Nathaniel Warren

Title

Volunteer Assistant Men's and Women's Tennis Coach

Five years after closing his stellar career as a head coach at Norfolk State, Nathaniel Warren returned to the NSU tennis teams as an assistant coach. The 2019-20 academic season marks his sixth year in that capacity after rejoining the programs in the fall of 2014.

He assists in various aspects of the tennis programs, including on-court coaching as well as fundraising.

Warren is plenty familiar with the inner workings of NSU and its tennis teams, having spent 17 years as the head coach of the men’s team after starting the program up in 1992-93. He was also responsible for the startup of the women’s team in 1994-95.

In 17 seasons as the men’s head coach and 15 as the women’s head coach through 2009, Warren’s teams went a combined 402-216 unofficially (.650 winning percentage).

Since returning to the courts as an assistant coach, the NSU women have seen dramatic improvement. In 2015, the Spartans knocked off 10-time defending MEAC champion South Carolina State and finished with their first .500 conference record in seven years. Then in ’16, they went 6-0 in MEAC Northern Division play, capturing their first-ever regular season title.

The Spartan women also had their first first-team all-conference honoree in 12 years when Liza Gordeeva and Mafalda Lhorca both earned the distinction in 2015. A year later, Marta Gomar took home the MEAC Rookie of the Year Award, the first ever for the women’s program.

Norfolk State’s women’s team tied for second in the MEAC Northern Division standings in 2017 and went undefeated at home for the first time since 2008. The Spartans saw Dajana Cvjetkovic named to the All-MEAC second team.

NSU followed with a fourth-place finish in the division in 2018 and a second-consecutive appearance in the conference tournament. Cvjetkovic again received All-MEAC recognition in 2018, earning first team honors.

The Spartan men, meanwhile, posted a 4-1 MEAC record with a second-place finish in 2016. Benedikt Henning won the MEAC Rookie of the Year Award and was named first-team all-conference. That came after Pascal Domnik and Daniel Grauel were named second-team all-conference the year before.

The 2017 men’s team reached the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament for the first time since 2014 and finished second in the Northern Division with a 3-1 record in conference fixtures.

The men’s team made their second-straight appearance in the MEAC Tournament semifinals after finishing second in the Northern Division and beating Bethune-Cookman in the 2018 quarterfinals. Andres Alcaraz earned first team All-MEAC honors for the season.

During his head coaching tenure, Warren led the Spartan men to second-place finishes in the conference regular season standings in both 2006 and ‘07. The NSU women ranked second in the MEAC South standings in 2008 and ended the year as the runner-up at the MEAC Championship, their third title match appearance.

He coached numerous All-MEAC players during his time as head coach, including 2006 MEAC Rookie of the Year and 2008 MEAC Player of the Year Miroslav Vlcek. He was a four-time all-conference selection.

Warren’s men’s team did not take long to make an impact in the CIAA after the program’s startup. NSU finished second at the conference tournament in its rookie year in 1993 and then again in 1995.

The Spartans captured the 1996 and ‘97 conference championships, finishing 8-0 in the regular season both years. The Spartans also won the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title in ‘97, advancing to the NCAA round of 16 that season.

Avi Kigel was named the ITA Rookie of the Year for the Southeastern Region in 1995, as NSU finished third at the Eastern Regional Championship.

Warren was named the 1994 CIAA Coach of the year and the 1995 USTA Virginia Coach of the Year.

He also spent eight years as the facilities coordinator at Norfolk State. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and safety from NSU in 1969. He also earned a master’s in administration from NSU in 1985.

Warren has been a member of the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), the American Tennis Association (ATA), and the Tidewater Indoor Tennis Club. He played USTA Team Tennis and coached tennis at Kempsville and Bayside high schools in Virginia Beach.