University of Denver Athletics

Paul Wardlaw enters his fourth season as head coach for the DU women's tennis team in 2024-25.

Awards & Honors

• 2023 ITA Mountain Regional Coach of the Year
• Four-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• 2009 ITA East Regional Coach of the Year (with Brown University)
• 2000 ITA DIII Women's Coach of the Decade (with Kenyon College)
• 1993 ITA DIII National Coach of the Year (with Kenyon College)

2024-25

• Helped lead Denver to its 11th-consecutive Summit League tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance
• Finished 12-10 on the season including a perfect 6-0 in Summit League duals and 7-1 in home matches (only loss a narrow 3-4 result to BYU)
• Coached Andrea Burguete Beltran to the round of 32 at the NCAA National Singles Championships in November where she became the fourth DU women's player to win a singles NCAA match
• Led Burguete Beltran to both the singles and doubles (with Marley Lambert) title matches at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships
• Helped coach junior transfer Lambert to Summit League Newcomer of the Year honors

2023-24

• Helped lead Denver to its 10th-straight Summit League tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance
• Finished 17-7 on the season including a perfect 6-0 in Summit League duals
• Achieved season-high national ranking on No. 27, the program's highest since 2008; finished year ranked No. 57 nationally and No. 3 in the ITA Mountain Regional
• Helped lead sweep of Summit League awards with Andrea Burguete Beltran winning Player of the Year and Alice Otis securing Newcomer of the Year

2022-23

• Coached DU to its ninth-consecutive Summit League title while also extending program's perfect record in Summit League dual matches
• Helped lead Denver to its ninth-straight and 12th overall appearance at NCAA tournament and captured doubles point against No. 17 Oklahoma State (program's first point in NCAA tournament since 2018)

2021-22

• Won Denver's eighth Summit League title in a row after going 7-0 in League play (14-9 overall); coached all seven student-athletes to All-Summit League Team honors
• Won consecutive matches against Power 5 teams (at Utah, home against Iowa)

Prior to Denver

Head Coach - Brown (2004-18)

• Went 137-106 in his 14 seasons
• Finished with a national ranking in nine seasons including as high as No. 29
• Coached three Ivy League Rookies of the Year during his tenure

Head Coach - Iowa (1997-2004)

• Made four appearances in NCAA tournament including to the Round of 16 in 1999 after the program finished 10th in the Big Ten the year before his arrival
• Finished tenure with 83-78 record and held national team rankings in each of his seven seasons, peaking as high at No. 25

Head Coach - Kenyon College (DIII; 1989-97)

• Won three NCAA DIII National Championships (1993, 1995, 1997)
• Collected ITA DIII Women's National Coach of the Year honors in 1993 and ITA DIII Women's Coach of the Decade in 2000

Additional Related Experience

• Athletic Director & Director of Tennis - Dublin School (prep school in New Hampshire)
• Author of book "Pressure Tennis"
• Known for his tactical system called "Wardlaw Directionals"

Education

• Bachelor's degree (College of Wooster [OH])
• Master's degree in philosophy (University of Illinois Chicago)