MONTREAT, N.C.— Marcos Salazar has been chosen to head the Montreat men's and women's tennis teams as he was hired in January of 2024. Though the Montreat tennis squads will not compete in team events for the 2024 season, Salazar's duties begin immediately.
 
Salazar comes to Montreat following time as a graduate assistant at St. Thomas University. With the Arequipa, Peru native on staff last season, both the Bobcat men and women made the NAIA National Tournament. The women advanced to the national quarterfinal and the men advanced to the second round for the first time in program history.
 
Prior to his time at STU, Salazar played collegiate tennis at the University of Northwest Ohio from the 2017-18 school year through the 2021-22 season. As a team, the Racers held an 83-35 overall record and a perfect 25-0 conference campaign during the 5-year span, while moving on to the national tournament every one of the four seasons not disrupted by COVID-19. In 2021 and 2022, UNOH ended Montreat's season in the national tournament.
 
Individually, Salazar ended his career as the all-time winningest player in school history with 177 victories. He was a 2-time honorable mention All-American and a 4-time First Team All-Conference athlete, reaching as high as No. 4 in doubles rankings and as high as No. 14 in singles ratings.
 
While attending UNOH, Salazar worked at The Dunes Club as a racquets director assistant for three summers. Before then, he was involved with the high performance and development program at Westwood Tennis and Fitness. From 2018 to 2022, Salazar trained middle school tennis athletes in the program who went on to qualify for state tournaments.
 
"I want to thank Montreat College for trusting me in this position. My goal is to build a program that runs with mutual respect and competes at a high level, aiming toward winning conference championships and having a program to remember," said Salazar of his hiring.
 
Salazar looks to return the Cavaliers to the national tournament, a place both the men and women landed in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.