Riza Zalameda - Women's Tennis Coach - Seton Hall University Athletics

Riza Zalameda

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
mariza.zalameda@shu.edu
Phone:
(973) 761-7946

Head coach Riza Zalameda enters her second season with the Pirates in 2017-18, following one of the most successful campaigns in program history in 2016-17.

In her debut season at the helm, Zalameda led Seton Hall to its first postseason victory in over 10 years with a 4-1 triumph over No. 3-seed Georgetown in the BIG EAST Conference Quarterfinal. Four different players posted double-digit singles wins in 2016-17. All-BIG EAST selection Anicka Fajnorova posted an impressive 14-5 overall record, with an 11-3 mark at the No. 2 flight.

Zalameda, a 2008 graduate of UCLA, landed in South Orange after serving four years as the assistant women’s tennis coach at Columbia University, where she helped lead the Lions to two NCAA Tournament appearances.

During Zalameda’s tenure at Columbia working under head coach Ilene Weintraub, the Lions compiled a 54-27 dual match record and appeared in the NCAA Championships two out of her four years with the squad, including the program’s first-ever NCAA at-large bid in 2014. Most recently, the Lions finished the 2016 campaign ranked No. 37 in the nation and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Under Zalameda’s eye, Columbia senior Kanika Vaidya earned a spot in the 2016 NCAA Singles Women’s Tennis Tournament. Vaidya went 19-1 in No. 1 singles during the regular season and finished the season ranked No. 43 in the ITA singles rankings.

Before accepting the assistant position at Columbia, Zalameda spent four years on the WTA tour, playing in all four major tournaments. She achieved a top-100 ranking in doubles and has two ITF singles titles to go along with six doubles titles on the women’s circuit. Zalameda also won five medals at the Southeast Asian Games while representing the Philippines.

Prior to her professional career, Zalameda was one of the most highly decorated players in UCLA women’s tennis history. In her four-year career with the Bruins, she was an eight-time ITA Division I All-American in singles and doubles.

Zalameda led the Bruins to their first-ever NCAA team championship in 2008, clinching the 4-0 win with a victory in the No. 1 singles spot over Susie Babos of Cal. After guiding the Bruins to a national title, Zalameda went on to win the NCAA Doubles Championship and finished the year with partner Tracy Lin as the top-ranked team in the nation.

Zalameda was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2008 while also being honored as the ITA Doubles Team of the Year with Lin. She also earned ITA National Senior Player of the Year to go along with Pac-10 Player of the Year after winning conference championships in both singles and doubles. A standout in the classroom, she was also the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Zalameda retired from professional tennis in 2011 due to injury and returned to school to finish her education, pursuing her master’s degree in contemporary global ethics and human values at the University of London King’s College School of Law.

A native of Beverly Hills, Calif., Zalameda graduated from UCLA in 2008, and attended Beverly Hills High School, where she was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year in her final season.