Our Philosophy
Utah tennis provides a modern and professional approach to player development on and off the court. Renowned experts in the field of human performance provide individualized programs and detailed feedback to student-athletes, ensuring a comprehensive, scientific and player-oriented model for maximizing athletic and academic success. The unrivaled support system at the University of Utah provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a competitive team environment and challenge the best that college tennis has to offer in the Pac-12 Conference. All this, under the guidance of a young and energetic coaching staff, that has experience coaching at the highest level of professional tennis and a proven track record of player development, driven to prepare players for a career on the ATP Tour.
Roeland Brateanu, a three-time ITA Mountain Region Coach of the Year at Utah, is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Utah men’s tennis program.
Brateanu and the Utes are coming off an 18-10 season in 2021 where the team finished ranked No. 50 in the final Oracle/ITA rankings. The Utes upset No. 20 Arizona to highlight the season while also collecting a 16-5 non-conference record and 9-2 Mountain Region record. Utah finished the year ranked No. 2 in the Mountain Region and had four Utes ranked in the top 20 for singles play with Franco Capalbo coming in ranked No. 3 and Geronimo Busleiman at No. 5 to lead the way. Brateanu also guided Capalbo to an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection in just his second season at the U.
Prior to the shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19, Brateanu had led the Utes to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and No. 1 overall Mountain Region rankings, along with earning a spot in the final ITA/Oracle rankings in three of the last four seasons. In his six seasons at the helm, he has seen the Utes collect 11 Pac-12 All-Conference selections and seven ITA Mountain Region end of year awards.
Staff
Sten Van Beurden
Associate Head Coach
svanbeurden@huntsman.utah.edu
Sten van Beurden is entering his fourth season as the Utah men’s tennis associate head coach in the 2021-22 season.
He was integral in helping the Utes to their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019 with Dan Little becoming the first Ute to qualify for the NCAA Division I Singles Championships.
He served as a hitting partner for multiple international tennis players, including 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek (No. 4 in the ATP) and 2003 French Open finalist Martin Verkerk (No. 14 ATP).
As a collegiate coach, Van Beurden was an assistant men's coach at Georgia State from 2000-01 before taking over as the head coach from 2001-02. After his stint at Georgia State, Van Beurden was an assistant at Baylor from 2002-03.
Possibly his biggest accomplishment of his career was to guide both Francisco Bahamonde and Manuel Pena Lopez to top-20 ITF World Junior Rankings, and guiding Bahamonde to become the youngest player in ATP history to win points at age 14.
Sten and his wife Tatiana have two sons, Valentin (14) and Timo (12).
Graeme Cox
Volunteer Assistant Coach
Graeme Cox, a former player at Utah, currently serves as a volunteer assistant. Cox is in his 23rd season overall with the program, serving in different capacities throughout his time at the U.
Cox, one of Utah's all-time leaders in singles wins, served two stints as a full time assistant coach with the Utes. He earned the ITA Mountain Region Assistant Coach of the year Award in 2007.
As a player, Cox was a member of Utah teams that won the 1990 WAC title and advanced to the ‘90 and ‘91 NCAA Indoor Championships. In 1992, he won the Region VII Sportsmanship Award. Since finishing his Utah career, Cox has won two USTA Golden Balls in singles and is the reigning two-time 40s-and-over Indoor National Champion. He also earned a USTA Silver Ball in doubles, and has won eight Utah State Open Championships in doubles and one in singles.
Erin Anderson
Director of Operations
Erin Anderson is in her third season as the Director of Operations for the men's and women's tennis programs.
Anderson graduated from the University of Utah with a major in Sports Management. The Salt Lake City native grew up playing competitive softball, as well as participating in many other sports. Prior to joining the Utah men's and women's tennis staff, Anderson had previously spent time working in collegiate athletics at Snow College, Southern Virginia University, and BYU. She also has worked with Rookie League Minor League Baseball. Anderson enjoys history, the outdoors, and visiting new places.
High Performance Team
The High Performance Team is an initiative of head coach Roeland Brateanu to integrate all facets of the world-class services available to Utah student-athletes into a professional, well-balanced team. Through innovation, expertise, collaboration and communication, the team provides individualized care to maximize each student-athlete's physical and psychological potential, leading to peak performances in the classroom and on the tennis court.
Scott Willis
Strength & Conditioning
Sarah Green
Academic Advisor
Dr. Dave Petron
Team Physician
Eni Kinikini
Athletic Trainer
Dr. Jonathan Ravarino
Director of Psychology and Wellness
Meredith Price
Executive Director of Sports Nutrition
Dan Little
2019 NCAA Singles Qualifier
Team Facilities
Utah men's tennis utilizes some of the finest facilities in the nation.
Here's a closer look.
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Tradition
Two of Utah's three ITA Hall of Fame members: Jim Osborne (left) and coach Harry James (right).
26 conference championships, dating back to its first in 1928 as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
16 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1977 (under the team championship format) with 10 of those teams making it to the Sweet 16. The Utes returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years in 2018 and made an appearance once again in 2019.
One NCAA singles champion: Greg Holmes (1983)
Three ITA Hall of Fame members: Harry James, Jim Osbourne and Greg Holmes.
12 All-America awards captured by eight players: Jim Osborne (twice), Jeff Robbins, FD Robbins (twice), Christian Schultes, Dan Bleckinger (twice), Greg Holmes, Kent Crawford (twice), Christian Svensson
780 all-conference selections since 1981, including 11 during the Pac-12 era.
Slim Hamza (2012, 2013, 2014), Dan Little (2017, 2018, 2019) and David Micevski (2016, 2017, 2019) were named All-Pac-12 three times since joined the league in 2012. 20 student-athletes have earned 40 Pac-12 All-Academic honors in the last seven years under Roeland Bateanu.
Four ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award winners: Graeme Cox, Brandon Owen, Roeland Brateanu and Egbert Weverink.
Six Conference Player of the Year awards.
Four Conference Coach of the Year accolades.
Three ITA Mountain Region Coach of the Year awards won by Roeland Brateanu (2017-19).
Utah's Greatest Fun Facts
Greg Holmes owned the record for longest match played in Wimbledon history before the epic Isner-Mahut match in 2010.
FD Robbins was a part of the longest match played in U.S. Open history getting a second round win over Dick Dell in 1970.
Jim Osborne won a bronze medal in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in mixed doubles and won five ATP titles in doubles. He was also a member of the 1968 U.S. Davis Cup Team that beat Australia in the finals.
Steve Krulevitz represented Israel in the Davis Cup and captained the team as well.
Frithjof Prydz represented Norway in Davis Cup while also being a national ski champion, representing Norway in the 1972 Winter Olympics.
David Freed was U.S. Davis Cup Team captain from 1960-62
Johan Hoegstedt's brother, Thomas, was a Swedish professional tennis player and coached Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki
Wallace Stegner, an American novelist, environmentalist and historian who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1972, played at Utah in the late 1920s.
Pulitzer Prize winner Wallace Stegner played for the Utes in the late 1920s
Utes in the Grand Slams
| SINGLES | Australian | Roland Garros | Wimbledon | U.S. Open |
| FD Robbins | - | - | - | R32 |
| Jim Osborne | R16 | R128 | R64 | R16 |
| Steve Krulevitz | R64 | R64 | R32 | R64 |
| Greg Holmes | R64 | R64 | ||
| Dan Bleckinger | - | - | R32 | R64 |
| DOUBLES | Australian | Roland Garros | Wimbledon | U.S. Open |
| FD Robbins | - | - | - | R64 |
| Jim Osborne | QF | R16 | QF | SF |
| Steve Krulevitz | SF | R16 | R16 | R16 |
| Greg Holmes | R64 | R64 | R16 | R32 |
| Dan Bleckinger | - | - | R16 | - |
| David Sherbeck | - | - | - | R64 |
| MIXED DOUBLES | Australian | Roland Garros | Wimbledon | U.S. Open |
| Jim Osborne | R64 | - | - | R32 |
| Steve Krulevitz | - | QF | R64 | R16 |
| Greg Holmes | - | - | R16 | R32 |
| David Sherbeck | - | - | QF | - |
Davis Cup Utes
David Freed (captain) – USA
Jim Osborne – USA (Davis Cup Champion)
Steve Krulevitz (player and captain) – Israel
Jon-Erik Ross – Norway
Frithjof Prydz – Norway
John Erik Rustad (player and captain) – Norway
Jean-Marc Arends – Aruba
Benito Suriano – El Salvador
Slim Hamza – Tunisia
David Micevski – Macedonia
Santiago Sierra – Mexico
Franco Capalbo
2021 Season Preview
The Utes are coming off an 18-10 season in 2021 where the team finished ranked No. 50 in the Oracle/ITA final rankings. The Utes upset No. 20-ranked Arizona to highlight the season, while also collecting a 16-5 non-conference record and 9-2 Mountain Region record.
Utah finished the year ranked No. 2 in the Mountain Region and had four Utes ranked in the top 20 for singles play with Franco Capalbo coming in ranked No. 3 and Geronimo Busleiman at No. 5 to lead the way.
Capalbo, a sophomore from Argentina, earned Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention. He recorded the best win percentage in singles and doubles play and posted a phenomenal 15-6 singles record this season, which included a 4-0 mark in regular season conference play. Capalbo played primarily between the top two courts, going 9-4 on court one and 6-2 on court two. He recorded three wins over ranked opponents.
Busleiman, a sophomore from Argentina, went 16-10 last season highlighted by an 8-5 tally on court three.
Franciso Bastias, a junior from Argentina, went 17-9 overall in 2021 with a 6-3 mark on court three and 10-4 on court four. Mathias Gavelin, a junior from Sweeden, had a winning record as well with a 14-11 overall mark. He spent most of his time on court five with a 10-6 record.
In doubles action, Capalbo posted the second-most wins on the team with 12 victories this season. He went 8-4 on court one with Busleiman, and ended the season with four wins on court two with Luis Flores. Bastias and graduated senior Slava Shainvan went 7-8 overall in double play with a 6-5 mark on court one. Rian Ta returns after playing in two matches at No. 6 singles last season.
Russell Benkaim, Benjamin Heck, Flores, and Shainyan landed on the ITA Scholar-Athlete team. It was the fourth year in a row that the program has had at least four Utes earn an individual honor. Flores and Shainyan earned their fifth selection as an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Utah has added three transfers for this fall, welcoming twin brothers Michael and Jayson Blando from UC Riverside. Bruno Caula, who was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the 2021 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships, transfers UNC Wilmington.
