Bob Hansen

In 1977, Bob Hansen started the men’s tennis club team at UC-Santa Cruz, and in 1980 UCSC became an NCAA Division III program. During his 31 years leading the Banana Slugs, Santa Cruz won seven NCAA D-III national championships and three ITA Indoor titles. At one point during the 1990s, the Banana Slugs won 73 consecutive matches against D-III competition. Hansen coached five NCAA singles champions, 10 NCAA doubles champions, three ITA singles champs, six ITA doubles champs and 118 All-Americans. In 2005 and ’07, the Banana Slugs won the NCAA team, singles and doubles titles. Hansen was named the ITA Coach of the Year four times. In 2011, Hansen took over as the head coach at Middlebury College in Vermont and coached the Panthers for nine years before transitioning to an associate head coach role before retiring in 2022. Hansen led Middlebury to the 2018 NCAA title, going 25-4, and the Panthers advanced to the NCAA semifinals or better six years in a row during one stretch. Over his nine seasons as head coach, Middlebury had a record of 163-39, won two NCAA doubles titles, an NCAA singles crown and captured ITA singles and doubles titles.