conference champions, MHSAA Regional qualifiers and set records in school wins, with multiple players moving on to the collegiate level to continue their tennis playing careers. His teams were consistently named MHSAA & MHSTeCA All-State All-Academic Teams as well. In 2019, Coach Ruzziconi was selected as a USPTA Midwest High School Coach of the Year Nominee.
Ruzziconi also has experience learning from and working with some of the best international coaches and junior players at Sanchez-Casal Academia in Florida, including earning a Professional Coach Certification from the International Coaches Institute while in the Academia. In addition, Ruzziconi is a graduate of the Van Der Meer Tennis Coaching Academy in South Carolina. He holds multiple teaching and coaching certifications, including from the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), and the United States Tennis Association (USTA – youth tennis instructor). He is also a member of the Wilson Tennis USPTA Advisory Staff.
Coach Ruzziconi serves on the USTA Midwest executive committee as a Delegate and previously served on the USTA Midwest Nominating Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the USTA Midwest Tennis & Education Foundation. As a tennis player, Ryan was a state champion in high school and collegiately competed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He is a 1999 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a 2003 graduate of Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ruzziconi also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation.
