Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tennis
Ray, Ryan
Ryan Ray
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- rray4@emich.edu
- Phone:
- 734.487.2244
The 2015-16 season marks the 10th year for Ryan Ray as head women’s tennis coach at Eastern Michigan University.
Ray took over the EMU coaching duties in 2006-2007 after serving as the head coach of the men’s tennis program at Indiana State University. He led ISU to an undefeated regular season conference championship and a second-place finish in the league tournament while earning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2005.
Since that first 2006-07 season, Ray has methodically built the EMU women’s program into one of the most competitive squads in the Mid-American Conference.
The 2013-14 season proved to be one of, if not, the best season for the Eagles since Ray took over the squad. Eastern finished the year with 15 wins, the most in his tenure at EMU, while he also led the squad to the MAC Tournament Championship match. Ray coached Diana Davitaia and Klara Supejova to first team All-MAC awards, while Nino Mebuke earned second team accolades.
In 2012-13, Ray coached the 2013 Player of the Year in Klara Supejova, who also won Freshman of the Year accolades in her first season donning the Green and White. Overall, the 2012-13 season saw a 9-13 record, while the EMU tennis squad went 4-4 in the MAC.
Another one of Ray's benchmark seasons came in his seacon campaign as the Eagles’ head man, when his 2007-08 team posted a 5-3 MAC mark good for a tie for third in the final league standings.
Under Ray’s guidance, EMU’s teams have not only performed well on the courts but also in the classroom as the team and individuals have earned top academic honors the past five years.
All of Ray’s teams have been singled out by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for a Team All-Academic Award, given annually to an NCAA Division I team with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better.
In addition to those All-Academic Team Awards, the Eagles have also produced 21 student-athletes over the past six seasons that have recorded ITA Individual All-Academic Awards with a 3.5 GPA or better.
The 2009-10 and 2010-11 teams were also singled out by the NCAA for Public Recognition for scoring in the Top 10 percent in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) in women’s tennis.
On the playing surface, Ray has directed several players to award-winning seasons. Vanessa Frankowski was named the MAC Player of the Year in 2006-07 on the way to a 48-17 singles and doubles record. Frankowski was a first-team All-MAC selection that year and earned a berth in the NCAA Championships. Teammate Yana Parfenyuk was a second-team All-League selection that year as well.
Frankowski would go on to be a three-time MAC Player of the Week in 2008 (five total career honors) and she also was named a MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week in 2007. She was a CoSIDA second-team All-District Academic selection.
Ray has brought his recruiting talents from his previous stops to EMU, which he showed, impressively at Indiana State, by starting with a roster of two players and producing a team consisting of four players ranked in the top 200 in the world in junior play and a junior college All-American. Two of those players had multiple years of Davis Cup experience in their native countries. Ray also coached two doubles teams to national rankings as high as No. 43 and No. 54 during the 2005 season.
During the 2002 and 2003 seasons Ray was the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at Saint Louis University. Ray helped the Saint Louis women’s team to its best Conference USA tournament finish in six seasons, and the men’s program improved its regional ranking from 13th to 5th.
During the 2001 season, Ray served as the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at the University of Northern Iowa. While mainly responsible for the women’s program, he helped them reach a 15-5 record and a No. 68 national ranking, the first in school history.
During the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Ray spent time as a volunteer coach at the University of Oklahoma where they obtained a No. 30 national ranking and No. 1 ranking in the central region.
A four-year letterman at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Ray was a member of the 1997 NCAA Div. II Regional qualifying team and received the 1997 Nebraska Collegiate Male Sportsmanship Award.
Ray received Bachelor of Science degrees in Sports Administration and Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1998. He earned his Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Oklahoma in 2000.
Ray currently resides in Plymouth, Mich.
Coach Ray Records
Ray took over the EMU coaching duties in 2006-2007 after serving as the head coach of the men’s tennis program at Indiana State University. He led ISU to an undefeated regular season conference championship and a second-place finish in the league tournament while earning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2005.
Since that first 2006-07 season, Ray has methodically built the EMU women’s program into one of the most competitive squads in the Mid-American Conference.
The 2013-14 season proved to be one of, if not, the best season for the Eagles since Ray took over the squad. Eastern finished the year with 15 wins, the most in his tenure at EMU, while he also led the squad to the MAC Tournament Championship match. Ray coached Diana Davitaia and Klara Supejova to first team All-MAC awards, while Nino Mebuke earned second team accolades.
In 2012-13, Ray coached the 2013 Player of the Year in Klara Supejova, who also won Freshman of the Year accolades in her first season donning the Green and White. Overall, the 2012-13 season saw a 9-13 record, while the EMU tennis squad went 4-4 in the MAC.
Another one of Ray's benchmark seasons came in his seacon campaign as the Eagles’ head man, when his 2007-08 team posted a 5-3 MAC mark good for a tie for third in the final league standings.
Under Ray’s guidance, EMU’s teams have not only performed well on the courts but also in the classroom as the team and individuals have earned top academic honors the past five years.
All of Ray’s teams have been singled out by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for a Team All-Academic Award, given annually to an NCAA Division I team with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better.
In addition to those All-Academic Team Awards, the Eagles have also produced 21 student-athletes over the past six seasons that have recorded ITA Individual All-Academic Awards with a 3.5 GPA or better.
The 2009-10 and 2010-11 teams were also singled out by the NCAA for Public Recognition for scoring in the Top 10 percent in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) in women’s tennis.
On the playing surface, Ray has directed several players to award-winning seasons. Vanessa Frankowski was named the MAC Player of the Year in 2006-07 on the way to a 48-17 singles and doubles record. Frankowski was a first-team All-MAC selection that year and earned a berth in the NCAA Championships. Teammate Yana Parfenyuk was a second-team All-League selection that year as well.
Frankowski would go on to be a three-time MAC Player of the Week in 2008 (five total career honors) and she also was named a MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week in 2007. She was a CoSIDA second-team All-District Academic selection.
Ray has brought his recruiting talents from his previous stops to EMU, which he showed, impressively at Indiana State, by starting with a roster of two players and producing a team consisting of four players ranked in the top 200 in the world in junior play and a junior college All-American. Two of those players had multiple years of Davis Cup experience in their native countries. Ray also coached two doubles teams to national rankings as high as No. 43 and No. 54 during the 2005 season.
During the 2002 and 2003 seasons Ray was the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at Saint Louis University. Ray helped the Saint Louis women’s team to its best Conference USA tournament finish in six seasons, and the men’s program improved its regional ranking from 13th to 5th.
During the 2001 season, Ray served as the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at the University of Northern Iowa. While mainly responsible for the women’s program, he helped them reach a 15-5 record and a No. 68 national ranking, the first in school history.
During the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Ray spent time as a volunteer coach at the University of Oklahoma where they obtained a No. 30 national ranking and No. 1 ranking in the central region.
A four-year letterman at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Ray was a member of the 1997 NCAA Div. II Regional qualifying team and received the 1997 Nebraska Collegiate Male Sportsmanship Award.
Ray received Bachelor of Science degrees in Sports Administration and Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1998. He earned his Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Oklahoma in 2000.
Ray currently resides in Plymouth, Mich.
Coach Ray Records
| Year | Overall Record | Conference Record | Finish/Highlights |
| 2014-15 | 9-14 | 4-4 | t-4th |
| 2013-14 | 15-9 | 6-2 | t-2nd/MAC Tournament Runner-Up |
| 2012-13 | 9-13 | 4-4 | t-5th/MAC Freshman and Player of the Year - Klara Supejova |
| 2011-12 | 9-15 | 5-3 | t-3rd |
| 2010-11 | 10-13 | 3-5 | 6th |
| 2009-10 | 8-14 | 2-6 | 6th |
| 2008-09 | 5-16 | 2-6 | 7th |
| 2007-08 | 9-13 | 5-3 | t-3rd |
| 2006-07 | 12-14 | 4-4 | t-4th/MAC Player of the Year and NCAA Singles - Vanessa Frankowski |
| at EMU | 86-121 | 35-37 | |
| 2004-05 | 15-9 | 7-0 | 1st/MVC Coach of the Year, MVC Tournament Runner-up |
| 2003-04 | 8-17 | 6-2 | 3rd |
| at ISU | 23-26 | 13-2 |
Tennis Senior Day Highlights 2025 vs. BGSU
Sunday, April 13
Tennis Recap vs. NIU
Saturday, April 12
Highlights: EMU Falls to Miami in Close 4-3 Match
Monday, March 31
Tennis Claws Back to Defeat Ball State, 4-3
Monday, March 24
