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Medina Alvarez, who graduated from Longwood last May with a degree in business administration, joined the Longwood Athletics Department as the men’s head coach in January 2018 and was promoted in August as head coach of both men’s and women’s programs as tennis director. In coaching both teams, he also continued his bachelor’s degree from Longwood and graduated magna cum laude in less than four years.
“It’s incredible gratitude and albeit somewhat sad that coach Medina Alvarez is different from coaching in search of new professional opportunities,” Meadows said. “She has played an important role in the development of men’s and women’s tennis programs across academia, athleticism and the empowerment of citizen leaders throughout her tenure over the past four years.
“Both the men’s and women’s teams achieved historic success under Jhonnatan’s leadership, but most impressive has been how he has built Longwood’s tennis culture into inclusion, friendships and excellence since his arrival in 2018. Jhonnatan led our daily passionate, purposeful and passionate love and competitive spirit.
Over the course of four years at Farmville, Medina Alvarez coached some of the top players in program history, including an all-time doubles and doubles winner Amadeo Blasco who broke almost all school records under Medina Alvarez. His Longwood men’s teams reached a record 39-32 during his tenure, while the Longwood women went 22-25 when he took your program before through 2018-19.
Three of Medina Alvarez’s four Longwood men’s teams finished in the winning discs, including his 2017-18 and 2018-19 teams, which collected a corresponding 13-9 record for the program’s first backward double-digit winning seasons in the Big South season. . His first Longwood team, led by a record 30 winning campaign from Blasco, made it to the semifinals of the Big South Championship for the first time in program history.
Meanwhile, Longwood’s women’s teams also flourished under Medina Alvarez, winning records in two of her three seasons at the helm. His 2018-19 team rose 12-10 in the Division I season with the second most wins.
“I woke up every morning grateful for the opportunity I had at Longwood,” Medina Alvarez said. “I thank my players so much. Tennis is a unique sport, and sometimes we can’t learn in detail from each other. But it was the biggest thing as a coach. I wanted everyone to know it, regardless of their background or tennis ability, they could always give something to the people around them. not just tennis, but society as well.I hope every player I coach at least takes it out of playing at Longwood.
Medina Alvarez’s Longwood teams were known for their diversity, with players greeted from five different continents. Last season, the men’s and women’s lists represented 13 different countries, including Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, France, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela, where Medina Alvarez grew up in Caracas. Eleven of the 16 players on the 2020-21 list also earned Presidential or Dean list recognition last spring.
“I am proud that Longwood tennis has become known for things that were important to me and our players, discipline, leadership, responsibility and, above all, respect for cultures, ethnic origins and that we are all alike,” Medina Alvarez said.
“The program has no colors, no backgrounds, just people trying to take care of each other and learn through university experience, athletics and adaptation to a new country. Whether we were playing, training, having lunch on our trip or just spending time with each other, it was a great experience.”
A former international professional tennis player who competed in the Davis Cup, ranked in the top 400 in the ATP world rankings and was the 2015 USTA men’s champion, Medina Alvarez received numerous awards last year from both Longwood University and the Longwood student-athlete population. These included the Longwood College of Business & Economics (CBE) SNVC Citizen Leader Award, which is given to a senior member of the CBE who has demonstrated education, values and service, and the Longwood Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Coach of the Year An award given annually to a coach who has made an impact on student athletes in an exceptional way, either on or off the field.
Along with the success of their teams on the field, Longwood tennis also claimed the Athletics Department’s Cormier Awards for the team’s academic excellence in 2020. Both men and women earned the highest cumulative averages of all Longwood teams in both the fall. and spring 2020 semesters. Both teams also earned the department’s highest GPAs in the spring of 2021, with men earning the department’s best and program record of 3.60 and women 3.57.
#GoWood
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