YEAR SCHOOL RECORD PCT. MW FINISH MW TOUR.
2024 UNLV 16-8 .667 7-3 T3rd 2-1/2nd
2023 UNLV 19-4 .826 8-2 2nd 3-0/1st
2022 UNLV 19-6 .760 7-3 4th 2-1/2nd
2021 UNLV 12-6 .666 8-2 T2nd N/A
2020 UNLV 4-5 .444 N/A N/A N/A
2019# UNLV 18-7 .720 5-0 1st 3-0/1st
2018 UNLV 16-6 .727 5-0 1st 2-1/2nd
2017 UNLV 18-8 .692 5-1 T1st 2-1/2nd
2016* UNLV 24-2 .923 5-1 T2nd 3-0/1st
2015 UNLV 7-17 .292 1-4 N/A 0-1/T9th
2014 UNLV 11-11 .500 2-3 N/A 1-1/T3rd
2013# UNLV 20-8 .714 6-2 T2nd 3-0/1st
2012 UNLV 16-9 .640 5-2 T2nd 1-1/T3rd
2011# UNLV 20-6 .769 8-0 1st 1-1/T3rd
2010 UNLV 22-5 .815 7-1 2nd 1-1/T3rd
2009 UNLV 20-8 .714 8-0 1st 2-1/2nd
2008 UNLV 17-9 .654 6-2 T2nd 3-0/1st
2007 UNLV 19-8 .704 6-2 T3rd 2-1/2nd
2006 UNLV 14-7 .667 6-2 T2nd 1-1/T3rd
2005 UNLV 14-9 .609 5-2 3rd 2-1/2nd
2004 UNLV 16-7 .696 5-2 3rd 1-1/3rd
2003 UNLV 16-6 .727 6-1 1st 1-1/3rd
2002*# UNLV 20-4 .833 6-1 2nd 3-0/1st
2001 UNLV 11-12 .478 5-2 3rd 2-1/5th
2000* UNLV 15-9 .625 NA NA 3-0/1st
CAREER 25 YRS 404-187 .684 132-38 44-16
*MW Coach of the Year #ITA Regional Coach of the Year
Retiring on June 30, 2024, Kevin Cory was the winningest coach in both Rebel and Mountain West women's tennis history.
After a quarter-century leading UNLV, Cory became the 46th women's tennis head coach in NCAA history to reach 400 career victories when his team downed Boise State, 4-0, on April 7, 2024. He also became just the 33rd women's coach to reach the 400-win mark at only one school. He closed his illustrious career with record of 404-187 overall, 132-38 in Mountain West play and an eye-popping 44-16 in the conference tournament. His career win percentage of .684 ranks among the top 40 all-time in the sport.
A veteran of the elite tennis world of the Southeastern Conference, Cory was named to lead the UNLV women's program on Aug. 17, 1999, and then firmly entrenched his team in the national rankings and himself as one of the top coaches in all the West.Â
A four-time ITA Regional Coach of the Year, three-time conference Coach of the Year and two-time USTPA Intermountain College Coach of the Year, Cory's strong leadership of Rebel Tennis was evident on an annual basis. After having zero to its credit before Cory's arrival -- UNLV has won 13 total championships (six regular-season and seven tournaments), more than any other school.
His final squad in 2024, which finished the season ranked 65th in the nation, continued the tradition of reaching the league final, making it to the championship match for the MW-record seventh consecutive time (the event was canceled in both 2020 and '21 because of the pandemic).
In 2023, Cory's Crew dominated the week in Las Vegas en route to a conference-record seventh tourney title, downing Air Force 4-1 in the final held at the Darling Tennis Center. Cory reached another milestone at the event by becoming the first men's or women's tennis coach to reach 40 career victories in MW Tournament play. The Rebels boasted the most all-conference honorees in the league with five and made their return to the NCAA Championship field.
In 2019, Cory made big waves by winning both the league's regular-season and conference titles in the same year for the first time. The Rebels went undefeated in MW play and then swept through the tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship where they stunned No. 26 Texas Tech in the first round to advance before falling to host USC. The squad was powered by two-time MW Player of the Year Aiwen Zhu, who again represented the conference in the NCAA Singles Championship and won her first round match for the second consecutive trip to become only the second Rebel in history to win at least one match in multiple NCAA Singles Championships by posting an upset of the nation's No. 26 player.
In 2018, the Rebels went undefeated in MW play for the first time since 2011 and earned their fifth regular-season title behind the power of Mountain West Player of the Year Aiwen Zhu and Co-Freshman of the Year Izumi Asano.
In 2016, his team broke the record for consecutive victories with 19 and for highest winning percentage in a season with a .923 mark (24-2 overall). The Mountain West Coach of the Year guided his squad to its eighth MW title and a return to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2013, Aleksandra Josifoska became the sixth Cory player to win the MW Player of the Year Award as she and fellow-NCAA Singles Tournament participant Lucia Batta led UNLV to a 20-8 record, a seventh MW championship and a first round win in the NCAAs.
In 2012, Batta was named conference MVP and also earned the seventh bid to the NCAA singles event under his watch.
In 2011, with a final record of 20-6, the UNLV squad reached the 20-win plateau for a third straight season for the first time ever. In fact, five of UNLV's seven all-time 20-win seasons have come under Cory. That year's team earned a fifth consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament after going a perfect 8-0 in league play for the second time in three years and notch its sixth MW championship.
At 22-5, the 2010 Lady Rebels posted the most wins for the school since 1990, while their regular-season winning percentage of .870 was a program record. That team upset No. 25 VCU in the first round of the NCAA event to help the Lady Rebels finish ranked 30th after rising as high as 23rd during the spring.
Cory's 2009 squad turned in the school's first undefeated league mark at 8-0. In 2008 his team rose to as high as 33rd nationally, won the Mountain West championship, played in the NCAA team championships and boasted the first-ever three-time MW Women's Tennis Player of the Year in the form of Elena Gantcheva.
In 2007, UNLV played in its fourth MW title match in the event's first eight years, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA championships and sent a doubles team to the second round of the national championship tourney.
The 2006 team moved as high as 37th and boasted a singles All-American and conference MVP while seeing two players end the season ranked for only the second time in school history.
The 2005 edition earned a spot in the nation's top 30 as a team and the top 25 for a singles player, and secured a return to the NCAA Championships.
In 2003, the Lady Rebels broke the school record for highest preseason ranking (17th), won their first-ever regular-season conference title, stayed in the nation's top 25 for a bulk of the season and went to the NCAA tourney.
In 2002, Cory led his team to new heights with the school's first top-20 final national ranking, a second MW title and a program-record .833 single-season winning percentage after a 20-4 campaign that ended in the NCAA tournament.
In 2000, the rookie head coach led his squad to the school's first-ever league championship, helped guide the greatest individual postseason in UNLV history and was named MW Coach of the Year. Katarina Malec and Marianne Bakken earned spots into the 2000 NCAA Championships and surged deeper into the tournament than any women in school history, including Malec's appearance in the national semifinals.
Moving from one Rebel program to another, Cory came to Las Vegas from the University of Mississippi where he had served as assistant coach since 1996. The 1998 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Cory helped the Lady Rebels from UM earn a place among the national powers of college tennis, including the school's most successful season in history. In 1999, Ole Miss set a school record for most victories (24-5), posted a best-ever final ranking (sixth), won its first SEC tournament title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. Cory moved to Ole Miss after three years as director of tennis for the Umpqua Valley Tennis Club in Roseburg, Ore.
He began his career at Courthouse Athletic Club in Salem, Ore., after graduating from the University of Oregon in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. The four-year letterman for the Ducks played No. 1 singles and doubles as a senior and was a 1990 first team All-Pac-10 selection while finishing in the top 10 in career victories at the school.
A native of California, he is a 1985 graduate of Los Altos High School. A resident of Henderson, Cory has a son, Spencer.
