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Cumberland University

Tennis

Women's Tennis

Tennis Coaches Karen Martinez and Thiago Lins Announce Resignation After 2025 Season

LEBANON, Tenn. - - Tennis coaches Thiago Lins and Karen Martinez are set to resign at the end of May following the 2025 season.

"It is with sad news that Thiago and Karen have resigned from the tennis coaching positions effective May 31, 2025. They both have done a wonderful job and have built the community of tennis for Cumberland University. I am happy for them to be back with their family, which is so important in life," Vice President for Athletics Ron Pavan said.

Speaking about his time at Cumberland, Coach Thiago Lins said, "It has been a great learning experience and an honor to coach at CU for the last eight years. We have built a positive team culture over the seasons and we couldn't have done it without the commitment of our players and staff."

On the court, Lins has turned Cumberland into a mainstay in the national ranking polls while his teams have won conference championships and consistently made it to the National Tournament. In his inaugural season as the head coach of the men's program the Phoenix won the MSC Regular Season Championship and it began a streak where up to this season, Cumberland has appeared in five of the past seven National Tournaments.

Individually, Lins has been named Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year one time, while he has coached two NAIA All-Americans, ten MSC First Team All-Conference team members, ten MSC Second Team All-Conference team members, two MSC Freshmen of the Year, nine MSC Players of the Week, and an ITA Doubles All-American pairing.

The Cumberland Men's Tennis team has been a staple of NAIA tennis for years and Lins has coached the Phoenix to a 76-57-1 record up to this season, while routinely picking up wins over ranked opponents and NCAA DI competition alike. Not to downplay his work off the court, Lins has nurtured a positive culture within the Lebanon and greater Nashville area for years now.

"My biggest take away is seeing how our players have impacted our university and community in a positive way. We have built a successful tennis program on and off the court carrying ourselves with pride, respect and sportsmanship. We have also helped to grow tennis in our community and we are truly humble with all of their support to us and our tennis programs."

Since taking over the program, the tennis team has won the ITA Community Service Award on four straight occasions now for the Southeast Region, a testament to the effort and work that Thiago has dedicated to his teams since he first took the job.

"Lastly we wanted to thank Coach Pavan and his staff for all of their support in the last 8 years and I am sure that the legacy will continue for many years to come. We look forward to finishing this season strong and after that watching the team's success from the sidelines in the future. Once a Phoenix, always a Phoenix. Go CU!"

In addition to Lins, Karen Martinez has left another great legacy that will go down in the history books at Cumberland University.

Martinez said about her time at Cumberland, "I'm forever thankful for the opportunity that Coach Pavan gave me to coach at Cumberland University. I have not only grown professionally, but most importantly I have learned and taken with me a little something from each person that I got to meet here at Cumberland."

Initially being hired as both the men's and women's head coach, Martinez handled the job with a prowess that few could match. In 2017-18 she took the Phoenix's men's team to the NAIA National Champions Second Round with eight wins over ranked opponents that season. In that same season her women's team won five matches over ranked opponents en route to a National Championship appearance.

Like her counterpart, Martinez has won a Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year award, as well as an ITA Men's Coach of the Year for the South Region. Her teams have also garnered massive individual recognition and success, being awarded twenty three different All-Mid-South Conference selections, eight NAIA All-Americans, four ITA All-Americans, fifteen MSC Players of the Week, and two NAIA Players of the Week.

Showing what the pair planned out to do from their first days on campus, Martinez's teams have also been involved in the community like few others. Her two ITA Community Service Awards mean that between her and Lins' combined efforts, Cumberland tennis has been one of the most involved teams in the whole of the community.

"I know that wherever I go, there is something that no one can take away from me, which are all the great and unforgettable memories that I have created in my time as the tennis coach at Cumberland University."
 
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