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Women's Tennis
Sachin Kirtane is in his eighth season as the University of Northern Iowa's women's tennis coach. Kirtane has compiled a career record of 90-57 coaching the Panthers. He is first in all-time coaching wins as Kirtane surpassed the former leader, Pete Mazula, on March 18, 2009, with a win over Southern (La.). Mazula still holds the all-time winning percentage mark (.664). Kirtane's all-time winning percentage is second behind Mazula at .633.
The Panthers have achieved five consecutive winning seasons under Kirtane. In three out of the past four seasons, Kirtane has seen his team competing in or beyond the MVC semifinals. During the 2005 campaign, Kirtane led the Panthers to their first Missouri Valley Conference championship match only to lose regular season champion Illinois State.
In 2007, Kirtane led the Panthers to a second place regular season finish in the Missouri Valley Conference with 6-2 league record. Kirtane has helped boost UNI's in-conference reputation. After having a combined conference record of 2-16 in his first two seasons, Kirtane's Panthers have boasted a 24-18 conference record over the last four seasons.
After finishing sixth in the MVC regular season standings in 2009, Kirtane led the Panthers to the finals of the MVC Tournament, falling to Wichita State. The Panthers were just the first-ever No. 7 seed to reach the finals of the MVC Tournament.
From 1998-2002, Kirtane was the assistant men's and women's tennis coach at Valdosta State University. He helped lead both teams to the finals of the Gulf South Conference Championships in 1998-99. In 2000, the men's team was ranked fourth in the nation. The women's team won the conference title and reached the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II Championship in Pensacola, Fla. In 2001, the men's team was ranked second in the nation and won its second consecutive conference title.
Kirtane graduated from VSU in 1998 with a marketing degree. In 2000, he earned his master's from VSU in business administration.
Kirtane was a scholarship athlete for VSU's tennis team from 1994-98. He was awarded all-conference and all-America honors. He also was a member of the Student Advisory Committee. He participated in the Division II National Tournament and won the Gulf South Conference championship in 1995. He was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1996. Kirtane was a member of the team that finished fourth in the national tournament in 1994-95. In 1992-93, he played professionally. He also played in the ITF International Junior Ranking Tournaments in 1990-91.
Kirtane was inducted into the Valdosta State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2009, Kirtane was selected as a member of the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Committee. The four-year term includes the duties of selecting the 64 teams and individuals selected to participate in the NCAA Championships.
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