Former NCAA singles champion Audra Cohen enters her sixth season with North Florida women's tennis.
Under Cohen’s tutelage, the Ospreys have captured four Atlantic Sun regular season titles, four Atlantic Sun Tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament berths.
In her five seasons, Cohen, a three-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year, has led UNF to a 77-27 overall record (.740 winning percentage) and an impressive 36-1 (.972 winning percentage) mark in Atlantic Sun play.
The Ospreys reign in the ASUN continued in the 2015-16 season as the team won back-to-back tournament titles and posted its second straight undefeated conference schedule. Six players earned postseason accolades including ASUN Player of the Year Noemi Hemmerich. Hemmerich along with Michelle Valdez, Luise Intert and Quetzali Vazquez all earned first team honors, while Valdez and Mariella Calderon grabbed second team doubles accolades. Rafaela Gomez was tabbed to the All-Freshman team, while Cohen earned Coach of the Year.
Under Cohen’s leadership during the 2014-15 season, the Ospreys continued their success with a 17-4 dual match record. The team’s 17 wins were the most for a single season under Cohen’s direction. UNF put together two impressive wins streaks, including nine consecutive wins from Mar. 19-Apr. 19 that powered the Ospreys to the 2015 Atlantic Sun regular season championship and the 2015 Atlantic Sun Tournament championship. Cohen also collected her 30th Atlantic Sun triumph in four years during that span, reaching that plateau after UNF’s 4-3 victory at Florida Gulf Coast on Apr. 4. Seven Ospreys earned post-season All-Atlantic Sun honors, highlighted by Michelle Valdez being a unanimous First-Team selection. Additionally, for the second time under Cohen, UNF had three doubles teams recognized with All-Conference Second Team honors, which is determined by winning percentage at the individual courts.
In 2013-14, UNF ranked as high as No. 63 in the ITA national rankings, earning that spot in the Mar. 11 poll. The Ospreys rolled through conference play with an 8-0 record and shutout conference opponents in five matches. Cohen earned Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year honors, while five Ospreys earned Atlantic Sun postseason awards.
Under Cohen’s direction in 2012-13, UNF emerged with its second-straight Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Ospreys ranked as high as No. 74 in the Mar. 12 ITA poll. The Ospreys posted another strong conference performance with six players earning All-Conference honors. Lorena Aviles headlined the Ospreys’ postseason honors as she was picked at the A-Sun’s Player of the Year, marking the second-straight season in which Player of the Year was awarded to an Osprey. An Atlantic Sun institution had not received back-to-back Player of the Year honors since Florida Atlantic’s Kristen Jordan won the award in 2000 and 2001.
In her first season with the Ospreys in 2011-12, Cohen led UNF to the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship, as well as the A-Sun Tournament Championship, ensuing an NCAA Tournament bid. Under her direction, the Ospreys went 9-0 in A-Sun play and did not lose a doubles match in conference competition. UNF also went 47-5 in conference singles matches, good for a .904 winning percentage. Aline Berkenbrock was selected as the conference Player of the Year as all seven members of the Ospreys received post-season honors. Berkenbrock, Lorena Aviles and Danielle Day were tabbed First-Team All-Conference for singles, while Marina Cunningham and Rebeca Pereira earned All-Freshman Team honors. Additionally, all three doubles teams – Aviles/Berkenbrock, Pereira/Simona Weymar, Day/Melanie Aguirre – swept the doubles All-Conference honors. As a result, Cohen was selected as the A-Sun’s Coach of the Year.
Cohen came to UNF following a two-year stint as an assistant women’s tennis coach for the University of Wisconsin. A former professional player on the WTA Tour, Cohen captured the 2007 NCAA Women’s Singles Championship.
Prior to joining the Wisconsin staff in 2009, Cohen competed on the USTA Pro Circuit, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 229 in 2008. She had an outstanding career as a collegian, becoming the only woman in history to reach the NCAA final competing at two different schools (Northwestern and Miami), and winning the 2007 NCAA singles title. A five-time All-American, Cohen was named the 2007 ITA National Player of the Year and won the 2007 Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top collegiate female tennis player.
A native of Plantation, Fla., Cohen began her collegiate playing career at Northwestern before transferring to Miami. In her freshman season with the Wildcats, she competed at the No. 1 singles position earning All-American honors in both singles and doubles. Cohen was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Athlete of the Year, becoming only the second women's tennis player in conference history to sweep those two honors. In addition, she garnered ITA Midwest Regional Rookie Player of the Year Award and the ITA's National Rookie of the Year Award. Cohen capped her debut college season by reaching the NCAA Singles championship match. She finished the season with 51 wins tying her for third all-time in the modern era of NCAA Division I Women's Tennis (since 1988) and setting a Northwestern single-season wins record.
Following her freshman year, Cohen transferred back to her home state to play at the University of Miami. In her first season with the Hurricanes, she was named the ITA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, an All-ACC team member and a Honda Sports Award Finalist. She completed her first season at Miami as the No. 1 ranked collegiate tennis player in the country and No. 2 ranked doubles team in the country alongside UM teammate Melissa Applebaum. In addition, Cohen was voted All-American in singles and doubles for the second time in her career while being named to the All-NCAA tournament team at the No. 1 position.
As a junior at Miami, Cohen captured the school's first-ever NCAA women's singles title in May 2007 and was the No. 1-ranked college player in the country the entire season while also winning the National Indoor Championship during the fall season. She concluded her junior campaign by again earning ITA National Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year accolades. Cohen was also awarded the 2007 Honda Sports Award for women’s tennis. Following her championship season, Cohen decided to forgo her senior year at Miami to turn professional and earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Miami in 2009.
In addition to her stellar collegiate playing career, Cohen’s professional career included captaining the 2007 Pan-American Olympic Team, participating in the US Open main draw in both singles and doubles and a USTA Pro Circuit title in 2006 in Evansville, Ind.
In 2011, Cohen was named one of four coaches to lead USTA Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Teams, an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players. The program is designed to provide players with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment during the year.
The teams, which feature up to 12 participants each, were named after the NCAA Championships in May. Team members were selected based on performance at those championships as well as the ITA All-Americans and National Indoor Championships. Players’ results from USTA Pro Circuit, ATP or WTA events were also considered. Current pros who are past participants of the program include James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, John Isner, Amer Delic, Jesse Levine, Irina Falconi, and Jesse Witten.
