University of Minnesota Athletics
Anastasia Pennington Named Assistant Tennis Coach
8/8/2023 4:00:00 PM | Tennis
University of Minnesota head tennis coach Lois Arterberry announced today the addition of Anastasia Pennington as an assistant coach. Pennington reunites with Coach Arterberry for the first time since 2016 when she was a student athlete of Arterberry's at Jackson State University.
"Ana is joining us with a different perspective which will add value to our program," Arterberry said. "Over the years she has built a very impressive resume and a huge network of high-level coaches and players, which will certainly be useful for our program needs. I'm personally excited to work with Anastasia in a different capacity, first as her former coach, to now her colleague. She was a phenomenal player and I know she will work just as hard for this program as she did as a player. Welcome to the team, Ana!"
Pennington arrives at the "U" as an experienced developer of young tennis players of all levels, most recently acting as a tennis recruitment manager for ASM Scholarships and an associate tennis professional for Players Club & Spa at Lely Resort in Naples, Florida. Her roles involved guiding student athletes into NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA universities, as well as running camps for young athletes looking to master their skills on the court.
Pennington also comes to Minnesota with head coaching experience. She was the women's head tennis coach for the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy from 2016 to 2018, where she worked with top-300 ITF juniors and top-800 WTA players—including former Gopher Tennis captain River Hart.
As a player at Jackson State (from 2013 to 2016), Pennington played both No.1 singles and No.1 doubles. She helped the Tigers to a 2016 SWAC Women's Tennis Championship appearance while being named a member of the SWAC All-Tournament Team. She had begun her collegiate career at William Carey University, where as a freshman she played on a Crusaders squad that made an NAIA National Championship appearance. Prior to that, she was the top-ranked junior tennis player in Ukraine. Pennington earned her bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation from Jackson State in 2016.
"I couldn't be more excited about joining Coach Arterberry, assistant coach Steve Schram, and the Minnesota and greater Minneapolis communities," said Pennington. "I look forward to continuing the incredible tradition of excellence that the University of Minnesota has embodied for many years, and I would like to thank Lois Arterberry and Assistant Athletic Director, Jenny Yehlen, for their belief in me and for this opportunity. I cannot wait to join this tremendous community and begin work to enhance this incredible program. I will fight each day to produce a program our university, alumni, and fans will be extremely proud to call their own."