Barbara Oliveira Named Alcorn State Head Tennis Coach

LORMAN, Mississippi-- A new era begins for the Alcorn State University tennis program as Barbara Oliveira accepted the position as head coach, announced by director of athletics Derek Horne.

Oliveira comes to Alcorn after a two-year stint as assistant coach at the University of West Alabama where she helped turn around both the men's and women's programs. Oliveira assisted the men to a 16-5 (9-2 GSC) record this past year, while the women were 15-5 (9-3 GSC).

In her first season with the Tigers, Oliveira earned ITA Division II South Region Men's assistant coach of the year. She also coached the women to a 16-7 (8-2 GSC) record.

"I'm really excited for this head coaching opportunity. I look forward to the challenge of building a team myself and getting it to the top of the league. The goal is to win championships for both the men's and women's programs," Oliveira said. "I can't wait to represent Alcorn and get started."

Oliveira played collegiately on nationally ranked teams at the University of West Florida and Seminole State College in Oklahoma. She was a two-time GSC Player of the Year and All-American at West Florida in 2010 and 2012.

At Seminole, she was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 in the region in both singles and doubles. Oliveira earned Regional Player of the Year and an All-America honors.

In her native country of Brazil, Oliveira won several state and national tournaments in both singles and doubles while playing Juniors for Belo Horizonte. Oliveira was ranked No. 1 in the nation and No. 348 in the world in Juniors. She had a career-high women's pro WTA rank of 1069.

"Coach Oliveira is a tennis standout that has been very successful as an internationally ranked player, collegiate student-athlete and coach. She's experienced winning at several different levels of the game, and we are proud to have her take over one of our most decorated programs," Horne said.

Oliveira earned her Bachelor's degree in Economics from West Florida in 2012 and her Master's degree in Business Administration from West Alabama in 2018.

ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS