Kyle Russell was named head coach of the women's tennis program ahead of the 2019-20 season, becoming the seventh coach in program history. The 2023-24 season marks his fifth year at the helm.
Russell has had great success since arriving in Portland. He's the first coach in program history to guide the Vikings to three consecutive Big Sky Tournaments (2021, 2022, 2023) In just four seasons, he's coached five singles players to all-conference honors, and six doubles pairs to all-conference nods, including three consecutive first-team doubles teams. Russell has repeatedly produced dominant doubles pairs which have combined for a 112-63 (.640) record over the past three seasons. The success is highlighted by a 47-13 (.783) record at No. 1 doubles since 2021. Russell carries a 33-41 (.453) overall record into his fifth season at Portland State in 2024, which includes a 13-11 mark against conference opponents.
YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
2023 - Russell led the Vikings to one of their most successful seasons in program history in 2023, finishing 12-12 (5-3 BSC). They finished third in the regular season Big Sky standings, entering the postseason with the highest seed in program history. Russell and the Vikings opened the Big Sky tournament with a 4-1 win over No. 6 Montana, which marked the program's second-ever postseason victory. The Vikings were phenomenal during doubles play, compiling a 41-25 (.621) record, while winning the team doubles point in seven of eight conference matches. Unanimous first-team all-conference duo Masha Ponomareva and Capu Sanoner highlighted the dominance, becoming the first pair in program history to post an undefeated record (14-0). Additionally, earned the program's first-ever ITA Doubles ranking, finishing the season at No. 85 overall. Ponomareva, Makoto Ohara and Elizabeth Strongina each received Big Sky Player of the Week honors in 2023, while both Strongina (second team) and Ponomareva (first team) achieved All-Big Sky singles awards.
2022 - In 2022, the Vikings went 8-12 (.400), compiling a 3-5 record against Big Sky opponents to earn a spot in the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed. Under Russell's guidance, the Vikings went 35-20 (.636) in doubles play. Capu Sanoner and Nika Beukers earned first-team All-Big Sky doubles honors, after finishing the season as the best duo in the conference (11-2), posting an undefeated record against Big Sky opponents. Sanoner was named second-team All-Big Sky singles, while Mariajose Hernandez Coronado and Emily Rees earned second-team doubles honors.
2021 - Russell piloted his six-man squad to a historic season in the Spring of 2021, earning the program's first trip to the Big Sky Tournament since 2015. The Vikings entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the North after going 3-1 in Big Sky action. On February 26th, Russell led the Vikings to the program’s first-ever victory over the University of Portland (5-2) putting an end to the 18-match drought. PSU finished the season 9-11 (.450) overall, which was their highest win percentage since 2000. With Russell at the helm, PSU compiled an 11-1 (.917) doubles record against Big Sky opponents and a 36-19 overall doubles record on the year (.655). Under Russell's guidance, all six Vikings earned All-Conference honors for the first time in program history.
2020 - Russell's debut season at the helm was cut short due to COVID-19. During the shortened season, Russell led the Vikings to a 4-6 overall record, going 2-2 in Big Sky action.
PRIOR TO PORTLAND STATE
Russell joined PSU with 14 years of collegiate coaching experience, spending five seasons as the head men's and women's coach at Loyola University, New Orleans. During his time at LUNO, he increased the combined roster size from 12 to 28 while creating one of the best academic-performing programs, leading the department in GPA and boasting a 100 percent graduation rate.
Russell has coached numerous All-Conference honorees along with three NAIA All-Americans. In 2019, he led the Wolf Pack to the NAIA Women's National Championship for the first time, finishing as the 12th-ranked team in the nation.
That same year, he was named the Southern States Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and the Louisiana Sports Writer Association Women's Tennis Coach of the Year.
Russell also has coaching stints at College of Santa Fe, the US Air Force Academy, and Colorado College.
He graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in entrepreneurial studies in 2001 before earning his MBA at Loyola University, New Orleans in 2018.
