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, 2009, 2011 and 2016. 

In his inaugural season as head coach (2006), Benitez led the Mavericks to a second place Southland Conference finish, with a 9-1 record in conference play and a 12-9 overall record. 

Benitez also guided the Mavericks’ success from 2009-10, with strong 17-7 (2009) and 12-7 (2010) records. The team earned first and second place finishes in the Southland Conference these two years. 

In his fifth season with the Mavericks (2011), Benitez led UTA to a 19-5 record, which broke the record for most wins in a season. The Mavs captured the Southland Conference Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA regionals. 

In 2015 and 2016, Benitez led the Mavericks to successful seasons with 17-5 (2016) and 16-6 (2015) records. UTA finished 75th overall in the ITA collegiate rankings in 2016.  

In 2017, Benitez led Astrid Gehre and Anna Wichert to an 18-3 record over the season – the second highest win percentage in a single-season – before advancing to the round of 32 in the NCAA Doubles Championship. 

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. 

COACHING AWARDS 

Benitez is a three-time conference Coach of the Year winner. In 2022, Benitez was selected as Sun Belt Conference coach of the year, which followed the same award from the Southland Conference in 2009 and 2011. 

AWARD-WINNING PLAYERS 

Benitez has coached several players who have earned conference honors throughout his time at UT Arlington. He has produced 33 First Team selections from the Sun Belt, Southland, and Western Athletic conferences on the women’s side. In the Southland Conference, Benitez had two players earn Player of the Year awards, which included Daiana Negreanu (2011) and Maria Martinez-Romero (2012). He has also coached two Freshmen of the Year, with Sarina Reinertsen in the Sun Belt Conference (2022) and Linda Avquist in the Southland Conference (2011). Reinertsen went 21-0 in her award-winning season. Two players were also selected as Newcomers of the Year in the SLC, which included Negreanu in 2008 and Natalia Mayuk in 2011. 

RECENT TEAM SUCCESSES 

Benitez helped lift the program to their first Sun Belt Conference regular season championship in 2021 as the Mavericks completed an 8-0 record in conference competition.  The Mavericks finished with 18 wins, marking the 7th straight complete season that the program has reached double-digit wins and the most wins for UTA since 2011. Carla Pons put together an impressive season, finishing with a 21-4 record singles and 15-3 doubles record.  Both records mark the 4th best winning percentage in singles and doubles in program history. Pons was named Second Team Singles All-Conference for her efforts. Fellow junior Momoka Horiguchi was not outdone, picking up Sun Belt Conference First Team honors with  a 9-4 record on court one. 

In the final Sun Belt Conference season, Benitez led the team to its second straight regular season championship while setting a program record with 23 wins. The Mavs fell in the SBC Championship match to South Alabama, 4-3, which came down to the final tiebreaker point. Liz Chileno garnered First Team All-Conference honors, while Tara Gorinsek was voted Second Team All-SBC. 

The 2019 season started off with a bang, as the Mavericks began 8-1 on the year before finishing with a 16-9 record, the most wins in three seasons, while winning a program-high six conference matches. UTA finished as the four-seed in the Sun Belt, but fell in the semifinals against Georgia Southern. The tandem of Momoka Horiguchi and Carla Pons earned a Second-Team Doubles All-Conference nod. 

In 2020, the Mavericks finished the season ranked 69th with an 8-3 record as they prepared for conference matches to begin. The Mavs had won four of their last five matches while beating the likes of Florida Gulf Coast, UConn and Houston. Horiguchi led the team with a 7-3 record in singles competition with a 6-2 mark on court 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.

DIEGO BENITEZ YEAR-BY-YEAR