In his decade-plus-long associationwith the tennis program at USC Upstate, head coach Alessandro DeMarzo and the Spartans have known nothing but success. Now in hisseventh year as coach after two seasons as an assistant coach andthree years as a player, De Marzo will look to continue to lead theUpstate tennis program to unprecedented success in Division Itennis.
In just six seasons, De Marzo has accumulated 194 wins with theprogram, passing Alan Ferguson, who won 157 matches with the tennisprograms from 1989-97, as the winningest coach in school history in2009. De Marzo led both programs to the NCAA Division II Tournamentin each of his first three years as a coach and was the first coachin school history to take both the men’s and women’steams to the NCAA Nationals in 2007 and also led the Spartanwomen’s tennis team to the first outright A-Sun title inschool history in 2008. He followed that by helping the men’steam win the A-Sun title in 2010, ending ETSU’s string offour straight regular-season titles.
In 2010, Upstate’s men’s team turned in one of thefinest seasons in school history as it won 18 matches, reached anational ranking of as high as No. 52 and secured the A-Sun titlewith a perfect 10-0 record. Along the way, De Marzo solidified hisplay anyone-anywhere attitude, playing six matches againstnationally-ranked opponents, winning against No. 45 San Diego andNo. 49 ETSU. De Marzo coached five All-A-Sun performers, includingFirst Team Members Edgar Rodriguez and Javier Tori.
The women’s team, despite featuring a lineup of threefreshmen and a sophomore, posted a 12-5 mark and finished 6-4 inthe A-Sun. Two of the team’s members earned unanimousselection to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team, making five players thathave earned that distinction in Upstate’s three years in theleague.
In 2009, De Marzo helped the Upstate men had one singles and onedoubles pair earn national rankings while finishing 70th in thefinal ITA rankings with a 22-3 record. A school and A-Sun recordsix players earned all-conference honors led by Freshman of theYear Rodriguez. The women’s team, meanwhile, finished thirdin the A-Sun, posting a 13-4 overall record. De Marzo helped coachAnna Novo to her fourth all-conference honor and the firstwomen’s DI national ranking during the season.
De Marzo pulled off one of his most impressive coaching featsduring the spring 2008 season, leading the women’s tennisteam to its first regular season league title in school history,sweeping the Atlantic Sun Conference slate with a perfect 11-0record. Along with softball, the women’s tennis team was thefirst to win an A-Sun regular season title and Novo was one ofthree Spartan athletes at the school to earn A-Sun Player of theYear honors. Finishing with a 17-3 overall record, thewomen’s squad also succeeded in the classroom, earning ITAAll-Academic Team honors with a 3.490 GPA during the season. SeniorDiana Martinez also became the school’s first two-time CoSIDAAcademic All-American.
The men’s squad finished 2008 a respectable third in theAtlantic Sun, having compiled a 15-6 overall record and an 8-2 markin the league, finishing behind only nationally-ranked EastTennessee State and Stetson. De Marzo coached Sandy Franz to theschool’s first ITA Division I national ranking, as the Germanstarted the spring with a ranking of 96th. He helped Renzo Airaldiearn All-Atlantic Sun Second Team honors and also coached thedoubles pair of Franz and Airaldi to the semifinals of the ITAMideast Regionals.
The Spartans made the 2006-07 seasons one for the record books, asthe teams closed the door on the Division II era in style. TheSpartans finished 2007 ranked No. 5 in men’s tennis and No. 7in women’s tennis in the final ITA Top 40 poll. De Marzocoached three All-American selections in Stefan Dumitrescu, Airaldiand Anna Novo and an Academic All-American in Martinez.
In 2005-06, he led the women’s team to a second-roundappearance in the NCAA Regionals while coaching the Peach BeltConference and Mid-Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year in AnnaNovo. On the men’s side, the Spartans advanced to the NCAANationals for the first time since 2004 before losing to eventualnational champion Valdosta State. The women’s team finishedwith a No. 8 final national ranking and the men’s team was11th in the final Top 25 poll.
In his first year at the helm of the tennis programs in 2004-05,De Marzo led the men’s team to a No. 11 final ranking, anappearance in the NCAA Tournament, and a co-championship during theregular season in the Peach Belt Conference. On the women’sside, the Spartans claimed a No. 14 final national ranking,advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in threeseasons, and finished in a tie for second in the Peach BeltConference.
De Marzo helped coach the 2004 men’s team to a 20-5 recordand a final No. 7 national ranking. USC Upstate advanced to theNCAA Division II Nationals in Altamonte Springs, Fla. He served asa student assistant coach in 2003, helping the men’s team toa 20-2 record, a share of the Peach Belt Conference regular seasonchampionship, and an appearance in the second round of the NCAATournament. He also aided the women’s team in earning itsfirst-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
De Marzo is a native of Lima, Peru. He played his final threeyears of college tennis for USC Upstate after transferring fromDivision I Norfolk State. De Marzo was one of the core group ofplayers that led the resurgence in the men’s tennis program.While at USC Upstate, he played in the top two spots in singles andis considered the top doubles player at USC Upstate in the TamiMatheny era. He is currently 13th in school history in doubles winsand finished his career with a Top 15 doubles ranking. As the teamcaptain his senior year, De Marzo led the team to its secondconsecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
In junior tennis, De Marzo was ranked as high as No. 8 in all ofSouth America on the COSAT South American Junior’s Tour. Healso competed in the prestigious Orange Bowl and Eddie HerrTournaments all through juniors with wins over severalnationally-ranked players.
The De Marzo File
HOMETOWN: Lima, Peru
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
2004 Bachelor of Arts - BusinessAdministration, USC Upstate
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2002-03 Student Assistant -USC Upstate
2003-04 Assistant Coach - USCUpstate
2004-Pres. Head Coach - USC Upstate
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
1998-99 Norfolk State Men’sTennis Team
1999-02 USC Upstate Men’sTennis Team
AS AN ASSISTANT COACH
Year Position Highlights
2003 Student Assistant - Upstate Helped men’s team earn second straight NCAA bid.
2004 Assistant Coach - Upstate Led men to final ranking of No. 7.
AS A HEAD COACH
Year Men Women Highlights
2005 14-6 12-8 Led both teams toNCAA Tournament and coached two
All-Americans
2006 14-7 13-7 Men won NCAAregional for second time in four years
2007 23-5 21-6 Men ended DII erawith No. 5 ranking
2008 15-6 17-3 Women won AtlanticSun league title
2009 22-3 13-4 Men postschool-record 20 straight wins
2010 18-5 12-5 Men win A-Sunregular-season title
Total 106-32 88-33
