Angelo Niculescu enters his second season as an assistant coach for the Portland State men and women’s tennis teams. The ATP Touring Pro and University of South Carolina tennis standout became the first full-time assistant coach in program history after being hired by head coach Jay Sterling in the fall of 2011.
“This is the first full-time assistant coaching position that we’ve had for our tennis program, and I am very excited to have Angelo fill that role,” Sterling said. “His strong resume, as both a player and a coach, make him qualified to be an assistant coach at any Division I school around the nation, so I’m really happy that he chose to join our coaching staff here at Portland State.”
Nicolescu comes to Portland State after spending the last four years as the head pro and tennis director at the Cascade Athletic Club in Portland, Ore. During that time, he also worked as a part-time assistant coach at George Fox University, and worked as a tennis professional at several prestigious tennis clubs around the country - all while playing on the ATP tour and competing in the Pacific Northwest Men’s Open tour.
For the last four years, Nicolescu has been the top-ranked player in both the USTA Pacific Northwest Men’s Open Singles and Doubles, and has received the USPTA Pacific Northwest Player of the Year award every year for the past 4 years. He also won the U.S. Open Regional Playoffs in 2010 and 2011, giving him the opportunity to compete for a wild-card into the U.S. Open.
A native of Targu-Jiu, Gorj, Romania, Niculescu started playing tennis at the age of four and played under the instruction of his father Constantin, who runs the Tennisnic Academy of Romania. It wasn’t long before Angelo was the top-ranked player in Romania, and one of the top junior tennis players in the world, maintaining a top-50 ITF junior world ranking throughout his junior career.
He joined the ATP pro tour in 1999 in preparation for his collegiate tennis career at South Carolina State, then transferred to the University of South Carolina in 2002, where he played under legendary head coach Kent DeMars - primarily as the No. 1 Doubles and No. 2 singles player on the squad.
The two-time letter winner at the University of South Carolina went 45-27 in his two years in singles play, and 30-28 in doubles competition. He was ranked 68th in the country during the 2002 season when he helped the 19th-ranked Gamecocks to a first round victory in the NCAA Tournament over No. 44 Georgia Tech before falling to the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the Round of 32.
Nicolescu found ever more success during his 2003 college tennis campaign, during which he was ranked in the top-50 nationally. Following his college tennis, Angelo returned to the ATP tour, and shot up the world rankings, going from an unranked player to No. 713 in the world in less than a year.
“First of all, I’m very excited,” Niculescu said. “Becoming a college coach has been a long time dream for me. I was very lucky to find Jay (Sterling) and to have the opportunity to come here. It’s indescribable. Here I am, and I’m ready to rumble.”
He joins the Vikings following the fall tournament season and will work with both men and women’s teams as they prepare for the dual season starting in January 2012.
THE NICULESCU FILE
PERSONAL
Alma Mater: South Carolina ‘04
B.S. in Hotel Management and Tourism Management
PORTLAND STATE (2011-PRESENT)
· Came to Portland State as the programs first full-time assistant coach in the fall of 2011.
· Helped cultivate a student-athlete culture that saw the women’s team earn ITA academic honors for its third-straight year and the men’s team for its second-straight year, as well as five student athletes being honored for their classroom achievements by the ITA.
Cascade Athletic Club (2007-2011)
· Head Tennis Pro and Club Director at Cascade Athletic Club
Playing Career
· Ranked No. 1 in USTA Pacific Northwest Open Singles and Doubles and received USPTA Pacific Northewst Player of the Year award the last four years.
· Highest ATP Tour rankings was No. 713 in the World.
· Managed summer camps
at South Carolina
· Two-Time Letterwinner
· 45-27 Overall in Singles and 30-28 Overall in Doubles
· Helped the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and 2003
