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Currently in his fifth season at the University of North Carolina and his 15th season overall as a collegiate head coach, Brian Kalbas has led the Tar Heels through one of the most successful runs in school history. Highlighted by just the second trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals in school history in 2005 and its first NCAA tennis title in 2007, UNC has advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four years under Kalbas. Kalbas and the Tar Heels rose to the top of the collegiate tennis world in 2007 when seniors Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long defeated Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic of William & Mary to claim the NCAA Doubles Championship. The title capped an incredible season for the duo that saw them reach No. 1 in the nation and earn National Doubles Team of the Year honors from the ITA, as they became the first Tar Heels, male or female, to win an NCAA tennis title. UNC had yet another highly successful season in dual match play in 2007. Carolina finished third in the highly-competitive ACC, a league which produced all three NCAA women's titles during the year (singles, doubles, team). The Tar Heels were also named a host site for NCAA first and second round action, and they defeated Marist and rival Duke to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Athens, Ga., where they fell in a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Notre Dame. Carolina reached a new team pinnacle in 2006, earning a national ranking of No. 3, the highest in program history. The Tar Heels advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season, falling to Duke in the Round of 16. With a final record of 26-7, UNC posted its highest win total since the 1981-82 squad finished 26-14. Kalbas was named the Wilson/ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for his efforts. The 2004-05 season was capped by a dramatic run to the NCAA Quarterfinals. After finishing 7-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, the Tar Heels earned the right to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Team Championships. Carolina opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Richmond. UNC then defeated rival Duke 4-0 for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Playing in just its third Sweet Sixteen, Carolina opened with a 4-0 upset of fourth-ranked Vanderbilt. The Tar Heels finished one win away from the Final Four, falling to Clemson 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Kalbas served as head coach of William & Mary's women's tennis team for 11 years before accepting the head coaching position at Carolina in the summer of 2003. At William & Mary, Kalbas posted a 214-85 overall record and was named the 1998 ITA National Coach of the Year. Kalbas' teams have seen great success against ranked opponents. Since 1995 his teams have defeated 20 teams ranked in the Top 10 of the ITA poll, highlighted by a win over No. 2 Florida in 2006. Under Kalbas' direction, 14 of his teams have been ranked in the Top 15 in the country. Kalbas was a four-time Colonial Athletic Association Women's Tennis Coach of the Year, winning the honor in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2002. He was recognized as the ITA Regional Coach of the Year four times during his tenure at W&M. He piloted his William & Mary teams to nine CAA Championships, the most recent being in 2002. Kalbas also coached William & Mary to two NCAA quarterfinals appearances. Under Kalbas' direction at William & Mary and Carolina, he has coached a total of nine All-Americas, the most recent being the NCAA champion doubles tandem of Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long in 2006 and 2007. Carolina placed two players on the 2007 All-ACC team, Long and freshman Katrina Tsang. Long was also named the 2007 ITA Senior Player of the Year. Kalbas helped guide three singles players (Long, Tsang and Sanaz Marand) and two doubles pairs (Anundsen/Long, Marand/Caitlin Collins) to NCAA play in 2007, marking the most Tar Heels ever to earn invites to the NCAA individual tournaments. Carolina also had more NCAA participants than any school in the nation in 2007. In 2005, Kendall Cline and Aniela Mojzis both received national awards from the ITA. Cline was awarded the ITA/Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award and Mojzis received the ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, marking the first time in ITA history that one school won both awards. Mojzis is the third player to win the national Arthur Ashe Award under Kalbas' leadership. Carolijn van Rossum and Jessyca Arthur both won the award while Kalbas was coaching at William & Mary. In 2007, Kalbas was tabbed to lead the United States team at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 13-29. Kalbas fronted a team of four of the nation's best collegiate players, including Atlantic Coast Conference standout and NCAA champion Audra Cohen of Miami. Kalbas is a 1989 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he was a four-year varsity player, playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in singles. He was captain of the Fighting Irish men's tennis team his senior year and received the most valuable player and sportsmanship awards from Notre Dame. After graduation, Kalbas served as an assistant coach for the Notre Dame men's tennis team from 1989-92. During his tenure, the Fighting Irish made their way to the Top 20 for the first time in school history, and, in 1992, the Irish reached the NCAA Championship match. Kalbas and his wife, Suzanne, reside in Chapel Hill with their two children, Sarah, 17, and Joseph, 8. |
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