SAN FRANCISCO -- Academy of Art University Director of Athletics Brad Jones has announced Nicole Briceño as the new head coach of the Urban Knights women's tennis program. Returning to the same position she held from 2014 to 2017, Briceño looks to recapture the momentum she built guiding ART U through the postseason, achieving victories over nationally ranked opponents, and excelling academically as well.

"We are thrilled to have Nicole return as our head women's tennis coach," Jones said. "She has a proven record of building a successful and nationally ranked tennis program.  We look forward to having her return as a member of the athletic staff and lead the tennis team once again."

Staying sharp as a self-employed professional tennis coach now for more than 20 years, Briceño handled all aspects of the ART U women's tennis program for three seasons from 2014 to 2017. Her third campaign featured an impressive array of accomplishments including a No. 9 national ranking, the program's third appearance at the NCAA Regionals, and three All-PacWest awards. En route to a 17-5 overall record, Academy of Art defeated several ranked opponents including No. 22 Sonoma State, No. 17 Cameron, No. 9 St. Mary's, No. 24 Point Loma, No. 29 Cal State Los Angeles, No. 34 Concordia, and No. 21 Azusa Pacific, but ended up falling to Hawaii Pacific in the Pacific West Conference Tournament (ART U finished third) and again at NCAA Division II Regionals. The team added six more Academic All-PacWest honors.

The second year of Briceño's Academy of Art career saw the Urban Knights go 11-11 overall. Highlights included victories over ranked teams such as No. 31 Point Loma, No. 39 Palm Beach Atlantic, and eventually No. 14 Azusa Pacific in the PacWest Conference Tournament where ART U would finish fifth overall. The team had six Knights take home Academic All-PacWest awards, one ITA Scholar-Athlete honor, and three All-PacWest Team selections (one doubles pair, one singles).

In her first season at the helm, Briceño guided the program to a 13-6 record and its first PacWest Championship match which led to their highest ever regional ranking. Their second place ranking allowed the team to host the opening round of the NCAA Tournament (another first for the program). Five student-athletes also earned All-PacWest honors under her watch in 2015 and the team earned three awards at the second annual ARTYs: Highest Team GPA, Best Moment (defeating HPU at the PacWest Tournament) and Team of the Year. The squad's academic successes was also recognized as seven Knights earned Academic All-PacWest accolades.

"It's an honor for my family and I to come back to Academy of Art University," Briceño said. "I've had the privilege before to coach and work alongside such world class people here at ART U and I'm extremely excited to lead this program to be one of the best teams in the country both in character and with titles. I want to thank Brad Jones and Academy of Art for believing in me and for this humbling opportunity. I can't wait to meet my team and get started right away."

With Saint Mary's College prior to ART U, Briceño was a volunteer assistant for a Gaels squad that achieved a Top 34 NCAA Division I ranking. She helped guide SMC to a West Coast Conference Final in addition to obtaining three individual ITA rankings. With the University of Maryland, Briceño was heavily involved with recruiting as well as player development, mentoring and coaching the Terrapins squad both on and off the court.

Prior to Maryland, Briceño served as an assistant at Albany for one season. She helped guide the Great Danes to their first conference final appearance in school history and had a hand in the school's first-ever wins over UMBC and Binghamton.

As a collegian herself, Briceño played for Southern Methodist and Alabama. An important leader on her SMU squad, she led the Mustangs to a national ranking of No. 21, highest in program history, and to the Conference USA Championship. She set the record for most doubles wins ever at SMU, achieving a 21-1 season record. Briceño and partner Ksenia Tokarieva achieved a career high doubles national ranking of No. 38. During her time at SMU, she earned multiple Conference USA Player of the Week awards and was named the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year in 2008.

An outstanding student, Briceño graduated from SMU in 2010 with a 3.6 GPA majoring in psychology and Spanish. She received the SMU Minority Academic Excellence Award three straight years and was named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. At Alabama, Briceño was named to the Dean's List and the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll. While at SMU, she also served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).