Kopinski Returns to Illinois as Assistant Coach
June 22, 2022 | Men's Tennis
NEWS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois men's tennis coach Brad Dancer announced the hiring of former Illini Tim Kopinski as assistant coach Wednesday (June 22). Kopinski returns to his alma mater after a 2021-22 season in the same role with Charlotte Athletics. Kopinski fills the spot left by Harry Jadun who left the program to take the head coaching position at Michigan State.
"First I want to congratulate Harry (Jadun) on his new post and recognize in a short time the effort he put toward our program. We are excited for Harry. When it comes to Tim (Kopinski)," Dancer said. "This is a person that we tell stories about all the time in our program. Tim's vision, Tim's toughness, his relentlessness and pursuit of goals are intertwined in our successes over the past decade. TK bleeds Orange and Blue, he will be a tireless recruiter and will connect with our student-athletes. He will engage our community and make a difference in the lives of people here throughout the state of Illinois. We are so excited to welcome him home."
Before his time at Charlotte, Kopinski had numerous coaching stints at the collegiate and professional level, including a Volunteer Coach position at Illinois in 2015-16, and two years traveling on the ATP Tour coaching Aussie pro Aleksandar Vukic.
During his time playing for the Fighting Illini, Kopinski led the team with 22 doubles wins, tied for second with 25 singles wins, and helped the team to a Big Ten championship in his freshman campaign.
In his sophomore year, Kopinski had the second most wins and a 22-18 overall record. He was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week and earned Academic All-Big Ten and ITA Scholar Athlete honors.
The following season, Kopinski went 8-1 in singles play, finished the year ranked sixth nationally in doubles with his partner Ross Guignon and posted the second most singles wins on the team with a 33-12 record. He also was awarded All-American, First-Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week, and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the OFCC Invitational.
In his final year, Kopinski and his doubles partner ranked as high as No. 2 nationally and were the 2015 ITA National Indoor Championships doubles runner-up. He also went undefeated in conference singles play and tied for most conference wins on the team while also collecting a 15-2 overall record. He finished his college career ranking 59th nationally in singles.
Kopinski also reached the Round of 16 in the singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships and was awarded Midwest ITA Senior Player of the Year, Midwest ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award winner, and was named to the First-Team All-Big Ten.
"I cannot thank Brad and Josh enough for the opportunity. Returning to Champaign and coaching the Illini is one of the biggest honors I can imagine. There is an intensity and passion about the community that makes this one of the most special programs in the nation. Brad (Dancer) and Marcos (Asse) have done such an incredible job over the years. I'm looking forward to building upon the rich history of the program and helping our current and future student athletes pursue excellence across the board."
