As the Iowa tennis team’s season wrapped up at the end of April, falling short of an NCAA tournament bid, one person did have something to celebrate. With the Hawkeyes’ win against Minnesota on April 17, head coach Sasha Boros earned her 113th career win and became the winningest coach in program history.
After another win over Northern Iowa, Boros currently sits at a record of 114-109, two victories ahead of former Iowa tennis coach Micki Schillig, who led the Hawkeyes from 1987-95.
Boros initially didn’t know she had accomplished such a feat. She ignores social media during the season and heard the news from a close friend. Boros, an Iowa alum who played under Schillig from 1992-96, couldn’t be more grateful.
“Schillig was the one who recruited me and believed in me as I started my life with the Iowa Hawkeye program, and to pass her in the number of coaching wins just makes coaching here that much more special,” Boros said.
Boros, a four-time letter-winner and team MVP in 1996, returned the following season as the team’s assistant coach while attending law school at the university. Serving in that position until 1999, she helped the Hawkeyes reach the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history, a top-25 national ranking, and an NCAA Sweet 16 berth.
After 15 years away coaching at Stetson and Missouri, Boros returned to her alma mater as the program’s eighth head coach in 2016. Over her decade in charge in Iowa City, learning and adapting were constant.
“I think the thing that comes most with coaching is trying to find peace with the uncontrollables like weather, injuries, travel delays,” Boros said. “But ultimately it’s about building the relationships and seeing the growth with the young women that come through our program.”
Boros created countless relationships with student athletes that have come through the program over the years. From veterans to newcomers, freshmen to transfers, Boros has made an impact on their collegiate careers.
Senior Daianne Hayashida just completed her final season with the program. Since the Peru native arrived in Iowa City for her freshman year, Boros always made an effort for Hayashida to feel seen and welcome.
“She had a big impact because she is a coach that you can connect with on and off the court,” Hayashida said. “That trust and relationship off builds the on-court relationship even more.”
Though Hayashida came into Iowa’s program with years of skill and experience, Boros taught her to trust in herself and build the self-confidence that has pushed her over the last four seasons, which included a first-team All-Big Ten nod last season.
It was only fitting that her singles victory cliched Boros’ record-breaking win.
“Coming into the Minnesota meet, I was sick, feeling a ton of emotions, and still to win was an incredible feeling,” Hayashida said. “But after they told us she moved into the most wins, it made it feel even better because of the relationship we had and the faith she had in me.”
Through all the highs and lows over her career, Boros does not have one unique moment she will remember for years to come. Last year’s team to her was a really special team, where they fought through the lows to get to the highs and ultimately earned a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years.
The Hawkeyes helped their berth significantly with a road win over Oregon that season, Boros said.
She still remembers the third-set tiebreaker and the joy that followed from the athletes, whose hard work made such memorable moments possible.
Having achieved the most wins as a coach, Boros still wants to help her team achieve a national tournament appearance on an annual basis, which is a goal, dream, and aspiration she and her players want to have happen in the coming years.
The program will be seeing quite a few new faces next season, with four seniors and a student-manager graduating, in addition to assistant coach Elise van Heuvelen Treadwell, who is moving on to pursue her own tennis coaching career back home in England.
“This type of transition is hard, but for somebody like me who has been doing this for a long time, it’s kind of exciting to kind of restart with a new face, personality, and energy,” Boros said. “I am really looking forward to it and building a new era for Iowa tennis.”