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In some ways, Old Dominion University is an unlikely place to find two powerhouse college tennis programs. 

Most of the top 100 schools in men’s and women’s tennis are in major conferences with extensive financial resources, such as the Atlantic Coast Conference or Southeastern Conference, or they are elite private schools, such as Yale or Pepperdine universities. 

Yet, when you walk into the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center, 21 championship trophies in the Brad and Molly Hobbs Lobby are evidence that, yes, Monarch tennis is a powerhouse. Several of those trophies have been won in the past five years alone. 

And, although tennis has been in the University’s DNA since the institution’s founding nearly a century ago, the recent success is a high-water mark — largely thanks to two men known around University Athletics as “Dom and Dom”: Dominic Manilla (B.A. ’07) and Dominik Mueller, who coach the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. 

“They both have blue-collar roots and had to work very hard to become successful,” said Bruce Stewart, the University’s deputy athletic director and chief operating officer. The Doms also hate to lose, he said. Monarch women have claimed six regular-season and tournament titles in a row, four in the Sun Belt Conference and two more in Conference USA. The men have won regular-season and tournament titles the past four years in the Sun Belt. 

Five of the last six Sun Belt/Conference USA women’s tennis players of the year have come from Old Dominion University, and the Monarchs have been to seven consecutive NCAA tournaments. 

Nationally, the women’s team has ranked as high as 16th, and the men’s team has ranked as high as 26th. 

Intramural Beginnings 

Tennis was not a varsity sport when the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary opened in 1930. The two-year school sponsored only football, basketball and baseball — for men only. 

Tommy Scott, the school’s first athletic director, established a thriving men’s intramural tennis program. It expanded to include women in the mid-1950s. Records from the University’s early years in tennis indicate the Monarch men, then coached by Al Tatem, won their first title in 1969 in the Mason-Dixon League. 

A succession of influential leaders helped shape Monarch tennis. Athletic Director Jim Jarrett, a former college player, was an early champion of the program’s growth when he came on board in 1970. Longtime coach Ken Rand sustained that momentum in the mid-1970s, guiding the team to winning seasons in all, but one, of his 21 years. He was followed in 1994 by alumnus Darryl Cummings (B.A.’92, M.S.’03), who led two more decades of success and helped secure a lasting home for the program with the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. 

The “Doms” Era 

But, it was not until “Dom and Dom” came on board in the early 2000s that the Monarchs began consistently winning conference titles. Wood Selig, Ed.D., the University’s athletic director, hired Manilla in 2011 as head coach of the women’s team. An alumnus, Manilla came to work for the University after a season at the prestigious John McEnroe Tennis Academy. Mueller, a native of Frankfurt, Germany, starred and then was an assistant coach at Baylor University before Dr. Selig hired him in 2016 to be head coach for men’s tennis. 

From the first time they met, the Doms hit it off. That partnership has been critical to the success of both programs. “We really care about each other, and we root for each other,” Mueller said. 

Yuliia Starodubtseva (B.A. ’21, M.S. ’22), a two-time Conference USA Player of the Year from Ukraine, who is now playing professionally and ranked the No. 55 player in the world, turned down offers from bigger schools to come to Old Dominion University. She says Manilla was the primary reason.

“The one thing that I love about Dom is that, while he cares about us on the court, he especially cares about us off the court,” she said. “He would do anything he can for us. He’s a good coach, but a better man.” 

In five of the last six years, Manilla was named conference coach of the year, in addition to winning various other regional awards. His career record at the University is 218-95. In March 2025, the Norfolk Sports Club named him the state’s best coach, among all coaches at all schools in all sports. 

Mueller’s finest hour came in 2021-2022 season, when he kept his team together through a series of injuries that resulted in the Monarchs finishing the season with just 
five players, but a 13-9 record. A year later, the Monarchs won their first Sun Belt title. 

“He’s a very deep human being who really cares about all of us,” said Nicola Vidal (B.S. ’23), a key player for the men that season who suffered serious injuries in an 
accident. “That’s the difference between a good coach and a great coach.” 

Mueller has won three conference and several regional coach of the year awards as well. His record is 141-73 at Old Dominion University. 

Stewart said the recent “Dom and Dom”-led successes are a sign of momentum, with both tennis programs poised for even greater growth.

"I think the best is yet to come,” he said.

Early Days Highlight Reel 

George Consolvo (B.A. ’67) was an early star for the Monarchs, winning NCAA East Regional singles titles in 1966 and 1967 and going 43-17 in singles. 

Robert Hale (B.S.’83), a junior college transfer, was the first Old Dominion University player to earn a Top 50 ranking in 1981 and led the Monarchs to two Virginia Intercollegiate titles. 

Patricia “Pat” Shaulis (B.S.’81, M.S.Ed ’83) was 81-20 in singles for the University’s women’s program, which was just two years old when she came to the University in 1978, and led the Monarchs to the 1981 Virginia state championship.

Nataly Cahana (B.S. ’04) was 143-28 in her four seasons as a Monarch and was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year four times and twice an 
All-American. She was ranked as high as fourth nationally.

Izak van der Merwe (B.S. ’05) was the University’s first two-time All-American who finished with a 100-39 career record in 2005 and was ranked as high as 24th nationally.