Matic Špec

Matic Špec arrived in West Lafayette in the summer of 2023 as an assistant coach for Purdue Men's Tennis, reuniting with his former head coach Geoff Young. The pair made history during their time at Minnesota with three NCAA Tournament appearances, a Sweet 16 bid and Big Ten regular season title.  Špec joined the Boilermakers after spending one campaign on staff at Tulsa as a volunteer. Prior to his time with the Golden Hurricane, Spec played professionally all over the world. The Maribor, Slovenia, native climbed up to No. 710 in singles and No. 701 in doubles in the world tennis rankings. He appeared in four singles semifinals and one final on the professional circuits, while he made the last four in nine separate doubles events, reaching the final four times. Špec’s lone professional title came in the doubles of the 2019 M15 ITennis Pro Classic in Arcadia, Calif. Špec has also represented his home Slovenia in the Davis Cup, making his debut with a doubles victory over Paraguay in 2021. Before he hit the professional ranks, Špec was a standout performer in the Big Ten at Minnesota under head coach Geoff Young. The duo guided the Golden Gophers to a trio of NCAA Tournament appearances, including the deepest run in over 20 years at Minnesota, a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018. Minnesota’s 10-1 Big Ten record in 2015 led the Golden Gophers to their first regular season championship in 20 years. Špec finished his career with a 91-43 singles record and a 74-54 mark in doubles action. His 74 doubles victories rank eighth in Minnesota program history. He was a four-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, becoming the second player in the 102-year history of the Golden Gopher tennis program to garner postseason honors from the league in four straight seasons. In addition to the All-Big Ten honors, Špec was tabbed the 2015 ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year and the 2018 Central Region Senior Player of the Year. He was tabbed a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, including a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award in 2017. Prior to his time in Minneapolis, Špec put together an outstanding juniors career. In singles play on the ITF circuit, he reached 10 quarterfinals, three semifinals and claimed two titles at the 2012 Epetion Cup and 2013 Radenska Open. He also reached five doubles quarterfinals. Overall in his junior career, Špec won four international singles cups and six Slovenian singles titles, while as well as four Slovenian doubles national championships.