University of West Florida

Derrick Racine is in his 27th season as head coach of the West Florida men's and women's tennis teams. Since taking over the tennis programs from legendary head coach Ralph "Skeeter" Carson, Racine has continued the tradition and excellence of men's and women's tennis in Pensacola.
 
Racine, the 2003, 2005, 2012, 2014 and 2017 Division II Wilson/ITA Men's Tennis National Coach of the Year and the 2002 Division II Wilson/ITA Women's Tennis National Coach of the Year, immediately immersed himself and his team into the UWF and Pensacola tennis communities. Today, both the men's and women's teams enjoy widespread support.
 
Along with four national championships, Racine's men's teams have posted a 583-136 (.811) overall record. Under Racine’s command, the men's team has won 12 Gulf South Conference titles. The West Florida men’s tennis team has finished the season ranked in the ITA Top 10 in every season consecutively dating back to 2002, and has finished in the Top 5 in 12 of the last 22 seasons under Racine.
 
The women's overall record under Racine is 522-178 (.746). As head coach, Racine has led the UWF women’s tennis team to 16 GSC titles, the most all-time by any program. Under Racine, the West Florida women’s tennis team has finished the season ranked in the ITA Top 10 in 22 of 26 seasons as head coach.
 
In 2014, Racine led the men’s team to the program's third national championship in 11 years with a 5-3 win over Hawaii Pacific. The West Florida men’s squad went undefeated with a 29-0 record and was ranked first overall for the entire season. The women’s team posted a record of 24-5 in 2014 and not only won a conference championship, but also made it to the NCAA South Regional finals.
 
Racine led the men's team to their first national championship in 2004. The Argonauts won a school record 33 matches en route to earning West Florida's then-third national championship with a 5-2 win over conference-rival Valdosta State. The Argonauts followed with a 30-2 record in 2005 and their second straight national championship after a 5-0 win over North Florida. West Florida became the seventh men's tennis team in Division II history to win consecutive national titles.
 
Since arriving in Pensacola in 1999, Racine has been named the Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year 28 times (12 awards for the men's squad and 12 for the women's squad). He is a 12-time Wilson/ITA South Region Coach of the Year (eight men's awards and four women's awards). Additionally, in both 2010 and 2020, he was named GSC Men's and Women's Coach of the Decade. 
 
Racine has produced 19 women and 34 men's NCAA Division II All-America players. Under Racine’s tutelage, Bruno Savi won the 2013 USTA/ITA DII National Small College Championship while Radovan Chrz was the 2000 and 2001 ITA/NCAA Division II National Singles Champion. In 2006, Tammy Kevey and Mandy Septoe won the NCAA Division II doubles title at the ITA/National Small College Championships. Berta Bonardi won consecutice ITA national singles championships in 2018 and 2019 while later winning ITA National Senior Player of the Year in 2021. Both she and Savi won GSC Player of the Decade awards, announced in 2020, for their play in the 2010s.
 
Under Racine, 14 student-athletes (six men, eight women) have been named the GSC East Division Player of the Year, while 10 tennis players (three women, seven men) have earned GSC East Division Freshman of the Year honors. In 2012 the GSC stopped playing with divisions. Since then, he has coached 17 GSC Players of the Year (eight men, nine women) and seven GSC Freshmen of the Year (two men, five women). UWF women's tennis players have been honored with 92 All-GSC honors since Racine's first season in 1999. During Racine's tenure, UWF men's tennis players have received 88 All-GSC honors.

In 2022, Racine led the West Florida men's tennis team to win their 14th Gulf South Conference Championship and had a perfect GSC record on the season with 9-0. UWF made their 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Racine was named Men's Tennis GSC Coach of the Year for the 13th time since becoming head tennis coach at UWF. He followed that up by leading the 2024 team to a regular-season GSC title with a tiebreaker win over Valdosta State, the eventual national champions, and winning his 14th men's and 28th overall Coach of the Year award.
 
Racine began his head coaching career at Mobile in 1995. At Mobile, Racine posted an impressive 76-9 record with his men's squad and an equally impressive 77-6 record with the women. In 1996, his men's and women's teams were NAIA National Runners-up. In 1997, his men won the NAIA National Title and his women finished as National Runner-up. In 1998, his men's team once again challenged for the title and finished National runner-up. His women's squad finished the season ranked third. In 1997, Racine was named NAIA Coach of the Year. He coached 24 NAIA All-Americans, four NAIA National Award winners, and nine NAIA Academic All-Americans.
 
From 1993 to 1995, Racine served as an assistant coach at his alma mater Valdosta State. Racine's collegiate tennis background stems back to the 1980s when he played at perennial junior college powerhouse Abraham Baldwin College in Tifton, Georgia, before transferring to GSC rival Valdosta State. He was nationally ranked and achieved All-American status in both singles and doubles.
 
Outside the calendar year, Racine has been running two summer camps at the University of West Florida main campus. For the past four years, Racine has coordinated Nike Summer Tennis Camps hosted by UWF.
 
Outside the court, Racine earned a bachelor's degree from Valdosta State in finance in 1988 and later returned to earn his master's degree in physical education in 1995. Racine is married to the former Terrie Denham from Ashburn, Ga. The couple has three sons: Olin, Austin, and Luke.