EMAIL: Olga.Bazhanova@tamucc.edu

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• Led Islanders to four straight NCAA Tournaments (2021-24) - only 34 schools in NCAA D-1 to do so
• Former Head Coach at Northwestern State (2014-17)
• Inducted into Northwestern State Hall of Fame (2024)
• Led Northwestern State to 2015 NCAA Championships and Southland Conference title
• Reached NCAA Championships as No. 1 player, Assistant coach and Head coach
• Played #1 singles, #1 doubles on 2010 Southland Champion team that reached #64 nationally in NCAA D-I rankings
• Named finalist for 2024 ITA Assistant Coach of the Year in Texas Regional
• Led Islanders to 2018 Women's SLC title in first year as Associate Head Coach and again in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024
• Coached Islanders men and women to SLC Championship and NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2023
• 12 Southland Championships since joining Islanders in 2018
• Nine NCAA Tournaments as a coach (two with Lady Demons and seven with Islanders)
• One of winningest players in SLC history
• Works extra as strength & conditioning coach for Islanders tennis the past eight years, leading team to 12 SLC titles
• Worked also as strength & conditioning coach at Northwestern State from 2013-2017 in addition to her coaching duties, leading Lady Demons to three Southland titles
• Earned Masters in Science at Northwestern State

Bazhanova joined the Islanders in 2017-18 after spending the previous three seasons as the head coach at Northwestern State, overseeing one of the most successful programs in the Southland Conference.Since coming to the Island, Bazhanova has led the Islander women to four straight NCAA Tournaments (2021, 22, 23, 24), the first time in the 61-year history of the Southland Conference this has been done. Bazhanova has additionally been a part of 12 Southland Conference Championships between both teams including seven NCAA Tournaments. 

For her work, Bazhanova was named an ITA D-I Finalist for Assistant Coach of the Year in Texas in 2024. She was also inducted into the Northwestern State Hall of Fame after leading the Demons to the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 player, assistant coach, and head coach.

In 2021, Bazhanova coached the Islanders to three championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The men completed a dominant season by winning both the SLC regular season and SLC Tournament titles, while the women swept through the SLC Tournament in a trio of 4-0 victories.

The Islanders did the same in 2023, both reaching the NCAA Tournament and combined to win three championships. A&M-Corpus Christi was one of 29 Division I schools in America with both the men and women at the NCAA Championships. It was the third consecutive appearance for the women after also winning the conference tournament in 2022 which was then extended to a four-peat in 2024.

As a head coach, she took the Demons to a Southland Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015. In 2016, she led her team back to the Southland Conference finals for a second straight season.

Bazhanova has experienced success everywhere she's been. Between Northwestern State and A&M-Corpus Christi, she's made seven NCAA Tournament appearances which included a pair with the Lady Demons and a five with the Islanders. 
 
“Coach Bazhanova is a huge addition to the Islanders tennis program,” said Moore. “She was widely considered one of the best up and coming coaches in the nation. She was a head coach who led her team to the NCAA Championships and the Southland Conference finals two of her three years.
 
"Most importantly, her philosophy on coaching is a perfect fit for the Islanders – She is all about character, team unity and hard work,” continued Moore. “I’m very excited to welcome Coach Bazhanova to the Islanders Tennis family and see the impact she will have on the program.”
 
Bazhanova’s teams also excelled in the classroom, consistently posting one of the the highest team GPAs in the Southland Conference. Northwestern State was named an ITA All-Academic Team three-straight years. Bazhanova also served as the team’s strength and conditioning coach at Northwestern State during all five of her years at the helm.
 
Bazhanova has been to the NCAA Championships as a head coach, assistant coach and player. She played and coached under Coach Patric DuBois, one of the winningest coaches in Southland Conference history.
 
During her time with the Demons, which dates to 2013 as an assistant coach, Bazhanova helped lead Northwestern State to a pair of Southland Conference Tournament Championships and another two runner-up finishes. Bazhanova was also heavily involved in fundraising for the Northwestern State tennis program. She was also the Assistant Director of the Wellness and Recreation Center at Northwestern State.
 
A former player at Northwestern State, Bazhanova has been a part of five Southland titles for the Demons. During her playing days, Bazhanova played No. 1 singles and doubles for three-straight seasons at Northwestern State and led one of the best teams in Southland history climbing to No. 62 in the national rankings. Bazhanova also served as team captain for the Demons.
 
A two-time All-Southland honoree, she led the 2010 NSU squad to a Southland title and a nation-best 21-2 record. Bazhanova was also a two-time All-Southland Academic and two-time All-Southland doubles selection.
 
In 2010, Bazhanova won the clinching match at No. 1 singles against UT Arlington to send Northwestern State to the NCAA Championships as the Southland Conference Tournament winner. That same year, Bazhanova clinched one of the biggest victories for any Southland team in conference history, winning at No. 1 singles as Northwestern State toppled nationally-ranked, SEC-foe Mississippi State.
 
“Olga was one of the most respected players in the history of our conference and led one of the most respected programs in the league,” said Moore.
 
A native of Nikolaev, Ukraine, Bazhanova holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors from Northwestern State.

“Of all the players I’ve coached on the pro tour, SEC and Sun Belt, men and women, Olga Bazhanova was the hardest worker I’ve ever coached.” - Luc Godin, head coach Louisiana-Lafayette

“Without a doubt, Olga brought championship DNA to our athletic department as a student-athlete and coach, leading us to the NCAA Championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Her success speaks volumes about her drive to be successful, and she is so highly respected and well-liked within Demons Athletics.” - Greg Burke, former Northwestern State Director of Athletics

“Olga did things the right way in everything she did. She would work as hard as it took to succeed. She did it as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach. Her motto was ‘find a way’ and she always did. She really cared about her student-athletes and tried to instill in them that same work ethic and mindset she had. She was incredibly successful at this.” - Patric DuBois, Deputy AD, NWST