Chuck Merzbacher wrapped up his seventh season at UTC following the 2023-24 season. The 2023 and 2019 Southern Conference Coach of the Year has made a tremendous impact on the program in a very short time. Â
Merzbacher, the 2023 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, led the team to a historic 2023 season after concluding the season 18-7 overall and 6-1 in Southern Conference action. Behind the 6-1 league record, Merzbacher notched the program's first ever Southern Conference Regular Season title. He would lead the team to its first appearance in the SoCon Tournament title match since 2006 as the top-seeded team in the event.
The team's 18 wins marked the most wins for the program since 2005 while featuring six student-athletes earning All-SoCon honors during the process. On March 19, 2023, Chattanooga defeated The Citadel 6-1 to capture Merzbacher's 500th career collegiate victory as a head coach at the NCAA Division I ranks.Â
In just his second year in 2019, he guided Chattanooga to a 14-11 overall record, the most wins for the program since 2012. UTC finished third in the SoCon race, its highest finish in the regular season standings since 1999. UTC's 4-3 league tally was the most conference wins in a season since 2013.  That earned him league Coach of the Year honors, the first for a Moc since Tommy Bartlett in 1989. Â
Chattanooga was poised for another strong season in 2020. The Mocs were 12-6 overall when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season. During the 2020-21 season, the squad finished 9-11 overall and 3-4 inside conference play.
During the 2021-22 fall season, Merzbacher helped lead the doubles team of Tomas Rodriguez and Peyton Gatti to program history when the tandem finished runner-up at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships which led to an at-large berth into the ITA Fall National Championships held in San Diego, California. Both of the accomplishments were unchartered territory for the program.
Academically, the program was recognized by the NCAA for having a perfect APR score for the second year in a row. Following the Fall 2021 semester, the program posted a 3.468 team GPA which was the second highest on record, falling just shy of the 3.650 mark which was set in the spring of 2020. 10 of the 11 on the roster made the A.D. Honor Roll, continuing a run of five-straight terms with 10+ posting a 3.0 GPA or better.
A program record eight individuals made the 2020 ITA All-Academic team and UTC had a program record 3.65 team GPA in the spring of 2020. A 31-year veteran of NCAA Division I tennis coaching, Merzbacher has led men's and women's program at three others schools before coming to UTC. Â
Prior to UTC, Merzbacher served most recently as the head women's tennis coach at the University of Minnesota. He posted a 70-58 record during a five-year tenure from 2013-17. He also was the head women's coach at Ohio State (1997-12) and Kansas (1993-96) and the men's head coach at Northern Illinois (1990-92).
Merzbacher owns a career record of 517-402 (.563) and has eight conference titles on his resume. He coached six individual All-Americans and his teams made 12 NCAA postseason appearances.Â
A native of Findlay, Ohio, Merzbacher took over at Minnesota after 16 successful seasons at Ohio State. During his tenure with the Buckeyes, they reached the NCAA Tournament nine times and posted 209 victories to become the winningest coach in program history.
Merzbacher launched his head coaching career with the men's program at Northern Illinois University in 1989. He led the Huskies for three seasons, earning back-to-back Mid-Continent Coach of the Year honors in 1991 and 1992.
He then moved to coach the women's side at the University of Kansas from 1992 to 1996, gathering four consecutive Big Eight Conference championships, two Big Eight Coach of the Year titles (1993, 1994), one Central Region Coach of the Year award (1994). Under his guidance, the Jayhawks posted an impressive 39-1 conference record (83-29 overall).
A 1987 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Merzbacher is the Gophers' all-time career wins leader with 137 singles victories. He also holds the No. 3 and No. 11 spots for wins in a single season.
Merzbacher finished his Gopher career as a three-time All-Big Ten selection and two-time NCAA national qualifier. As a freshman in 1984, he established his collegiate credibility with a Big Ten Conference No. 4 singles title. Minnesota won Big Ten titles in 1984 and 1986 and amassed a record of 42-7 in conference play.
After a brief stint as Minnesota's assistant coach in 1987, Merzbacher tried his hand on the professional circuit. He was ranked as high as No. 354 in singles and No. 335 in doubles, making international showings in both the Australian Open and the Wimbledon qualifier in 1989.
Merzbacher and his wife, Cherie, are the parents of Chad and Caitlyn.
Awards
2023 SoCon Coach of the Year
2019 SoCon Coach of the Year
1999 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year
1996Â Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year
1993 ITA Central Region Coach of the Year
1993 Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year
1992 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year
1991 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year
Chuck Merzbacher Career Record
| Year |
School |
Overall |
Conf. |
Place |
Postseason |
| 1990 |
Northern Illinois |
18-12 |
6-1 |
2nd |
|
| 1991 |
Northern Illinois |
19-8 |
6-0 |
1st |
|
| 1992 |
Northern Illinois |
13-14 |
3-0 |
1st |
|
| 1993 |
Kansas |
19-7 |
10-0 |
1st |
NCAA Participant |
| 1994 |
Kansas |
24-3 |
10-0 |
1st |
NCAA Participant |
| 1995 |
Kansas |
19-13 |
10-0 |
1st |
|
| 1996 |
Kansas |
21-17 |
9-1 |
1st |
NCAA Participant |
| 1997 |
Ohio State |
12-13 |
4-6 |
7th |
|
| 1998 |
Ohio State |
10-14 |
2-8 |
8th |
|
| 1999 |
Ohio State |
14-11 |
6-4 |
6th |
NCAA Participant |
| 2000 |
Ohio State |
18-8 |
9-2 |
T1st |
NCAA Participant |
| 2001 |
Ohio State |
17-11 |
7-3 |
3rd |
NCAA Participant |
| 2002 |
Ohio State |
19-7 |
7-4 |
3rd |
NCAA Participant |
| 2003 |
Ohio State |
12-12 |
6-4 |
T4th |
NCAA Participant |
| 2004 |
Ohio State |
14-14 |
6-5 |
T2nd |
NCAA Participant |
| 2005 |
Ohio State |
7-19 |
2-8 |
9th |
|
| 2006 |
Ohio State |
13-13 |
3-7 |
7th |
|
| 2007 |
Ohio State |
18-10 |
6-4 |
5th |
|
| 2008 |
Ohio State |
19-8 |
6-4 |
5th |
NCAA Participant |
| 2009 |
Ohio State |
15-11 |
7-3 |
4th |
NCAA Participant |
| 2010 |
Ohio State |
20-10 |
5-5 |
T5th |
NCAA Participant |
| 2011 |
Ohio State |
15-11 |
7-3 |
4th |
|
| 2012 |
Ohio State |
10-16 |
4-7 |
T7th |
|
| 2013 |
Minnesota |
10-15 |
3-8 |
T8th |
|
| 2014 |
Minnesota |
17-9 |
6-5 |
5th |
|
| 2015 |
Minnesota |
17-10 |
6-5 |
T6th |
|
| 2016 |
Minnesota |
13-12 |
5-6 |
T6th |
|
| 2017 |
Minnesota |
13-12 |
5-6 |
T7th |
|
| 2018 |
Chattanooga |
8-16 |
1-6 |
7th |
|
| 2019 |
Chattanooga |
14-11 |
4-3 |
3rd |
|
| 2020 |
Chattanooga |
12-6 |
1-1 |
* |
|
| 2021Â Â |
Chattanooga |
9-11 |
3-4 |
5th |
|
| 2022 |
Chattanooga |
8-16 |
4-3 |
4th |
|
| 2023 |
Chattanooga |
18-7 |
6-1 |
1st |
SoCon Reg. Title |
| 2024 |
Chattanooga |
10-15 |
3-4 |
5th |
|
|
at Chattanooga (7Â Years) |
79-82 (.490) |
22-22Â (.500) |
|
|
| Totals |
35Â years |
517-402
(.563) |
188-145
(.565) |
|
|
*2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic
