Head Coach Katie Dougherty Won the 2026 ITA Dunlop Coach of the Year in the Atlantic Region
Head Coach Dougherty Wins Dunlop Coach of the Year; Ghirardato Wins Player to Watch in ITA Atlantic Regional Awards
6/9/2026 3:56:00 PM | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The Maryland Women's Tennis Team is thrilled to announce Katie Dougherty as the Dunlop Coach of the Year and Emma Ghirardato as the ITA Player to Watch in the ITA Atlantic Regional Award Winners.
Over her seven seasons, Coach Dougherty has built a program that continues to evolve and progress year after year. She places a huge emphasis on mutual trust, building strong relationships, and invests heavily in each student-athlete's player development. These factors have created a team culture that is highly motivated, passionate, and gritty. It's been under Dougherty's leadership that Maryland has had one of, if not the most, successful years in program history.
During the 2026 spring season, the Terps tied the program record for the most wins in a single season, with 18 wins. They were also particularly dominant at home with a 13-1 dual match record. The Terps also concluded the regular season with 8 conference wins, which is a program record for a single season. Maryland also reached the semi-finals of the Big Ten tournament for the first time in program history and upset the 2nd seed and #12 nationally ranked Southern California in the quarter finals. The win over USC was the highest-ranked win since 2011. The team also qualified for the NCAA championships for the first time in 15 years, and entered the tournament as #33 in the ITA team rankings.
Emma Ghirardato transferred to Maryland from Oklahoma and has shone in her role, playing primarily at the #1 and #2 singles spots and the #1 doubles spot. Ghirardato, alongside teammate Ema Kovacevic, qualified for the NCAA Fall Doubles Championship, where they finished in 3rd place at the Eastern Sectional Championship. Ghirardato is currently ranked #32 in the ITA Doubles rankings with Diya Challa and also ranked #80 with Kovacevic.
Ghirardato finished the season strong, leading the Terps lineup in the Big Ten Tournament, going toe to toe with USC's Hossam Salah (NCAA Semi-Finalist) 5-3, 30-0 in the third set before the match was abandoned. Ghirardato's overall singles record this season was 17-7, and her doubles record was 22-12. Her singles UTR rose from 9.35 in May of 2025 to her current 10.16 score. Her notable wins included #62-ranked Ivanova (Wisconsin) and #91 Phanthala (Northwestern).
The rest of the award winners can be found on the ITA website.
Over her seven seasons, Coach Dougherty has built a program that continues to evolve and progress year after year. She places a huge emphasis on mutual trust, building strong relationships, and invests heavily in each student-athlete's player development. These factors have created a team culture that is highly motivated, passionate, and gritty. It's been under Dougherty's leadership that Maryland has had one of, if not the most, successful years in program history.
During the 2026 spring season, the Terps tied the program record for the most wins in a single season, with 18 wins. They were also particularly dominant at home with a 13-1 dual match record. The Terps also concluded the regular season with 8 conference wins, which is a program record for a single season. Maryland also reached the semi-finals of the Big Ten tournament for the first time in program history and upset the 2nd seed and #12 nationally ranked Southern California in the quarter finals. The win over USC was the highest-ranked win since 2011. The team also qualified for the NCAA championships for the first time in 15 years, and entered the tournament as #33 in the ITA team rankings.
Emma Ghirardato transferred to Maryland from Oklahoma and has shone in her role, playing primarily at the #1 and #2 singles spots and the #1 doubles spot. Ghirardato, alongside teammate Ema Kovacevic, qualified for the NCAA Fall Doubles Championship, where they finished in 3rd place at the Eastern Sectional Championship. Ghirardato is currently ranked #32 in the ITA Doubles rankings with Diya Challa and also ranked #80 with Kovacevic.
Ghirardato finished the season strong, leading the Terps lineup in the Big Ten Tournament, going toe to toe with USC's Hossam Salah (NCAA Semi-Finalist) 5-3, 30-0 in the third set before the match was abandoned. Ghirardato's overall singles record this season was 17-7, and her doubles record was 22-12. Her singles UTR rose from 9.35 in May of 2025 to her current 10.16 score. Her notable wins included #62-ranked Ivanova (Wisconsin) and #91 Phanthala (Northwestern).
The rest of the award winners can be found on the ITA website.
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, June 05
Tuesday, January 30
Tuesday, January 30
Tuesday, January 30
