The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men’s Tennis Coach Derek Tarr Announces Retirement
5/4/2021 5:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BIRMINGHAM - After 32 seasons at the helm of the UAB men's tennis program, head coach Derek Tarr has announced his retirement.
The winningest coach in school history, Tarr amassed 433 victories during his tenure. Before then-UAB AD Gene Bartow hired Tarr prior to the 1989 season, UAB had never produced a nationally-ranked player, had never been nationally-ranked as a team and had never defeated a nationally-ranked opponent.
In just his third season leading the Blazers, UAB won its first Sun Belt championship in 1991. After joining the Great Midwest Conference in 1992, UAB won every men's tennis championship in the history of that league, reeling off four straight titles from 1992-1995.
Tarr was named conference coach of the year in each of those seasons.
In 1993, the Blazers reached their first of five NCAA Regionals under the eye of Tarr. That season, UAB finished ranked No. 13 nationally in the final ITA poll. The fifth-year UAB head coach was named the ITA/Wilson Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year.
Over the last ten seasons, 15 Blazers received All-Conference USA honors, including Tim Dollman, who earned Conference USA Freshman of the Year accolades in 2017 before being named first-team All-Conference in 2018. The latest Blazers to bring home such honors were current Blazers Michal Lusovsky, who earned a spot on the singles second-team, and Roman Postolka, who joined Lusovsky on the doubles second-team in 2019.
As a professional player, Tarr ranked in the top-100 in the world in both singles and doubles. During his seven years on tour, Tarr defeated the likes of Andre Agassi, Henri Leconte and Tim Mayotte.
For more information on the UAB men's tennis team, follow the Blazers on Twitter and Instagram (@UAB_MTN).
Players Mentioned
