Chris Leicht

Monmouth University

Team:men

· Three Conference Championships (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Three NCAA Tournament Appearances (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Three Regular Season Championships (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Three-Time Conference Coach of the Year (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Regional Coach of the Year (2021)
· Team ranked #1 in Region (2021)
· Team ranked #56 in Nation (Feb. 23, 2022)
· Coached Two Nationally Ranked Players (Pipoli, Martinez)
· 29 All-Conference Selections
· Three All-American Academic Teams

Career Record: 547-122
Career Record at Monmouth: 56-15
Career Conference Record at Monmouth: 17-0

Chris Leicht was named the head coach of the Monmouth University men’s tennis program on August 17, 2018. Leicht came to Monmouth from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, where he served as head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs for 16 seasons.

The 2021-22 season was a historic one for the men's tennis program as the team reached the 20-win mark and achieved a national ITA Team ranking (#56) for the first time in school history. Monmouth continued its dominance of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference by going unbeaten in regular season league play en route to a seventh consecutive regular season crown. The Hawks cruised to a sixth consecutive MAAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance before their excellent run came to an end against #14 Harvard.

Monmouth finished the 2021-22 season at 20-4 and had seven student-athletes named to All-MAAC teams, with four Hawks earning multiple honors in singles and doubles play. Five different Hawks collected first team awards, led by Niels Van Noord and Charlie Penman at No. 1 Doubles. Victor Castro and Trent Massam were named First Team at No. 3 doubles and also secured First Team honors in singles at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively. Lucca Silva rounded out the First Team awards with his nod at No. 4 singles. Van Noord added Second Team honors to his name at No. 1 singles along with Dmitry Bezborodov at No. 2 singles. Bezborodov and Gabriel Busato combined to earn Second Team All-MAAC honors at No. 2 doubles.

Leicht led Monmouth to its sixth straight Regular Season Championship and fifth straight Tournament Championship in 2020-21. He was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the second time and also earned ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year, leading Monmouth to a 14-3 (5-0 MAAC) record. Leicht guided Monmouth to the NCAA Tournament once again, as the team eventually fell to #9 UCF. The team was also ranked #1 in the Northeast Region by ITA. All six of Monmouth's singles players earned an All-MAAC honor, including Will Cooke Wharton, Max Benaim, Lucca Silva, Victor Castro, Sergio Martinez, and Gabriel Busato. In addition, Charles Gortzounian was named to First Team All-MAAC at No. 3 doubles.

Despite the shortened 2019-20 season due to COVID-19, Monmouth compiled wins over LaSalle, Wagner, Bucknell, and George Mason. Senior Max Benaim was named MAAC Player of the Week twice, and senior Sergio Martinez racked up 13 singles wins and 15 doubles wins.

In his first season in 2018-19, Leicht was named MAAC Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to an 18-2 (6-0 MAAC) record and the team's fourth straight MAAC Championship. Monmouth won 16-straight matches heading into the NCAA Tournament competition with Penn State. All six starters were named to the All-MAAC First Team in both singles and doubles play, with senior Srdjan Jakovljevic earning MAAC Player of the Year.

At Wilkes, Leicht amassed a combined record of 492-109 (.818 winning percentage), leading the women's squad to twelve straight Freedom Conference crowns while the men won eleven in a row. Each of those conference titles gave the programs an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. During his time as the men's coach, Leicht coached 60 all-conference selections, including six rookies of the Year and six Player of the Years.