Olaya Garrido Rivas - Women's Tennis Coach - Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Olaya Garrido Rivas

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
og2k@mtmail.mtsu.edu
Phone:
898-5154

Olaya Garrido Rivas officially became part of Charlie Ramsay's women's tennis staff in August 2017 following an outstanding playing career at USF and TCU.

In her first year as Ramsay's assistant, the Blue Raiders saw new levels of success and achieved program history, being the first MT women's tennis team to advance to the Conference USA Championship Semifinals. MT finished at 19-8, which is tied with the 2015 season for the most wins in a single season since 2000, and for the first time in program history, the Blue Raiders advanced to the semifinals of the C-USA Championship after blanking 12-seed UTSA and upsetting 4-seed FAU. Kim Kermet was named to the All-C-USA Second Team Singles list, and out of the five returning players on the 2017-18 roster, three saw personal best records in doubles, and three saw personal best records in singles.

"My college coach knew Charlie really well and spoke very highly of him," Rivas said. "I think Middle Tennessee is a great university, and I'm excited to be a coach here."

Rivas spent her first two seasons in Tampa, Florida, where she made an immediate impact on her team as soon as she enrolled at USF. The Bulls took down top-seeded Houston to win the AAC title her freshman year, and Rivas was named an All-AAC performer. In her second season with USF, she was mainly the top singles player and was at the No. 1 doubles position.

In her first season at TCU, Rivas was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year for her stellar play, including a singles win in the NCAA Tournament. To wrap up her college career, she was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team Doubles and Academic All-Big 12 Second Team, was ranked in doubles during the season, and earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Doubles Tournament.

"I didn't know I liked coaching until my senior season when I got injured," Rivas added. "I was in a boot for a long time, and I started coaching my teammates during matches and practice, and I really enjoyed it."

Rivas graduated from TCU in the summer of 2017 with a degree in Public Relations and is enrolled in graduate school at MTSU with a concentration in Sport Management.