University of Texas Arlington Athletics

Diego Benitez has been a staple on the UT Arlington campus since his hiring in 2003 as an assistant coach. He was elevated to head coach in the spring of 2006 and returns to lead the Mavericks for his 18th season. 

Over the course of his career at UTA, Benitez has developed over 100 all-conference selections between the men’s and women’s squads, including five Player of the Year winners. He has made four trips to the NCAA tournament, going to the NCAA Regional in 2006 (men), 2009 (women), 2011 (women) and 2016 (men). 

In his inaugural season as the head coach in spring 2006, Benitez guided the men's squad to its sixth Southland Conference Tournament title with a 13-8 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

In 2009, the Mavericks earned a big non-conference win against nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 4-3. After dropping the doubles point, UTA battled its way through singles action, capturing four of the six matches for the victory. 

In 2010, Benitez headed a men's team that captured its seventh regular-season title and a 11-11 overall record. UTA advanced all the way to the Southland Conference tournament championship match before falling to UTSA. He also guided four Mavericks to All-Southland Conference honors. David Subirats and Jason Lateko were named to the All-SLC singles second team while the doubles team of Brieuc Hamon and Yauheni Yakaulen earned a spot on the second team. 

In 2016, Benitez led the men's squad to its first conference title since 2006, and first as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, after pulling three upsets as a fifth seed over No. 4 Louisiana, No. 1 Georgia State and finally No. 2 South Alabama. With the win, the Mavericks set a new all-time win record as they improved to 18-10 overall. UTA advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year before falling to No. 11 seed Oklahoma. 

In 2018, junior Guanarteme Nuez captured the Sun Belt Player of the Year award. Nuez advanced to the NCAA Singles Championship in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the automatic qualifier for the Sun Belt after being ranked as high as 89 in the NCAA rankings. 

ASSISTANT COACH AT UTA 

Benitez was named the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s tennis programs in November 2003, spending three seasons in the role.  

Over the course of three years, Benítez helped the Mavericks compile a 37-28 record, which included a 14-2 record in conference play. 

During his three-year stint as the assistant coach for men’s and women’s, Benitez helped develop five major award winners in the Southland Conference, including two Players of the Year. 

In 2004, Benitez guided Southland Conference Player of the Year David Corrie’s climb to No. 21 in the national rankings. 

AWARD-WINNING PLAYERS 

Benitez has coached several players who have earned conference honors throughout his time at UT Arlington. He has produced 34 First Team selections from the Sun Belt, Southland, and Western Athletic conferences on the men’s side. Benitez has coached two conference Player of Year recipients, including Mindaugas Celedinas in 2012 in the Southland Conference and Guanarteme Nuez in 2018 in the Sun Belt Conference. Celedinas was also named 2009 SLC Freshman of the Year. Three players have been named as Newcomer of the Year in Benitez’s career at UTA, with Dmitry Minkin (2007) and Soren Goritzka (2012) in the Southland Conference and Enrique Pardo (2018) in the Sun Belt Conference. Minkin posted a 17-5 overall record and went undefeated in conference matches with a 6-0 finish in 2007. 

In the 2013 season, Benitez’s men’s team earned a Public Recognition Award for finishing in the top 10 percent of teams in Academic Progress Rate. 

RECENT TEAM SUCCESSES 

The men's program reached the Sun Belt Conference semifinals in 2022 after winning 13 matches on the season and upsetting No. 3 Louisiana in the quarterfinals, 4-2. A year after being named SBC Player to Watch, Alan Sau Franco took the next step in his career, winning 20 matches on the season as the primary No. 1 singles player and earned Sun Belt Conference First Team honors.  

In 2021, Angel Diaz was instrumental in the success of the Mavericks, finishing with 11 wins on the year and earning an ITA ranking as high as No. 84 - the highest ranking for a Maverick in three seasons. Diaz earned First Team Singles All-Sun Belt Conference.  Alan Sau Franco also earned his keep, winning 12 singles matches and 9 doubles matches during the season.  The freshman was picked as the Sun Belt Conference Player to Watch. 

In 2019, Benitez guided the men’s squad to a 15-9 overall record and included six all-conference selections. Guanarteme Nuez picked up First-Team Singles and Doubles honors for a second consecutive season, as the senior rose up the NCAA rankings to No. 81 to capture the Sun Belt automatic bid for the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight season. 

In 2020, the Mavericks finished the season ranked 85th in the poll with a 9-3 overall record and were in the midst of a four-match winning streak when COVID hit. Freshman Angel Diaz went a perfect 8-0 record in singles competition and was ranked as high as 110 in the ITA polls. As a team, the Mavs won 72 percent of their singles matches, including winning over 80 percent of their matches on courts one and two.  

PRIOR TO UTA 

Prior to joining the Maverick coaching staff, Benitez spent a year as the Director and General Manager of the Boca Raton Tennis Program, and as the head coach and coordinator of the Radical Tennis Juan Nunez Academy in Boca Raton, Florida. 

During his time in Florida, Benitez contributed to the development of young players while also training current professional players competing on the ATP and WTA tours.  

Prior to his stint in Boca Raton, Benitez served as the assistant men's and women's coach at Texas Wesleyan University from 1999-2000. 

PLAYING CAREER 

Benitez's playing career consisted of two years on the professional circuit after closing out his four-year collegiate career at Texas Wesleyan. While at Texas Wesleyan, he led his squad to one national tournament and two regional playoffs. 

Prior to coming to the United States, the Caracas, Venezuela native competed on the South America-Europe International Tennis Federation Circuit for three years. Benitez was among the top-20 nationally ranked singles players in the country. 

PERSONAL
Benitez and his wife, Monika, have one daughter, Mia.