University of Tennessee Athletics
Men's Tennis
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
During the 2021-22 season, Van Cott aided the Vols to a second consecutive NCAA Semifinals appearance and a trip to the ITA Indoor National Championships for a second year in a row. He helped oversee four All-SEC selections, a pair of ITA Singles All-Americans and an All-American doubles duo. He also worked closely with Adam Walton, who joined Tennessee's 100/100 wins club in 2022 and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championship, earning All-America status for a second consecutive season and finishing the year ranked second in the ITA national singles poll.
Van Cott helped UT take great strides in a 2020-21 season that saw the Vols advance to ITA Indoor Nationals for the first time since 2014, while also claiming the program's first SEC title since 2010 when the Orange & White took down Florida, 4-3, in the championship match. The Vols would later advance to their first NCAA Semifinal since 2010, knocking off a trio of ranked opponents in the process.
In the Vols victory over Florida, Van Cott was primarily on court two in doubles, helping coach freshman Johannus Monday and junior Martim Prata to a crucial, 7-5, victory over Florida's Duarte Vale and Josh Goodger that clinched the all-important doubles point in that match. In singles play, Van Cott rotated between graduate student Giles Hussey and Prata. Hussey earned a comprehensive, 6-4, 6-3 win over Ben Shelton, before Prata clinched championship point with a 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-5 upset victory over No. 14 Andy Andrade to give the Vols the title.
Van Cott has also been integral in the development of SEC Freshman of the Year Monday, along with the dominance of graduate student Luca Wiedenmann in his fifth and final year in East Tennessee.
The Unadilla, New York native was also primarily responsible for helping junior Martim Prata earn a trip to the NCAA Singles Championship, where he was one set away from earning All-America status, by earning a spot in the Round of 16.
Van Cott spent three seasons as the men's tennis assistant coach at East Carolina University prior to his arrival in Knoxville. During his first season with the Pirates, Van Cott helped guide the team to a program record 22 victories. Five players won 18 or more singles matches with three capturing 20 or more. ECU players won more than 68 percent of their singles and doubles matches during the 2017-18 campaign.
Van Cott helped ECU finish with a winning record (14-7) during the 2018-19 campaign, including a dominant 8-1 mark at home. The Pirates jumped out to a 10-1 start, one of the best in school history. Van Cott helped Diogo Marques to one of ECU’s best-ever rookie seasons, with Marques going 19-11 in singles, including 7-5 on court one.
The 2019-20 campaign was shaping up to be one of ECU’s best, as the Pirates had amassed an 11-2 record, including 8-0 at home. However, the season was cut short by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Despite the premature ending, Van Cott helped the ECU squad continue its upward trajectory. The Pirates saw sophomore Diogo Marques start the fall season 8-0, earning him the AAC Tennis Player of the Month in September and earning the No. 103 ranking in the ITA’s national singles ranking. Marques was the first Pirate to earn a player of the month award since ECU moved to the AAC in 2014 and was just the third Pirate in program history to earn a national singles ranking. Simon Labbe and Agustin Tamagnone also had a successful fall, becoming the first ECU doubles tandem to reach the ITA Carolina Regional Quarterfinals since 2016.
ECU had a 47-14 record during Van Cott's 3 seasons with the program.
Van Cott was a four-year letterwinner at Tulane and posted a 52-46 career singles record playing primarily at the No. 5 and No. 6 spot for the Green Wave. He went 43-20 overall in doubles and 28-19 in dual matches. As a senior, his leadership helped guide Tulane to the NCAA Tournament where the team won its first NCAA match in over 11 years.
He earned his Bachelor of Science in psychology from Tulane in 2016.
