Wesleyan University Men's Tennis

Fried holds the rank of adjunct professor of physical education. He served as interim head coach of both men's and women's tennis at Wesleyan for the 2012-13 season as a visiting instructor in physical education. During the 2015-16 season, Fried led the womens team to the No. 8 national ranking and the mens team to the No. 10 national ranking. The teams four-year move from unranked to inside the top-10, qualifies both teams as the fastest rising programs in the country. In May, Fried led Eudice Chong 18 to the NCAA singles title, repeating her freshman year achievement of national champion and No. 1 player in the country. Fried also led Chong and her partner, Aashli Budhiraja 18 to the NCAA doubles semifinals. The historic seasons also featured the first NESCAC Championship wins in program history for both the men's and women's teams, while the women earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16. Individually, Fried led three athletes to the NCAA singles championship, while two others were named alternates. In 2015-16, four players were named All-Americans under his tutelage (Chong, Budhiraja, Victoria Yu '19 and Steve Chen '18). During the 2014-15 campaign, Fried recruited and coached Chong to the NCAA Division III singles title, the first in program history. Chong was also named the ITA and NESCAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He also recruited and coached two men's and two women's All-Americans during the 2014-15 season Chong, Helen Klass-Warch 18, Michael Liu 17 and Chen - the first women's All-Americans in women's program history, and the second and third All-Americans (and first since 1994) in men's program history. In 2014-15, he led the women's team to a national ranking of 17th and the men's team to a national ranking of 24th, both the highest in program history. His 2018 recruiting classes - freshmen during the 2014-15 campaign - were ranked second and third nationally in Division III on mens and womens sides, respectively. During the 2013-14 season, Fried was honored by his coaching peers with NESCAC Coach of the Year honors. The men's year-end national ranking of 32nd in 2013 was the program's first- ever top-40 finish. Fried adds tremendous playing and coaching experience to the Cardinal staff. A 1991 graduate of Brown University, where he was a four-year tennis team member, two-year captain, and No. 1 singles and doubles player, Fried was a national high school tennis All-American before attending Brown, and attained a No. 1 Eastern Tennis Association ranking in the men's open division. During his playing career, Fried posted wins over eventual Grand Slam winners Goran Ivanisevic, Mark Knowles and Donald Johnson, while also competing against other future pros such as Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang. Fried has had extensive tennis experience as a private coach and has worked as the development director at both the Macci International Tennis Academy in Delray Beach, Fla. and the Seguso-Bassett (now Evert) Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla. He has worked with top ranked juniors from around the world, and coached players at ATP tour events in the United States and Europe. Prior to his arrival at Wesleyan, Fried also worked for over 10 years on Wall Street as a trader and asset manager.

Lucas Pickering joined the Wesleyan men’s and women’s tennis coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2023-24. Pickering assists both programs in all aspects including practice planning, recruitment, player development, and in-game coaching.   His most-recent coaching experience came as Director of Junior Tennis for the Cityview Racket Club from 2021-22 in Long Island. He provided private and group tennis classes and practical lessons to adults and children. His work with the players improved students’ game and motivation, adapting lessons based on the individual needs of the athlete. Within the program, he also supervised tennis coaches of all junior programs and camps to ensure high levels of performance.   Pickering’s first professional job coming out of college was as Assistant Manager of the Sutton East Tennis Club in New York City from 2018-19. He assisted the manager in the overall operations of the tennis club, including scheduling, maintenance, and customer service. Among his other duties included overseeing the front desk staff and coordinating court reservations.   Lucas was a four-year member of the Skidmore College tennis program during his undergraduate years (2014-18). He was a key member of the tennis team for all four years, helping Skidmore win three consecutive Liberty League titles over his collegiate career. He graduated from Skidmore in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies.

The 2024 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Steph Yanosov was promoted to head women's tennis coach for the 2025-26 season after spending her first four seasons at Wesleyan as an assistant coach/associate head coach for both the women's and men's programs.  Yanosov was first promoted to associate head coach in the summer of 2023 and is a two-time ITA Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year, having earned the prestigious honor in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons before being crowned as the top assistant in the nation in 2024. Yanosov graduated from Quinnipiac University in May 2021 as a four-year letterwinner for the Bobcats, helping lead the team to a MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2018. Yanosov has been a constant source of support and leadership within the program the past three seasons, providing tailored instruction fit for both team drills and individual training. Her experience as a professional tennis coach during the summer all throughout her undergraduate years at Quinnipiac has translated seamlessly into the collegiate setting for Wesleyan. Since arriving at Wesleyan in 2021, Yanosov has helped continue a recent run of success for the program that has supplanted the Cardinal women as one of the top programs in the nation. After helping guide the Cardinals to a 23-1 season, unblemished 10-0 NESCAC regular season record and trip to the NCAA semifinals in 2021-22, Yanosov again led a Top 5 ranked Wesleyan team to a 19-2 record, fourth straight NESCAC Championship, and NCAA quarterfinal appearance in 2022-23. Then in the 2023-24 campaign, Wesleyan went on another incredible run to the NCAA National Championship match as the team went 22-0 prior to finishing the season as the national runner-up for the second time in her three seasons with the Cardinals.  Yanosov is not new to the coaching profession as she has served as a professional tennis coach at the Lake Naomi Tennis Center in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania during the summer season all throughout her collegiate career (2018-21). In her role, Yanosov taught basics, fundamentals, strategies and technique with individuals aged 3 to 96-years-old in single and group settings. She coordinated and scheduled lessons directly with clients and instructed private lessons in various disciplines to enhance individual skills. Yanosov graduated from Quinnipiac with a bachelor’s degree in legal studies. She was a distinguished scholar athlete in her undergrad years, earning ITA Scholar Athlete honors as well as MAAC Scholar Athlete and Quinnipiac Dean’s List Scholar all four years (2017-21).