Texas A&M - Kingsville Athletics

Autumn Wollenzien (née Williams) was named Head Coach of the Texas A&M University - Kingsville women’s tennis program on July 1, 2014. Wollenzien joined the Javelinas after four seasons as the head women’s tennis coach at Clark Atlanta University.

An exciting, 12-8, season in 2024-25 saw TAMUK earn a berth to the LSC Tournament Quarterfinals behind the play of four All-Conference Athletes. Junior transfer Guadalupe Tocci made the most of her first year in the blue and gold, earning the conference's Newcomer of the Year award, while also making the All-LSC Academic Team and being named a All-LSC singles Honorable Mention. Graduating seniors Manuela Turolo and Luna Jokanovic were both also named All-LSC singles HM players, while Jokanovic and Blount combined to earn a spot on the All-LSC Doubles Second Team. The team finished its season undefeated in its home schedule, including a pair of upset wins over top-25-ranked opponents.

The Hogs finishes their 2023-24 season at 10-10 with a 4-6 record in LSC play in a year defined by the history-making play of Alessa Maier. Maier finished her year 17-2 in singles play and was named ITA's D2 National Most Improved Player. She also became the first All-American in program history and was ranked as high as the No.6 singles player in the nation. Her teammate and fellow senior, Milou ter Morsche, was named the LSC Academic Player of the year and, along with Maier, was selected to the All-Academic Team. The pair were also named to the All-LSC Doubles First Team while Maier made the All-LSC Singles First Team.

The 2022-23 season saw the Javelinas finish with a 7-12 overall record, going 3-7 in LSC play. The team earned a berth to the LSC Tournament, where they lost to the No.1-seed Cameron Aggies. Junior Alessa Maier was, for the second year in a row, named to the All-LSC Singles First Team, marking the first time a Javelina has earned the honor in consecutive seasons since Maria Herrera who was named to the team three consecutive times across the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons. Maier was also named to the All-LSC Sportsmanship team while her doubles teammate, fellow junior Milou ter Morsche, was selected to the All-LSC Academic Team for the second time in her career.

The Javelinas earned their way back into the double-digit win column with an 11-11 overall record, going 5-4 in LSC play, during the 2021-22 season. They capped off their year with a 4-3 upset of No.25 Midwestern St. in the LSC Tournament Quarterfinals - the fourth win in their last five matches - before falling to Cameron, 3-4, in their semifinals match. Sophomore Alessa Maier became the first Javelina sophomore to be named first-team all-conference since Maria Herrera in 2014 and her nod means the Javs have had at least one player make the All-LSC First-Team in six of the last eight years. Junior Maya Donker earned a spot on the All-LSC Sportsmanship team, while Milou ter Morsche garnered LSC All-Academic status.

The 2020-21 season finally saw the Javelinas breakout with the program's first-ever NCAA South Central Regional Appearance. TAMUK finished the season 8-9 with a 5-4 LSC record but missed out on the LSC Tournament due to inclement weather. Despite the unceremonious end to the LSC matches, the Javelinas drew Angelo State in the regional before bowing out to the Rambelles at 4-0.

The Blue and Gold still had plenty to celebrate beyond that, with a Division I win over UTRGV on February 27 and five straight wins in LSC play beginning April 10, including two sweeps, one over UT Permian Basin on April 11 and one over UAFS on April 16. The postseason saw five Javelinas named to the All-LSC teams. Laura Montalvo and Maya Donkor were both named All-LSC honorable mention for the singles and doubles teams, while Alessa Maier and Milou ter Morsche ended up on the honorable mention singles team, followed by Raina Zaffar on the LSC Sportsmanship team.

The summer break also saw seven Javelinas named ITA All-Academic Scholar-Athletes, with Donkor, Maier, ter Morsche and Zaffar joined by Stephanie Baerman, Jana Knaab, and Noemi Sante. Meanwhile, the team picked up its seventh consecutive ITA All-Academic team award.

The 2019-20 season had the team on an upward trajectory as the Javelinas picked up a 5-2 record with three consecutive 7-0 sweeps of CSU-Pueblo, Northwood and Quincy before the NCAA halted the spring championship season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TAMUK also added a 5-2 win over UTRGV on February 22 and a 5-2 win over Prairie View A&M on February 3 for two Division I wins.

Following the 2018-19 season, the Javelinas went 12-8 during the dual campaign and finished with a 4-2 mark in LSC matches. TAMUK came away with two ranked wins, including a 4-3 upset at home against No. 15 Tarleton on March 29 and another 4-3 home victory over No. 35 St. Mary's (TX) on April 17. Following the win over the TexAnns, TAMUK received the No. 23 spot in the ITA Division II poll, the highest such spot the program would reach in the dual season.

The Javelinas fell in the LSC Tournament semifinal match against No. 14 MSU Texas and ended the season as the No. 29-ranked team in the ITA Division II poll. Assistant coach Vanessa Tavares was named the ITA National and South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year for her efforts aiding Wollenzien on staff while redshirt senior Lisa Carvajal and freshman Maya Donkor ended up as the No. 40-ranked doubles team in the nation.

Carvajal and Donkor were both named to the All-LSC doubles team, while the junior trio of Julia Rauer, Valerie Ruiz and Victoria Romanovskaia made the cut on the All-LSC honorable mention singles squad. Ruiz was also named the 2019 LSC Sportsmanship Player of the Year while Rauer became the third student-athlete in program history to be named to multiple All-Academic teams following her spot on the 2019 squad.

Following the 2017-18 season, the Javelinas finished with a 13-12 record in the dual campaign and a 4-2 record in LSC matches. TAMUK pulled off a pair of ranked wins during the year, including a 5-4 win over No. 12 Midwestern State at home on February 24 and a 5-4 win over No. 36 Angelo State on the road on April 8. The Javelinas ended up falling in the LSC Tournament semifinal match to No. 14 Midwestern State.

A total of seven student-athletes were given 2018 ITA Scholar-Athlete honors, including freshman Mariana Correa, sophomore Viviana Ortiz, junior Phonephathep Philavong, sophomore Julia Rauer, sophomore Victoria Romanovskaia, sophomore Valerie Ruiz and senior Martina Urrutia. Ruiz and Philavong were also named to the All-LSC honorable mention singles team, while Romanovskaia and Ortiz took a spot on the All-LSC honorable metion doubles squad. Rauer and Ruiz also made the cut for the LSC All-Academic team.

Following the 2016-17 season, TAMUK owned a 13-10 overall record and a 2-3 mark in LSC matches. The Javelinas came away with a ranked win over No. 28 Indiana (Pa.) on March 14 in a neutral site match and ended up falling in the LSC Tournament semifinal match to top-seeded Midwestern State.

Junior Lisa Carvajal took home LSC Newcomer of the Year honors and was named to the All-Conference singles team, while freshman Victoria Romanovskaia made the cut for the honorable mention singles squad. Senior Tabata Lua was the lone representative on the LSC All-Academic team, while senior Nadia Grlj, junior Viviana Ortiz, sophomore Madi Gomez, junior Martina Urrutia, freshman Julia Rauer and freshman Valerie Ruiz all landed on the ITA Scholar-Athlete team.

In 2017, she was chosen as coach on the United States Tennis Association National Coaching staff for the girls and boy’s 14s Zonal team for the state of Texas. 

Following the 2015-16 season, the Javelinas finished with a 5-16 overall record and a 0-3 mark in LSC matches. TAMUK fell in the open round of the LSC Tournament to top-seeded Cameron to bring the season to an end.

Senior Marija Dimitrovska received her second consecutive citation for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's At-Large second team as she was joined by Mariaxi Herrera on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's At-Large team. The duo also made the ITA All-Academic team along with Eleni Anastasova, Madi Gomez, Madia Grlj and Martina Urrutia, while Dimitrovska and Herrera were the only two to make the the LSC All-Academic team, both as repeat selections.

Dimitrovska was the lone TAMUK representative on the All-LSC honorable mention singles team, while Herrera and Erika Larrea both made the honorable mention doubles team.

Following her first season for the 2014-15 campaign, the Javelinas finished with a 13-11 overall record, setting a new benchmark for most wins in a season, along with a 2-1 mark in LSC matches. TAMUK pulled off ranked two ranked wins in the dual season, including a 7-2 win over No. T45 Florida Southern on March 17 and a 5-4 win over No. 35 Cameron on April 3. The Javelinas ended up making the ITA Division II poll for the first time in program history after landing in the No. 50 spot following the conclusion of the season.

Wollenzien was named the 2015 LSC Coach of the Year for guiding the Javelinas throughout the regular season, while Mariaxi Herrera ended up on the All-Conference singles team and paired with Marija Dimitrovska for a spot on the All-Conference doubles team. Dimistrovska and Erika Larrea both made the cut for the honorable mention singles squad as Larrea was Co-Newcomer of the Year, while Tabata Lua and Madia Grlj both made the honorable mention doubles team.

Dimitrovska and Herrera were the TAMUK representatives on the LSC All-Academic team, while Dimitrovska landed on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's At-Large team for her efforts in the classroom, and headlined the program with the first-ever selection to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's At-Large third team.

A total of five student-athletes also made the cut for the ITA Scholar-Athlete team, with Dimitrovska and Herrera joined by Grlj, Martina Urrutia and Eleni Anastasova on the squad.

Wollenzien boasted a 56-45 overall record at the helm of the CAU tennis program, and in 2011, became the only coach in lady Panthers history to win Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Championships as both a coach and student-athlete. As a student, Wollenzien guided the team to three consecutive conference championships (2002-2004) and four consecutive national tournament appearances (2001-2004).

Wollenzien earned SIAC Coach of the Year honors twice (2011 and 2013), and was the 2011 Outstanding Coach of the SIAC in 2011 and 2012, she was the recipient of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Multi-Cultural Grant which afforded her the opportunity to attend the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Coaches Convention to enhance her coaching acumen. In 2013, her team finished third in the conference tournament and in 2014, they placed second in the conference tournament. While at Clark Atlanta, two of her players were named Player of the Year and one Freshman of the Year. She is a certified teaching pro through the United States Professional Tennis Association and Professional Tennis Registry.

She worked as an associate merchant of e-commerce for the PGA TOUR Superstore. In this position, she merchandised and marketed the men’s, women’s and junior golf and tennis footwear, apparel and equipment. She played an integral part of several successful marketing campaigns and initiatives for the e-commerce site and company. In Wollenzien's seven-year tenure with the company, she also served as the head tennis pro in their Atlanta-area stores. As their tennis professional, she helped hundreds of tennis patrons improve their tennis game, led the top-selling tennis department in the company, helped to set past merchandising standards and conducted community outreach for the tennis department.

Wollenzien's coaching career began as a teen in Chicago where she coached in the youth outreach program, Love 2 Serve Tennis and Learning Academy. It was there that she learned the fundamentals of the game of tennis, both by playing and coaching. She attributes her love for the sport of tennis to the experiences and memories she created as a junior under the program, where she was a participant since she was nine years old. Earning her coaching certification while a student athlete at Clark Atlanta University, coaching and helping others has been a driving force in her life. 

After completing her degree, Wollenzien spent three years as a staff writer for the Atlanta Daily World and then RollingOut Urban Style Weekly. While she worked as a staff writer, she also worked as a tennis pro at Sugar Creek Tennis Center in Decatur, Ga. and freelance photographer.

While in Atlanta, Wollenzien spent time volunteering with Sporty Girls, Inc. and the Atlanta Youth Tennis and Education Foundation. With volunteerism still playing a huge role in her life, the team and herself have volunteered with the Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Club of Kingsville and the Costal Plains Community Center. Her competitive spirit still drives her to compete in local leagues such as on the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) and USTA League Tennis teams. 

Wollenzien holds a second bachelors of Arts, (Photographic Imaging) from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Her creative side is satisfied in her leisure time where she has created a professional photographic portfolio.

The Chicago, Ill. native earned her Bachelor's degree in mass media arts/journalism from Clark Atlanta University in 2004 and completed her Master’s in Sports Athletic Administration from Coker College in 2015. She is married to Gregory Wollenzien.