Chris Leicht
570-441-6724
cleicht@monmouth.edu
Overall /Conference Record |
Year-by-Year Coaching Record
· Three Conference Championships (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Three NCAA Tournament Appearances (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Three Regular Season Championships (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Three-Time Conference Coach of the Year (2019, 2021, 2022)
· Regional Coach of the Year (2021)
· Team ranked #1 in Region (2021)
· Team ranked #56 in Nation (Feb. 23, 2022)
· Team ranked #70 in Nation (March 5, 2024)
· Team ranked #69 in Nation (March 12, 2024)
· Team ranked #74 in Nation (March 19, 2024)
· Team ranked #75 in Nation (March 26, 2024)
· Coached Three Nationally Ranked Players (Pipoli, Martinez, Laporta)
· 39 All-Conference Selections
· Three All-American Academic Teams
Career Record: 580-135
Career Record at Monmouth: 89-28
Career Conference Record at Monmouth: 21-4
Chris Leicht was named the head coach of the Monmouth University men’s tennis program on August 17, 2018. Leicht came to Monmouth from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, where he served as head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs for 16 seasons.
The 2023-24 season was Monmouth's fourth consecutive year with a winning percentage above .700 and the Hawks earned the No. 4 seed in the CAA Tournament. Monmouth finished Leicht's sixth season with a 15-6 overall record and had a pair of All-Conference selections. Mateo Bivol was named First Team All-CAA Singles, while Adam Hillerby earned Third Team All-CAA singles honors. Diego Laporta also achieved individual success as he appeared in the ITA National Singles rankings at No. 117 following the fall semester. As a team, Monmouth was ranked for four weeks in the ITA National rankings, coming in as high as No. 69.
Monmouth's first season as a member of the CAA in 2022-23 was a successful one for Leicht and his program as Monmouth posted an 18-7 overall record and made a run to the CAA Tournament semifinals. The Hawks upset No. 2 seed William & Mary in the quarterfinal round with a convincing 4-0 win after a victory over No. 10 Hampton in the First Round. Four Hawks earned All-CAA recognition with Niels Van Noord named Second Team All-CAA in Singles. The duo of Gabriel Busato and Victor Castro were recognized with Second Team All-CAA honors in Doubles and Dmitry Bezborodov was named Third Team All-CAA in Singles. Monmouth closed the season ranked No. 8 in the ITA Northeast Region rankings.
The 2021-22 season was a historic one for the men's tennis program as the team reached the 20-win mark and achieved a national ITA Team ranking (#56) for the first time in school history. Monmouth continued its dominance of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference by going unbeaten in regular season league play en route to a seventh consecutive regular season crown. The Hawks cruised to a sixth consecutive MAAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance before their excellent run came to an end against #14 Harvard.
Monmouth finished the 2021-22 season at 20-4 and had seven student-athletes named to All-MAAC teams, with four Hawks earning multiple honors in singles and doubles play. Five different Hawks collected first team awards, led by Niels Van Noord and Charlie Penman at No. 1 Doubles. Victor Castro and Trent Massam were named First Team at No. 3 doubles and also secured First Team honors in singles at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively. Lucca Silva rounded out the First Team awards with his nod at No. 4 singles. Van Noord added Second Team honors to his name at No. 1 singles along with Dmitry Bezborodov at No. 2 singles. Bezborodov and Gabriel Busato combined to earn Second Team All-MAAC honors at No. 2 doubles.
Leicht led Monmouth to its sixth straight Regular Season Championship and fifth straight Tournament Championship in 2020-21. He was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the second time and also earned ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year, leading Monmouth to a 14-3 (5-0 MAAC) record. Leicht guided Monmouth to the NCAA Tournament once again, as the team eventually fell to #9 UCF. The team was also ranked #1 in the Northeast Region by ITA. All six of Monmouth's singles players earned an All-MAAC honor, including Will Cooke Wharton, Max Benaim, Lucca Silva, Victor Castro, Sergio Martinez, and Gabriel Busato. In addition, Charles Gortzounian was named to First Team All-MAAC at No. 3 doubles.
Despite the shortened 2019-20 season due to COVID-19, Monmouth compiled wins over LaSalle, Wagner, Bucknell, and George Mason. Senior Max Benaim was named MAAC Player of the Week twice, and senior Sergio Martinez racked up 13 singles wins and 15 doubles wins.
In his first season in 2018-19, Leicht was named MAAC Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to an 18-2 (6-0 MAAC) record and the team's fourth straight MAAC Championship. Monmouth won 16-straight matches heading into the NCAA Tournament competition with Penn State. All six starters were named to the All-MAAC First Team in both singles and doubles play, with senior Srdjan Jakovljevic earning MAAC Player of the Year.
At Wilkes, Leicht amassed a combined record of 492-109 (.818 winning percentage), leading the women's squad to twelve straight Freedom Conference crowns while the men won eleven in a row. Each of those conference titles gave the programs an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. During his time as the men's coach, Leicht coached 60 all-conference selections, including six rookies of the Year and six Player of the Years.
In 2017-18, the Wilkes men reached the second round of the NCAA Championships after defeating Colby-Sawyer College in the first round. In 2016-17, the Wilkes men finished with a school-record 23 wins while the women collected a program-best 24 victories on way to conference titles. In addition to the on-court accolades, Leicht also led his team to many academic awards, as his teams were named ITA All-American Academic teams fifteen times.
