Hunter Nicholas is in his third season as the Utah State assistant men’s tennis coach.
In 2021, Utah State posted a 12-8 overall record, going 3-4 in Mountain West action. Three Aggies earned all-Mountain West honors. Sergiu Bucur and Felipe Acosta were both named to the all-conference singles team, while the duo of Acosta and Javier Ruiz received doubles accolades.
During the 2019-20 season, Nicholas helped the Aggies to a 3-11 record as the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sergiu Bucur earned all-Mountain West honors in singles after going 8-10 overall, including a 7-7 record in dual match play.
Before coming to USU, Nicholas spent the 2018-19 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State. A Park City, Utah native, Nicholas helped lead Oklahoma State to a 16-12 dual-match record during the 2018-19 season, guiding the Cowboys to victories over such ranked teams as California, NC State, Memphis, Texas Tech and TCU, as well as Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
No stranger to the Mountain West, Nicholas was a standout player at San Diego State from 2010-14. With the Aztecs, he was a four-year all-MW selection in doubles play, and helped the team win the MW regular season title in 2013. He was also an all-conference selection in singles play his senior year.
After his time at SDSU, Nicholas played professional tennis for a year-and-a-half. He garnered a 43-20 career doubles record in the ATP/WTA Tour and ITF Pro Circuit main draw. Nicholas was ranked as high as No. 345 in doubles and earned a career-high ranking of 953 in singles.
In December of 2015, Nicholas retired from professional tennis and began coaching privately in his home state of Utah, working with players of all ages. Nicholas married his wife, Amy, in July, 2020.