The winningest coach in Purdue Tennis history, Laura Glitz enters her 18th season at the helm of the women’s team in 2024-25. Since her hiring in 2007, Glitz has taken the Boilermakers to unparalleled success.
Glitz has amassed a 199-179 record at Purdue and 226-202 overall for her career over 22 seasons of coaching. She has led the Boilermakers to the NCAA Tournament four times and guided Purdue to the only Big Ten Championship in Purdue Tennis, both men’s and women's programs, history with the 2012 tournament title.
Forty-nineBoilermakers have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, while 35 have been named ITA Scholar-Athletes. Eleven different Boilermakers have earned a spot in the ITA singles rankings, while 14 have been named All-Big Ten. The Boilermakers were named an ITA All-Academic Team seventimes under Glitz.
Glitz’s player development has been highlighted by appearances in Purdue’s top-15 in the record book - five of the career singles winners, six of the career doubles victories, seven in single-season singles wins and eight of the single-season doubles victories.
All of Purdue’s highest team rankings have come during the Glitz era. Eight of the program’s top-10 singles rankings have played for Glitz, as well as five in the doubles rankings. Five of her squads have been ranked for the entire season, including a streak of 102 consecutive poll appearances spanning March 2, 2010 to March 22, 2016. The program’s highest ranking was No. 14 in 2013.
The Boilermakers rolled to a 15-8 record during the 2023 dual campaign, the best winning percentage by the program since 2018, along with a 6-5 mark in Big Ten action. NC State graduate transfer Liz Norman powered the Purdue lineup at the top of the order to garner All-Big Ten honors. Purdue climbed as high as No. 37 in the nation, its best mark since the 2014-15 campaign. Csilla Fodor, Juana Larranaga, Antonia Pareja and Liz Norman were tabbed ITA Scholar-Athletes, while the team earned the ITA Academic Team Award.
Welcoming in a highly anticipated freshman class, the Boilermakers went 12-13 and 3-8 in Big Ten play. Purdue opened the year on a five-match winning streak, the best start in five seasons under Glitz. Junior Csilla Fodor had one of the best campaigns in recent memory, winning 29 times in singles play, good for third most in a single season in program history. She was named All-Big Ten for her efforts. The talented freshman trio of Tara Katarina Milic, Jauana Larranaga and Carmen Gallardo Guevara posted 56 combined wins in singles action. The Boilermakers outlasted Rutgers 4-3 in the opening match of the Big Ten Tournament, going to the last point of the last singles match third set tiebreaker
The 2020-21 season forced the Boilermakers to place a Big Ten only schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ena Babic garnered her second straight All-Big Ten selection. Being diligent, the Boilermakers did not have match canceled due to positive tests within the program.
The 2019-20 season saw the Boilermakers go 5-8 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the cancellation, Purdue appeared at No. 44 in the national rankings, their first in spot in the polls since 2015-16. Ena Babic was named All-Big Ten, and Zala Dovnik won the ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award for the Ohio Valley.
Purdue finished 2018-19 with an 11-13 record overall and 5-6 in league action. Ambrosio rewrote the singles rankings list, climbing up to a program best No. 9 in February. In the process of earning her second All-Big Ten nod, Ambrosio became the first Boilermaker to receive a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship since 1999.
Glitz and the Boilermakers bounced back in 2017-18 to go 14-10 and 7-4 in Big Ten play, narrowly missing out on an NCAA Tournament bid. Silvia Ambrosio jumped into the national singles rankings at No. 95, as Purdue climbed back into the team polls at No. 50 midway through the year. Ambrosio was named All-Big Ten.
In a rebuilding year, the Boilermakers went 6-16 in 2017 and 1-10 in league play. After seeing their streak of appearing in 102 straight ITA team polls, Rafaella Baquerizo and Andjela Djokovic were the lone Boilermakers to reach the doubles ranking, reaching No. 49.
Purdue finished 12-13 in 2015-16 and 5-6 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers defeated four ranked teams and climbed up to No. 44 in the national rankings. Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum was nationally ranked in singles at the start of the year, while a pair of doubles teams jumped into the national rankings.
The 2015 senior class became the first in program history to reach the NCAA Tournament four times, as Purdue went back to the dance in 2014-15. Finishing 14-9 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten, Purdue picked up eight victories against ranked teams. Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum was tabbed All-Big Ten. Purdue’s highest team ranking came in the middle of the year at No. 21, and Andjela Djokovic and Daniela Vidal both made appearance in the singles polls. Bernard-Feigenbaum and Vidal reached as high as No. 24 in the doubles rankings. Krisztina Kapitany was named the Ohio Valley Arthur Ashe/Tennis Magazine sportsmanship Leader Award winner by the ITA.
For the third consecutive year, Glitz put the Boilermakers back in the NCAA Tournament in 2013-14, as the team went 12-11 overall and 7-4 in league play. Seven wins came against ranked opposition during the year. Again, Purdue appeared in every team ranking, topping out at No. 27. Daniela Vidal was named the Arthur Ashe/Tennis Magazine sportsmanship Leader Award winner and the ITA Most Improved Senior in the Ohio Valley Region.
The Boilermakers returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year in 2012-13 behind an 18-6 overall mark and 9-4 clip in the Big Ten. Glitz and the Boilermakers posted 11 wins in their first 12 contests and knocked off eight ranked teams. Purdue defeated No. 34 South Carolina to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Purdue checked in at No. 14 on Feb. 26 of that season, the highest ranking in program history. Kapitany and Schmidt repeated their bid NCAA Doubles Championship.
Lynda Xepoleas and Mara Schmidt appeared in the singles rankings, while Krisztina Kapitany and Schmidt jumped up to No. 25 in the doubles poll. Schmidt was named All-Big Ten at the end of the regular season. The duo became the first Purdue tandem to reach the NCAA Doubles Championship since 1999.
History was made during the 2011-12 championship campaign. The Boilermakers lifted the 2012 Big Ten Tournament title, the first in Purdue Tennis history with a 4-3 win over No. 15 Michigan. The Boilermakers had to win three straight matches against ranked opposition during their tournament run. Purdue went 18-7 on the year and 6-5 in league action.
The Boilermakers defeated 10 nationally ranked teams and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. Glitz was named the 2012 Wilson/ITA Ohio Valley Coach of the Year. Purdue jumped as high as No. 27 in the national polls, while staying in the rankings every week. Jennifer Rabot made it three years in a row as an All-Big Ten selection.
2010-11 saw Purdue go 13-8 on the year with a 7-3 mark in Big Ten play. Jennifer Rabot repeated as All-Big Ten as she reached No. 82 in the ITA singles rankings. A pair of doubles tandems also made appearances in the rankings, including Mara Schmidt and Rabot at No. 13 early in the year. The team climbed as high as No. 49 in the national rankings, while appearing in every poll.
Glitz flipped the script in 2009-10, leading Purdue to a 17-6 overall record and 5-5 in league play. Purdue opened the campaign with nine straight wins and victories in 13 of its first 14 matches. Purdue knocked off No. 53 Harvard, No. 30 Ohio State and No. 66 Minnesota during the year on the way to finishing ranked No. 33 at the end of the year. Jennifer Rabot garnered All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career.
The 2008-09 campaign saw the Boilermakers make a five-win improvement with one ranked win against No. 70 Wisconsin, finishing the year 9-13 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten. Michelle Sammons was named All-Big Ten, while Jennifer Rabot became the first Boilermaker under Glitz to be ranked by the ITA, cracking the top-100 at 93.
Her first campaign in West Lafayette was a rebuilding effort as the Boilermakers went 4-17 on the year and 2-8 in the Big Ten in 2007-08. The Glitz era opened with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Middle Tennessee State on the road, while the first win at the Schwartz Tennis Center came against no. 66 Western Michigan in a decisive 6-1 drubbing. Brooke Beier garnered All-Big Ten First Team honors. Purdue was ranked as high as No. 43 during the season.
Glitz came to Purdue after a three-year run at Cornell, in which she led the Big Red to three straight winning seasons, amassing a 27-23 record. During her final season in Ithaca, New York, Glitz's team received a national ranking of No. 69 en route to a 10-6 record. Three of Glitz's student-athletes, Elizabeth Googe, Kasia Preneta and Nisha Suda, received postseason accolades from the Ivy League.
Prior to Cornell, Glitz was an assistant coach at Princeton for four seasons. She assisted Princeton coaching legend Louise Gengler, helping out with all aspects of the program, including customizing drills for team and individual workouts, recruiting student-athletes and organizing the team's training program. During her time with the Tigers, four singles players and one doubles team were named to the All-Ivy first team and the squad finished in the top half of the Ivy standings each year.
From 1994 to 2000, Glitz served as the tennis director at the Yorktowne (Pennsylvania) Racquet and Fitness Club, where she worked with numerous college-bound student-athletes. During that time, she also coached national and sectional ranked juniors at the Central Pennsylvania Area Training Center.
Glitz competed on the WTA tour from 1990 to 1994 and achieved a top-250 ranking in singles and a top-90 ranking in doubles play. She has competed in all four grand slam events. A four-time winner of the USPTA/MSTA Outstanding Women's Open Player of the Year (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000), Glitz was ranked No. 1 nationally in the United States Professional Tennis Association women's open singles in 1994.
Glitz earned All-America honors while playing at Arizona State. She served as team captain during her junior and senior seasons and played at both No. 1 singles and doubles for the Sun Devils. She earned her bachelor's degree in finance in 1990.
Year
Overall Wins
Overall Losses
Winning Pct.
Big Ten Wins
Big Ten Losses
Big Ten Winning Pct.
Final Rank
2005
9
9
.500
2006
8
8
.500
2007
10
6
.625
CORNELL
27
23
.540
2008
4
17
.190
2
8
.200
2009
9
13
.409
4
6
.400
2010
17
6
.739
5
5
.500
49
2011
13
8
.619
7
3
.700
65
2012
18
7
.720
6
5
.545
26
2013
18
6
.750
8
3
.727
27
2014
12
11
.522
7
4
.636
43
2015
14
9
.609
6
5
.545
43
2016
12
13
.480
5
6
.455
72
2017
6
16
.272
1
10
.091
2018
14
10
.583
7
4
.636
2019
11
13
.458
5
6
.455
2020*
5
8
.385
0
2
.000
2021^
6
11
.353
6
10
.375
2022
12
13
.480
3
8
.273
2023
15
8
.652
6
5
.545
49
2024
13
10
.565
5
6
.454
63
PURDUE
199
170
.539
83
96
.464
CAREER
226
202
.528
* The 2020 season was canceled after 13 matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ Per the Big Ten Conference, all matches played during the 2021 season
Laura Glitz