West Liberty University Men's Tennis

   Ron Hulewicz begins his fifth year as head men’s tennis coach at West Liberty University in 2025, leading the program’s return after a one-year hiatus. In addition to his coaching duties, Dr. Hulewicz serves as an Instructor of Education at WLU. During the 2021–22 season, Hulewicz guided the Hilltoppers to an exceptional year. The team spent the entire campaign ranked in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region and finished as runners-up in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament to nationally-ranked Charleston. West Liberty earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, where they defeated Mercyhurst (Pa.) in the semifinals before falling to Charleston in the championship match. A standout player during his career, Hulewicz was a 4-star recruit and an elite student-athlete at Michigan State University. From 2008–12, he was a fixture in the Spartans' starting lineup, amassing 89 career singles wins. He earned four Academic All-Big Ten selections and was honored with the 2010 Big Ten Conference Sportsmanship Award. His impressive schoolboy career at Jupiter (Fla.) High School included an undefeated junior season, highlighted by winning the 2007 Florida Class 4A state singles championship. After earning his bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Michigan State in 2012, Hulewicz stayed on as a graduate assistant with the men’s tennis program while pursuing a master’s degree in Teaching and Curriculum, which he completed in 2014. He also holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Grades K–6) from Florida State University. Hulewicz began his coaching career at Jensen Beach (Fla.) High School in 2016. In his debut season, he led the boys' tennis team to an undefeated season and the school’s first-ever Florida Class 3A state championship. Over the years, Hulewicz has also served as a head tennis pro at several clubs in Florida and New York, honing his expertise in player development. Before joining West Liberty, he was a faculty member in the Education Department at Florida State University, where he combined his passions for teaching and coaching.

McCullough has the West Liberty mens tennis program riding the crest of a pretty impressive wave.     Not only are his Hilltoppers coming off back-to-back Mountain East Conference regular-season and tournament championships, theyve spent the past two years near the top of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings and earned NCAA Division II tournament invitations each year.     In addition to their strong spring performance, a trio of Hilltopper standouts swept this years ITA Atlantic Region singles and doubles championships in September to qualify for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Small College Championships in Sumter, S.C.     Baptiste Perrin, WLUs No. 1 singles player, finished seventh in the national championship event with the Black and Golds No. 1 doubles tandem Santiago Gutierrez and Andy Ponder bringing home sixth-place honors.     Perrin and Gutierrez were first-team All-MEC selections in the spring with Ponder and Martin Moncayo earning second-team honors. Ponder also kept the teams strong academic tradition alive by earning first-team Academic All-District laurels for the second straight season.     The Hilltoppers have now earned six NCAA Division II tournament bids during the McCullough era, claiming three conference championships (2007, 2015, 2016) and advancing to four conference finals. His 2009 Hilltoppers made it to the WVIAC title match but fell to W.Va. Wesleyan.     McCullough's teams have been as impressive in the classroom as they have been on the court. The 2016 Hilltoppers were honored as an ITA All-Academic Team for the eighth consecutive season.     At the individual level, Tyler McCullough Coach McCulloughs son became the only WVIAC player ever to earn one of the ITAs major national awards when he won the ITAs 2012 Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership. A two-time regional Ashe Award winner, Tyler McCullough was presented with the national award at a ceremony in New York City during the 2012 U.S. Open.