Petty Tabs Mortera As Assistant

Ric Mortera has been name the assistant coach for the Lady Raider Tennis Program.

LUBBOCK, Texas - Ric Mortera (pronounced RICK MORE-teər-uh) has joined the Lady Raider staff as an assistant coach, after serving in the same position at both Illinois and Purdue, announced Texas Tech women's tennis head coach Todd Petty.

"I am very excited to have Ric as a Red Raider," said Lady Raider head coach Todd Petty. "His years of coaching in the Big 10, as well as his time spent coaching on the pro tour, is so valuable. He is a great coach and relates extremely well with his student-athletes. We are very lucky to have him on staff."

Last season, Mortera served as the assistant for the women's tennis program at the University of Illinois. Mortera helped the Illini secure a 14-10 regular season record and a No. 45 national ranking. Mortera and the Illini secured Top 30 upsets of then-No. 25 TCU and No. 29 Oklahoma State.

"I would like to thank (Director of Athletics) Kirby Hocutt, (Senior Associate Athletics Director) Joe Parker and Todd Petty for this tremendous opportunity," said Mortera. "Coach Petty has done a remarkable job building the program to national prominence and a championship caliber, to now become a part of his staff and assist in the continuing evolution of the Lady Raider Tennis Program is a great privilege. I absolutely cannot wait to get started."

Mortera saw four Illini honored at season's end in 2014, as Emily Barretta and Misia Kedzierski were named Academic All-Big Ten, Allison Falkin was named All-Big Ten and Louise Kwong was named the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Prior to joining the Illini staff as assistant in 2013, Mortera helped lead the Boilermakers to the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tennis Championships. It marked just the second time in program history that Purdue women's tennis had reached the Round of 32.

During his lone season at Purdue, Mortera helped the Boilermakers reach as high as No. 14 in the ITA rankings, marking the highest ranking in program history. He also helped lead the squad to a school-record 18 wins and was instrumental in Purdue's first NCAA Doubles Championship berth since 2000. Krisztina Kapitany and Mara Schmidt became the Boilermakers' fourth doubles tandem to appear in the NCAA Championships in program history.

Prior to Purdue, Mortera spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Illinois, helping the team reach No. 18 in the national rankings. With his guidance, five Illini earned All-Big Ten recognition, while six players earned ITA rankings in singles or doubles.

While working at Illinois, Mortera also worked on the Women's Tennis Association Tour, coaching former U.S. Fed Cup player Alexa Glatch and 2009 Orange Bowl champion Julia Boserup. He helped Glatch reach the main draw of both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon and helped improve her ranking from No. 302 to No. 139 in the world. He also helped Boserup achieve a career-high ranking of No. 174.

Mortera was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Oregon, where he reached No. 45 in the ITA rankings his senior year and led the squad in dual-match singles wins as a sophomore. He graduated from Oregon in 2010 with degrees in both economics and political science.

On the juniors circuit, Mortera was consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally, reaching as high as No. 6, and was the top-ranked player from the Pacific Northwest. A native of Portland, Ore., Mortera was a four-time Oregon All-State selection at Jesuit High School and earned All-America honors in 2005. He was also ranked the 17th-best high school recruit by TennisRecruiting.com in the spring of 2005.

Mortera's File
Born: Nov. 14, 1986
Parents: Rome and Gloria Mortera
Siblings: Steffanie (sister)
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
High School: Portland Jesuit
College: University of Oregon
Degrees: B.S., Economics; B.S., Political Science (2010)
Playing Experience: Four Seasons (2006-10)

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