WOMEN'S TENNIS
Arce, Marisa
Marisa Arce
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- marce6@depaul.edu
- Phone:
- (773) 325-7232
Marisa Arce was hired as the DePaul head women's tennis coach in July 2019, joining the Blue Demons after four seasons as head coach at IUPUI.
In Arce’s fifth season at the helm, DePaul reached its most wins since the 2016-17 campaign, going 17-8 in the spring of 2024. The Blue Demons continued their success at home and in the BIG EAST conference from a season ago, finishing 7-1 in both categories. DePaul finished the regular season winning 10 of 12 contests and advanced to the BIG EAST Championship match for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. Arce tutored sophomore Hannah Smith to an All-BIG EAST First Team selection while junior Eleanor Nobbs received an All-BIG East Second Team nod. Arce orchestrated the talents of graduate student Emily Casati who finished singles play with a 17-9 record including a 14-match winning streak. Casati surpassed 13 career singles victories in one season with the Blue Demons. At season’s end, DePaul was ranked eighth in the Midwest by the ITA.
Returning a veteran group, Arce led DePaul to 12-10 dual record that included a 7-1 mark in home matches and a 6-1 record against conferences foes in 2023. The Blue Demons rattled off eight-straight match victories, none greater than a 4-3 triumph over No. 40 Iowa on Feb. 21. The match marked the first win over a ranked opponent in Arce's tenure. DePaul finished 8th in the ITA Midwest Team Region Rankings and Yuliya Kizelbasheva was named All-BIG EAST First Team for the second-straight season. Arce’s group flourished in the classroom, winning the BIG EAST Academic Excellence Award for the 13th time in a row.
In 2022, the Blue Demons split their 18 dual season matches, finishing with a 9-9 record. Arce coached junior Yuliya Kizelbasheva to an All-BIG EAST First Team selection and graduate student Marija Jovicic earned an All-BIG EAST Second Team bid. Kizelbasheva was the 20th ranked singles player in the ITA Midwest Region and the 9th ranked doubles team alongside junior Lenka Antonijevic. DePaul advanced to its eight-consecutive BIG EAST title appearance.
After her first season was cut short due to the pandemic, Arce led the Blue Demons to an 11-5 dual match record in 2021 and a seventh-straight appearance in the BIG EAST title match. The 2020-21 season also saw graduate student Aspasia Avgeri become the first CoSIDA Academic All-America selection in DePaul women's tennis history and DePaul's first BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Avgeri also earned BIG EAST Player of the Year honors.
Arce began her DePaul career by guiding the the Blue Demons to a 5-0 home record at their Lakeshore Sport & Fitness courts in 2020, including a 3-0 start to the dual-match season. The Blue Demons had team victories over Western Michigan, Illinois State and Michigan State while winning their final two matches for a 6-7 dual record before the season was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Arce's team won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Team Academic Award for the 14th year in a row in 2021, one year after a team GPA of 3.85 was among the highest in the nation according to the ITA. In the spring quarter of 2020 despite the distractions of remote learning during the pandemic along with nationwide racial justice protesting, her tennis players recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Arce led IUPUI for four seasons that included a Summit League Tournament appearance (2017) and four consecutive ITA All-Academic Team honors. Her Jaguars registered the program’s highest team GPA with a 3.724 in 2018-19. She coached multiple ITA Scholar Athletes each season and the tennis program was in the Top 10 percent of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate 2016-2019.
IUPUI marked her first head coaching experience after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Princeton. The Tigers won the Ivy League twice (2014 and 2015) with the 2014 team reaching the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. They finished with a final national ranking of 36, matching the best ranking in program history.
Arce began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Oklahoma during the 2012-13 season, following a standout playing career at Illinois.
Arce finished her Illini career ranked second all-time in doubles wins and sixth in singles victories. During her time at Illinois, she earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors and Academic All-America recognition in addition to being the Midwest Region winner of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. In 2012, Arce led the Illini to a season-high No. 18 national ranking and finished the season with a national doubles ranking of No. 42.
During her career she compiled back-to-back 20-win singles seasons in 2009 and 2010 and 20-win doubles seasons three-straight years. She competed in the prestigious All-American Championships in 2011.
She coached and traveled with nationally ranked players to USTA national events as the College Park Athletic Club junior tennis coach in north suburban Deerfield from 2007-2012.
Arce and her husband Michael reside in the north suburbs of Chicago with their son Niko and daughter Mia.
In Arce’s fifth season at the helm, DePaul reached its most wins since the 2016-17 campaign, going 17-8 in the spring of 2024. The Blue Demons continued their success at home and in the BIG EAST conference from a season ago, finishing 7-1 in both categories. DePaul finished the regular season winning 10 of 12 contests and advanced to the BIG EAST Championship match for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. Arce tutored sophomore Hannah Smith to an All-BIG EAST First Team selection while junior Eleanor Nobbs received an All-BIG East Second Team nod. Arce orchestrated the talents of graduate student Emily Casati who finished singles play with a 17-9 record including a 14-match winning streak. Casati surpassed 13 career singles victories in one season with the Blue Demons. At season’s end, DePaul was ranked eighth in the Midwest by the ITA.
Returning a veteran group, Arce led DePaul to 12-10 dual record that included a 7-1 mark in home matches and a 6-1 record against conferences foes in 2023. The Blue Demons rattled off eight-straight match victories, none greater than a 4-3 triumph over No. 40 Iowa on Feb. 21. The match marked the first win over a ranked opponent in Arce's tenure. DePaul finished 8th in the ITA Midwest Team Region Rankings and Yuliya Kizelbasheva was named All-BIG EAST First Team for the second-straight season. Arce’s group flourished in the classroom, winning the BIG EAST Academic Excellence Award for the 13th time in a row.
In 2022, the Blue Demons split their 18 dual season matches, finishing with a 9-9 record. Arce coached junior Yuliya Kizelbasheva to an All-BIG EAST First Team selection and graduate student Marija Jovicic earned an All-BIG EAST Second Team bid. Kizelbasheva was the 20th ranked singles player in the ITA Midwest Region and the 9th ranked doubles team alongside junior Lenka Antonijevic. DePaul advanced to its eight-consecutive BIG EAST title appearance.
After her first season was cut short due to the pandemic, Arce led the Blue Demons to an 11-5 dual match record in 2021 and a seventh-straight appearance in the BIG EAST title match. The 2020-21 season also saw graduate student Aspasia Avgeri become the first CoSIDA Academic All-America selection in DePaul women's tennis history and DePaul's first BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Avgeri also earned BIG EAST Player of the Year honors.
Arce began her DePaul career by guiding the the Blue Demons to a 5-0 home record at their Lakeshore Sport & Fitness courts in 2020, including a 3-0 start to the dual-match season. The Blue Demons had team victories over Western Michigan, Illinois State and Michigan State while winning their final two matches for a 6-7 dual record before the season was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Arce's team won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Team Academic Award for the 14th year in a row in 2021, one year after a team GPA of 3.85 was among the highest in the nation according to the ITA. In the spring quarter of 2020 despite the distractions of remote learning during the pandemic along with nationwide racial justice protesting, her tennis players recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Arce led IUPUI for four seasons that included a Summit League Tournament appearance (2017) and four consecutive ITA All-Academic Team honors. Her Jaguars registered the program’s highest team GPA with a 3.724 in 2018-19. She coached multiple ITA Scholar Athletes each season and the tennis program was in the Top 10 percent of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate 2016-2019.
IUPUI marked her first head coaching experience after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Princeton. The Tigers won the Ivy League twice (2014 and 2015) with the 2014 team reaching the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. They finished with a final national ranking of 36, matching the best ranking in program history.
Arce began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Oklahoma during the 2012-13 season, following a standout playing career at Illinois.
Arce finished her Illini career ranked second all-time in doubles wins and sixth in singles victories. During her time at Illinois, she earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors and Academic All-America recognition in addition to being the Midwest Region winner of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. In 2012, Arce led the Illini to a season-high No. 18 national ranking and finished the season with a national doubles ranking of No. 42.
During her career she compiled back-to-back 20-win singles seasons in 2009 and 2010 and 20-win doubles seasons three-straight years. She competed in the prestigious All-American Championships in 2011.
She coached and traveled with nationally ranked players to USTA national events as the College Park Athletic Club junior tennis coach in north suburban Deerfield from 2007-2012.
Arce and her husband Michael reside in the north suburbs of Chicago with their son Niko and daughter Mia.
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Thursday, August 31
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