WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue women's tennis head coach Laura Glitz is excited to announce the return of former player Daniela Vidal as volunteer assistant coach for the 2018-19 season.
"Dani will bring so many great qualities to the team," Glitz said. "When she competed for Purdue, she was a team player, a very hard worker and a fierce competitor."
Vidal played at Purdue from 2011 to 2015. As a Boilermaker, she was a part of the first senior class to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years. Vidal also helped drive the team that won the first-ever Big Ten Championship in 2012. Her senior year she played every dual match at No. 1 singles and all but three doubles matches at No. 1 with Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum. Together, the two ranked as high as No. 24 nationally, the highest doubles ranking in program history since 2007.
After her time at Purdue Vidal was a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan, graduating this past April with a master's degree in sports management. She is thankful for the opportunity at EMU but is excited to come back to her alma mater to coach.
"This is home," Vidal said. "It's great to be back home, helping Laura build the program to where we know it is capable."
"Dani still plays at a high level, so every day she will push the girls on the court and in the gym," Glitz said. "The team will benefit from her experiences as a player and a coach, but she is also a great person who can be a role model for the team."
"I'm very thankful for my time at Purdue as a player so in a sense this is way to give back everything Purdue and the coaches did for me," Vidal said. "I can't thank Laura, Nancy Cross (women's tennis sport administrator) and the whole athletics department enough for the opportunity to come home and be a part of the Boilermaker family."
"Dani will bring so many great qualities to the team," Glitz said. "When she competed for Purdue, she was a team player, a very hard worker and a fierce competitor."
Vidal played at Purdue from 2011 to 2015. As a Boilermaker, she was a part of the first senior class to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years. Vidal also helped drive the team that won the first-ever Big Ten Championship in 2012. Her senior year she played every dual match at No. 1 singles and all but three doubles matches at No. 1 with Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum. Together, the two ranked as high as No. 24 nationally, the highest doubles ranking in program history since 2007.
After her time at Purdue Vidal was a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan, graduating this past April with a master's degree in sports management. She is thankful for the opportunity at EMU but is excited to come back to her alma mater to coach.
"This is home," Vidal said. "It's great to be back home, helping Laura build the program to where we know it is capable."
"Dani still plays at a high level, so every day she will push the girls on the court and in the gym," Glitz said. "The team will benefit from her experiences as a player and a coach, but she is also a great person who can be a role model for the team."
"I'm very thankful for my time at Purdue as a player so in a sense this is way to give back everything Purdue and the coaches did for me," Vidal said. "I can't thank Laura, Nancy Cross (women's tennis sport administrator) and the whole athletics department enough for the opportunity to come home and be a part of the Boilermaker family."