Daria Panova out as Maryland tennis coach

Maryland tennis coach Daria Panova’s contract will not be renewed when it expires in June, athletic director Damon Evans announced Thursday.

“I want to thank Daria for all that she’s put into our women’s tennis program,” Evans said. “Daria has had a positive impact on our university and in our student-athletes lives.”

Panova has been the women’s tennis coach for the last seven seasons, leading the Terps to a 65-90 record. Panova took over a program that was in shambles when she arrived in College Park in 2012. Maryland had just three players when she arrived, and Panova was forced to build the program back up.

Maryland won only six matches in 2013 and just nine, 10 and 10 over the next three years before finishing 16-6 in 2017 and barely missing the NCAA Tournament. However, the Terps couldn’t build on that success, falling to 11-13 in 2018 and plummeting to 3-18 this season.

Associate head coach Katie Dougherty will serve as interim head coach while a national search is conducted for the program’s next head coach. The hire will be the third for Evans since being promoted to athletic director, as he hired new football coach Mike Locksley in December and new wrestling coach Alex Clemsen in April.

“I look forward to the next chapter of Maryland women’s tennis and am excited about the potential for our program,” Evans said. “Our focus for the search is to identify a leader who can help nurture the talent and performance of our student-athletes, and take our program to the next level.”