Bio

Southwestern College Athletics is proud to announce the hiring of Michelle Okhremchuk as the new women’s tennis head coach. Her leadership will guide the program into a new era of Jaguar tennis.

"Recruiting a head coach of the caliber of Michelle Okhremchuk to Southwestern College is a testament to the program we are building here in Chula Vista,” said Ron Valenzuela, Director of Athletics. “High expectations attract high achieving people, and Michelle is as competitive and motivated as they come. She embraces a standard of competitive success and shares our vision of building a championship-level program. Simply put, Michelle’s background as an elite college tennis player paired with her strong connections in the tennis community will be of great value in guiding Southwestern toward similar accomplishments. It was imperative that we found a leader with a relentless drive to lead the resurgence of Jaguar Tennis. We have found that coach in Michelle Okhremchuk."

Michelle is a USPTA-certified coach, recognized as the 2019 USPTA Player of the Year, and the Founder and Director of MO Tennis Academy where she works with players of all ages from first-time juniors to competitive athletes helping them unlock their full potential both on and off the court.

Prior to her coaching career, Michelle was an accomplished NCAA Division I tennis player who earned back to back Mountain West First Team All-Conference awards and is a six-time all-league selection, honored in singles and doubles every year of her collegiate career. Okhremchuk finished her career with a total of 88 career victories almost exclusively from court one against the best competition. She had a win percentage above 70% and holds the record for most total wins in the history of the University of Nevada, Reno. Michelle graduated from Nevada with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice.

A native of Donetsk, Ukraine Michelle was a four-time junior national Ukrainian Champion, who from the age of 12-17 attended one of the world’s most proficient and renowned training centers for professional and promising tennis talents led by Patrick Mouratoglou (Serena Williams’ former and Naomi Osaka’s current coach).

“When I look back at my own journey through tennis, the coaches who made the biggest impact were the ones who cared beyond the court, said Okhremchuk”. “That’s the kind of leader I want to be here at Southwestern, someone who helps players find their voice, their confidence, and their pride in competing. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to help our student-athletes write their own success stories”.