Virginia Commonwealth University Men's Tennis

Now entering his second season with the Rams, Dimitar Kutrovsky has established himself as one of the top coaches in the Atlantic 10. In his first season as Head Coach of the Rams, Kutrovsky guided VCU to a 13-12 overall record and the program’s eighth Atlantic 10 Championship in eight years. The Rams defeated Saint Joseph’s (4-0), Richmond (4-2), and Dayton (4-2) en route to the title before falling to South Carolina in the NCAA First Round. The Gamecocks went on to advance to the third round of the national tournament. Under Kutrovsky’s guidance, five Rams were recognized as Atlantic 10 All-Conference selections. German Samofalov and Alfred Almasi were First Team honorees, while Nicolo Consonni, Erwann Bouchet, and Leon Zarorski earned Second Team accolades. That success was reflected in the team's overall performance as Kutrovsky guided the Rams to an 85% winning percentage against A-10 competition. Kutrovsky’s leadership was just as steady off the court as it was between the white lines. In the classroom, Samofalov, Almasi, Consonni, Bouchet, and Kostiantyn Mantach were honored as Atlantic 10 Scholar-Athletes after each posted a grade point average of at least 3.5 during the academic year.  Kutrovsky was named head coach of the VCU Men’s Tennis program on July 13, 2024, by VCU Vice President and Director of Athletics Ed McLaughlin.   Kutrovsky, a former professional tennis player and collegiate standout at Texas, has over a decade of Division I experience. Prior to his time at VCU, Kutrovsky spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama, where he was named the ITA Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2024.   While at Alabama, Kutrovsky helped the Crimson Tide reach the 2024 NCAA Second Round and a No. 21 final ranking by the ITA. In 2022, he coached the ITA Rookie of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year Filip Planinsek, who in 2024, won the NCAA Singles Championship. Kutrovsky also helped Alabama reach the 2021 NCAA Tournament and in his first season at Alabama in 2019-20, the Crimson Tide were ranked No. 26 by the ITA before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   Prior to Alabama, Kutrovsky spent four seasons at UTSA as an assistant coach.    Before his time at UTSA, he spent five seasons as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Texas. During his tenure, the Longhorns captured the 2014 Big 12 Conference regular season championship and reached the NCAA Tournament in each season, including reaching the 2014 NCAA Quarterfinals.   Kutrovsky played professionally after graduation, where he reached a career ranking as high as No. 293 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He captured a pair of singles titles at the Futures level, posted eight wins in the Davis Cup and reached the semifinals twice at ATP events.    As a student-athlete, Kutrovsky finished his standout career as Texas' all-time winningest player at No. 1 singles with 67 victories. He was a four-time All-Big 12 performer and two-time doubles champion, where he helped Texas reach the NCAA Championship match in 2008 and the NCAA Semifinals in 2009.   He was named Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2010 and earned All-American accolades in both singles and doubles while helping Texas to a 27-3 record and both the Big 12 Regular Season and Tournament titles. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship and was ranked as high as No. 7 by the ITA.   A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, he competed in the Davis Cup for Bulgaria in singles and doubles. Kutrovsky earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Texas in 2010.    

Now entering his second season with the Rams, Mike Palacio has established himself as one of the top coaches in the Atlantic 10. In his first season as Assistant Coach of the Rams, Palacio helped guide VCU to a 13-12 overall record and the program’s eighth Atlantic 10 Championship in eight years. The Rams defeated Saint Joseph’s (4-0), Richmond (4-2), and Dayton (4-2) en route to the title before falling to South Carolina in the NCAA First Round. The Gamecocks went on to advance to the third round of the national tournament. Under Palacio’s and Kutrovsky’s guidance, five Rams were recognized as Atlantic 10 All-Conference selections. German Samofalov and Alfred Almasi were First Team honorees, while Nicolo Consonni, Erwann Bouchet, and Leon Zarorski earned Second Team accolades. That success was reflected in the team's overall performance as Palacio helped guide the Rams to an 85% winning percentage against A-10 competition. Palacio’s leadership was just as steady off the court as it was between the white lines. In the classroom, Samofalov, Almasi, Consonni, Bouchet, and Kostiantyn Mantach were honored as Atlantic 10 Scholar-Athletes after each posted a grade point average of at least 3.5 during the academic year. Palacio was named VCU’s men’s assistant tennis coach in September 2024. Before arriving at VCU, Palacio spent five years at Pacific, where he spent two seasons on the men’s tennis staff and three as an assistant coach for the women’s team. In 2024, he helped lead the Tigers to their first West Coast Conference Tournament appearance, where they reached the second round and received an invitation to the UTR National Invitational Tennis Tournament. Before his tenure at Pacific, Palacio spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach of the men’s team at Elon. The Phoenix went 21-5 and captured their first Colonial Athletic Association Conference title that season, along with making their second NCAA tournament appearance. Prior to Elon, Palacio served as an assistant coach at Division III Washington and Lee, for the 2017-2018 season. He helped coach the men’s team to the 37th Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship during his lone season there. Palacio also served as the women’s head coach at his alma mater, Imperial Valley College. He coached the Desert Warriors for five and a half years, and in 2014 was named the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Women’s Coach of the Year. A native of El Centro, California, Palacio played two years at Imperial Valley College, before graduating with his associate’s degree. He would then go on to play two years at Division II Cal Poly Pomona, before graduating in 2016.