UNC Wilmington Athletics

CAA Champions: 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA Appearances: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
ITA Regional Coach-of-the-Year: 2009, 2011
CAA Coach-of-the-Year: 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

The Seahawk men’s tennis program has developed a consistent presence on the national landscape under the guidance of veteran coach Mait DuBois since his arrival on the Carolina coast in the summer of 2007.

The Seahawks have captured 11 Coastal Athletic Association championships (2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) and advanced to the NCAA Regionals 12 times (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), emerging into a national power in men’s tennis.

DuBois enters his 19th year with the Seahawks in 2025-26 and has been named CAA Coach-of-the-Year 11 times.

Overall, the veteran skipper begins his 27th year as a coach on the NCAA Division I level, compiling a 277-145 career record. He has been a part of 16 conference championship teams and 17 NCAA Tournament clubs during his ultra-successful career.

With DuBois at the helm, the Seahawks have joined the elite of NCAA men's tennis, climbing to as high as No. 37 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings on Feb. 19, 2013. DuBois has won 67.9 percent of his matches (240-115) in 16 seasons in the Port City.

The Seahawks are coming off an outstanding 2023 season that saw the team win its third consecutive CAA title and battle nationally-ranked Duke tough on its home courts at the Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham.

One of DuBois' best coaching jobs came in 2022 when he piloted a young team to the CAA crown. He was named CAA Coach of the Year again and newcomer Harold Huens collected CAA Rookie of the Year accolades as the Seahawks captured their eighth CAA title and secured their ninth postseason appearance.

The Seahawks turned in an outstanding season in 2020-21. UNCW swept the league's three major honors - Coach of the Year (DuBois), Player of the Year (Bruno Caula) and Rookie of the Year (Bekhzod Rasamatov) - and dominated the All-CAA balloting. DuBois and his team climbed as high as No. 49 in the ITA national rankings.

The team faced a shortened 2019-20 season due to COVID-19. The club still achieved many accolades, including ITA All-Academic Team honors for the ninth straight year. Senior Daniel Groom was named the CAA's top male student-athlete and competed in the ITA Oracle Masters in Malibu, Caif.

The 2017-18 season was one of the best in history. The team went 19-5 in dual matches and defeated William & Mary for the CAA championship for the second straight year. The team finished with a 78-46 (.629) record in singles and 39-20 (.661) mark in doubles play.

The Seahawks concluded the 2016-17 season ranked sixth in the Carolinas Region of the ITA. The Seahawks, who featured one of the youngest teams in the NCAA Division I ranks with nine freshmen on their 11-man roster, captured the 2017 CAA championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the last nine seasons.

In 2015-16, UNCW climbed as high as No. 51 in the Oracle/ITA rankings and wound up No. 73 in the final poll. The Seahawks knocked off No. 23 N.C. State and No. 53 Georgia State during the season. Senior Santtu Leskinen was named CAA Player-of-the-Year and earned an invitation to compete in the NCAA Men's Singles Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

DuBois worked with one of his youngest teams ever in 2014-15. The Seahawks upset No. 25 Drake and No. 48 Penn State in the USF Team Invite before landing the No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament by a unanimous vote of the league's coaches and falling in the semifnals.

The Seahawks enjoyed an outstanding season in 2013-14. UNCW steamrolled through CAA play and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the fifth time behind CAA Player-of-the-Year Rafael Aita.

Aita, who was invited to compete in the NCAA Singles Championships for the second straight year, sparked the team to a 15-7 dual match record and final ranking of No. 50 in the ITA poll.

Led by 2013 CAA Player-of-the-Year Rafael Aita and three ranked doubles teams, the Seahawks swept to a 19-5 record during a history-making campaign in 2012-13.

UNCW went 19-5 in dual matches, did not surrender a match in the CAA Tournament and upset No. 18 South Carolina in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. On top of that, the Seahawks finished with an unbeaten season at home, placed seven players on the All-CAA team and finished the year ranked No. 43 in the final ITA poll.

Aita earned an invitation to compete in the singles draw and Kosta Blank and Chris Cooprider were invited to play in the doubles bracket at the 2013 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships.

Featuring a young team with no seniors, the Seahawks enjoyed an outstanding season in 2011-12. DuBois and his team carved out a 17-7 record against 12 nationally-ranked opponents, highlighted by a 4-3 victory over No. 21 N.C. State in early March.

The Seahawks achieved two “firsts” in 2011-12, winning a match in the national indoors tourney and collecting an at-large entry in the NCAA Regionals. When it was over, UNCW’s men achieved a final ranking of No. 44, capping a memorable season.

 In 2010-11, DuBois took the Seahawks to the NCAA Regionals in Athens, Ga., with several of the CAA's top performers. Michael Pereira and Kinshuk Sharma earned First-Team All-CAA honors in singles and Chris Cooprider collected Second-Team accolades. Cooprider and Sharma were also selected First-Team All-CAA in doubles.

The Seahawks fashioned an 18-4 record during the regular season and then defeated James Madison, Georgia State and VCU for their second CAA title on April 24, 2011. Sophomore Chris Cooprider was voted the Most Outstanding Player in the event after going a perfect 6-0 in the three-day event in Norfolk, Va.

On the heels of his second CAA crown, DuBois was invited by the USTA to participate in the group's High Performance Coaching Program in the conjunction with the Davis Cup during the summer of 2011. He joined several of the nation's top collegiate coaches and professionals Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick to analyze current trends in technique, tactics and training.

The 2011 championship came one year after the Seahawks narrowly missed out on back-to-back titles in 2009-10. Still, UNCW had an outstanding season, rolling to a 15-6 record and advancing to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. The Seahawks made it all the way up to No. 48 in the rankings.

DuBois coached his club to a 19-6 overall record and unblemished 7-0 conference record in 2008-09. More importantly, UNCW collected its first No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament, captured the CAA title, and advanced to the NCAA Tennis Regionals for the first time.

In the process, the Seahawks earned their first national ranking and rose as high a No. 58 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll. DuBois was named CAA Coach-of-the-Year and the Wilson-ITA Mideast Region Coach-of-the-Year.

Several Seahawk players were honored for their accomplishments in 2008-09. Sophomore Illia Ziamtsou was selected as the outstanding player in the CAA Championships and three other players collected conference honors.

Michael Pereira earned First-Team All-CAA honors in singles, Kinshuk Sharma was named Second-Team All-CAA in singles and Ryan Ybarra made Third-Team All-CAA in singles. Sharma and Ybarra were also included on the Second-Team All-CAA doubles unit.

In their first year under DuBois in 2007-08, the men's team tied UNCW's all-time record for dual match victories with a 15-7 mark, had two members voted All-CAA and featured a Top 20 National Recruiting Class (www.tennisrecruiting.net).

In the fall of 2008, DuBois was selected by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to take part in a High Performance Coaching Program at the US Open professional Grand Slam event.  A select group of High Performance Coaches from across the country met to consult and study with the USTA in the development of top level professional players from top junior players. 

Prior to UNCW, DuBois was an assistant at N.C. State. He helped the Wolfpack achieve its second straight post-season berth, a No. 41 national ranking and coached Daria Petrovic and Alejandra Guerra to the NCAA Division I Doubles Championships in Athens, Ga.

DuBois was an assistant men's and women's coach on four Big South championship squads from 1998-2001, and also played a key role as the Buccaneers racked up three NCAA Tournament appearances. DuBois was selected head men's and women's coach at CSU in 2002 and guided the Buccaneer men to the BSC title, an NCAA Tournament berth and its highest national ranking.

Following two years as the head skipper at CSU, DuBois accepted a position as assistant women's coach and recruiting coordinator at Virginia. The Cavaliers landed a Top 30 national ranking, and DuBois was nominated for Assistant Coach-of-the-Year in the region.

DuBois then moved on to N.C. State, where he assisted women's coach Hans Olsen for three seasons. The Wolfpack advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2005-06, setting program records for victories and conference wins. With DuBois on the staff, N.C. State qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both 2006 and 2007, featuring a pair of All-ACC performers, and setting records for total victories (2007) and wins over ranked opponents.

DuBois is a certified Level I Teaching Professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) and completed the United States Tennis Association (USTA) "High Performance Coaching" certification in 2006.

After working briefly as a tennis professional at two clubs, he served as a traveling coach with "Tennis Europe." Traveling to numerous ITF events, he helped American junior players work towards establishing a world ranking.

DuBois was a four-year tennis standout at Charleston Southern from 1993-96. He was team captain in 1995 and 1996 and was named the Most Valuable Player on CSU's 1996 Big South Conference Championship team.

DuBois earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration at CSU in 1996 and completed his Master's Degree in Business Administration from CSU in 1999.

The DuBois Record