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Author: Matt Jones
Published: Thursday, June 10, 2021
FAYETTEVILLE Central Florida assistant coach Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar has been hired to lead the Arkansas women’s tennis program.
Sanchez-Quintanar, 32, has spent the last five seasons at UCF and was named National Assistant of the Year in 2019 by the ITA.
After spending some time with Cristina, it was clear to me that she is deeply passionate about tennis and committed to the success of her student athletes, Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement about the lease. He is hardworking and incredibly competitive. These traits served him well as a three-sport student-athlete in the SEC and have also been hallmarks of his coaching career.
“As a student-athlete and then coach, Cristina has been successful at all stages of her career. She helped coach (Bryan) Koniecko build a national women’s tennis performance at UCF and understand what a nationally competitive tennis program is needed to build and maintain.
Sanchez-Quintanar played tennis, basketball and football at Texas A&M from 2011-14. He was the SEC’s single champion and SEC double champion in 2013 when he helped Aggies into a national spot.
The Spanish native was double as an American tennis player and is the only Texas A&M female athlete to have entered the NCAA tournament in three sports.
I look forward to working with this group of young women and helping them develop in and out of court, she said. I understand the challenges associated with this position at such a prestigious university and conference. I can’t wait to put my foot in Fayetteville and take the opportunity to put this Razorback family back on top.
At UCF, Sanchez-Quintanar was part of the teams that won two consecutive American Athletic Conference championships.
“It’s been a huge journey and such a pleasure to work alongside Cristina over the last five seasons,” Koniecko said. “Cristina has played a vital role in the success of UCF women’s tennis and helped us rise to the top ten.”
Sanchez-Quintanar replaces Courtney Steinbock, who resigned last month after her arrest over public intoxication in County Madison. Steinbock led the Razorbacks to the NCAA this year.
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