Brenda Vlasak is heading into her eighth season as a coach for the Northern Colorado tennis program.  The 2009-10 season will be her sixth as the women's head coach and fifth as the men's. Her women's team is picked to finish fifth this season in the Big Sky while the men are picked to finish eighth.

The 2008-09 season brought Vlasak and the Bears' women a 7-15 record overall, but a winning record of 4-3 in conference play.  Coach Vlasak helped Tabatha Knop to a team-best 10 wins in singles' play and led Northern Colorado to their second consecutive Big Sky Conference Tournament.

In 2007-08, Coach Vlasak steered the Northern Colorado women's team to a 7-14 overall record and a 3-5 record in their second season in the Big Sky.  The season was highlighted by strong performances all season long in doubles play from Tabatha Knop and Manuela Santos, who finished 14-6 (7-1 Big Sky).  The season was capped off by the Bears qualifying for the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the first time.

Vlasak led the 2006-07 Bears' tennis programs into their first seasons as official members of the Big Sky Conference while also becoming the first woman in the conference to head both the men's and women's programs. Vlasak and the Bears finished the 2006-07 season with a 5-14 mark.

Vlasak took over the reigns of the men's program at the beginning of the 2005-06 school year. Vlasak coached the 2004-05 Northern Colorado women's tennis team to the NCAA Division I Independent championship with a 4-3 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the deciding match. The Bears also topped Texas-Pan American (7-0) and IPFW (7-0) in the event which was held in Greeley. That coaching effort helped her earn Division I Independent Coach of the Year honors.

Vlasak spent the first two years as an assistant coach for both programs before being promoted to the head women's coach for the 2004-05 season.  That occurred after longtime coach and Northern Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame member Rosemary Fri was named Director of Tennis; Fri has since retired.

Vlasak grew up in Colorado and as a junior was ranked No. 2 nationally in girls' 14 and under.

She played No. 1 singles at Tyler Junior College for two years as she helped her squad win a pair of NJCAA titles (1998, 1999). During her sophomore season Vlasak compiled a 34-5 singles and a 35-5 doubles record.

She then transferred to the University of Arkansas where she played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Vlasak was an All-Academic SEC selection for the Lady Razorbacks and graduated with a 3.8 GPA. She was ranked No. 90 in the 2001 Preseason ITA singles poll and jumped to No. 72 in the rankings midway through the spring season.

In the summer of 2001, she advanced to the NCAA Tournament in doubles. The Lady 'Backs advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of her years in Fayetteville.

Vlasak graduated from Arkansas with a degree in kinesiology in 2002. She completed her master's degree in sport administration at Northern Colorado in May of 2004.

Head Coaching Resume

Women's Tennis
2004-05 - 8-11 (NCAA Division I Independent Champions)
2005-06 - 9-13 (NCAA Division I Independent Runner-Up)
2006-07 - 5-14
2007-08 - 7-14 (3-5 Big Sky)
2008-09 - 7-15 (4-3 Big Sky)

Men's Tennis
2005-06 - 4-14
2006-07 - 4-14
2007-08 - 1-15 (0-8 Big Sky)
2008-09 - 2-18 (1-7 Big Sky)