Katarina Petrovic enters her 13th season at the helm of the FIU women's tennis program in 2024-25. The Panthers have earned a 176-72 record under her watch and have rose to national prominence. Petrovic and the Panthers have won back-to-back CUSA Championships in 2023 and 2024, a first for the program. In 2024, FIU defended its title at its brand new, state-of-the-art facility, the PayCargo Tennis Complex, and advanced to its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament.
Petrovic was named 2024 CUSA Coach of the Year while Ekaterina Khairutdinova earned Player of the Year and Valery Gynina earned Freshman of the Year. At the CUSA Championships, the Panthers earned a total of 11 awards, headlined by four members on the Singles First Team. Oyinlomo Quadre and Katerina Mandelikova were named the Doubles Team of the Tournament while freshman Valery Gynina earned Singles Player of the Tournament.
Quadre and Mandelikova competed in doubles at the 2024 NCAA Championships, advancing to the Sweet 16. The duo entered 2024-25 ranked sixth in the nation. Quadre also competed in the singles competition at the NCAA Championships.
FIU, which was ranked as high as 36th in the nation, earned its second CUSA title under Petrovic in 2022-23 and advanced to its third-straight NCAA Tournament. The Panthers' Oyinlomo Quadre also earned CUSA Player and Freshman of the Year honors following the 2022-23 season.
Petrovic pioneered the Panthers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022 - seeing FIU finish the 2022 season ranked 45th in the country - while previously being named C-USA Coach of the Year in 2017-18 after winning the C-USA title and earning a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a program since 2011.
Though the 2019-2020 season was cut short due to the COVID outbreak, Petrovic led the Panthers to an 8-2 overall record, capping play with a five-match win streak. The Panthers reached a Top-50 ranking and went undefeated against conference opponents (3-0).
During the 2018-19 season, FIU maintained its standing among the most competitive team in the conference as the Panthers posted a 4-1 record in C-USA play and advanced all the way to the C-USA Championship Quarterfinals. The Panthers were lead by freshman-duo Basak Akbas and Kamila Umarova, who earned First Team Doubles All-Conference honors and ranked as high as No.64 on the ITA/Oracle rankings during the 2018-19 campaign. The Tandem was a consistent force for the Panthers as they achieved an 8-2 doubles record overall. Basak earned additional spots on the All-CUSA Singles Second Team and the C-USA All-Freshman Team. Petrovic coached the freshman to an 17-3 overall singles record for the season.
During the 2017-18 season, she coached the women’s tennis program to a year of many first, including the first Conference USA title in program history after defeating rice, 4-3. She guided Andrea Lazaro through a record year. Lazaro became the first player to ever make it to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament in singles play. She was also named FIU’s Female Student-Athlete of the year, C-USA singles player of the year and ended the season as an ITA All-American. She ranked second after winning the 2017 Oracle Masters and ended the year in the Top 15. Lazaro also made her name as FIU’s firsts ever Oracle ITA National Champion and Rivera All-American Championship Semifinalist. Petrovic has won 61 matches at FIU, which ranks third all-time in program history. The panthers won 17 matches and finished ranked No. 41 in ITA rankings, the highest final ITA ranking since 2009. They have now ranked in the top 50 and earned at least 17 wins in back-to-back seasons. The Panthers won 7 of 9 matches at the Bedford Cup (9/29) and closed out the season with a 7-0 sweep at FAU. The Panthers earned their first NCAA berth since 2011 and just 9
th in program history, three Panthers were selected for the NCAA Individual Championships. Under Petrovic, four athletes were named to C-USA conference teams. Andrea Lazaro was listed First Team Singles, Maryna Veksler Second team Singles as well as First Team Doubles with partner Ulyana Grib, and Sandra Bozniovic was named on the All-Freshman team. The panthers did not lose in any home matches this season and swept all six C-USA opponents and tallied a winning percentage of .850. Seven of the student-athletes earned 2017-2018 C-USA Academic Honor Roll.
During 2016-2017, the FIU women’s tennis program had its most successful season in 15 years. The Panthers won 21 matches, including 19 straight wins, and recorded a winning percentage of .913, the highest in school history, and FIU advanced to the Conference USA Championship match against Rice. In addition to its setback to the Owls, the Panthers only other loss came to eventual National Champion, Florida. The Panthers finished the season ranked No. 42 in the final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. 2016-17 saw FIU garner a total of nine conference awards, including Conference USA Player of the Year Andrea Lazaro, who also achieved All C-USA first team honors. Moreover, Lazaro earned All-C-USA first team honors in doubles, partnering senior Nina Nagode. In addition to Lazaro, Maryna Veksler earned First Team All-C-USA recognition, and, with freshman Ulyana Grib, was named Second Team All-C-USA in doubles. Grib was also recognized as a All-C-USA Second Team selection. Gabriela Ferreira and Mina Markovic earned Second and Third team C-USA honors, respectively. Academically, the Panthers showed strong performances in the classroom as all seven members of the squad earned C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (GPA of 3.0 or better). Caluk, Veksler and Grib also collected the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recognition (GPA of 3.75 or better).
During 2015-16, the women’s tennis program had one of its most-successful seasons in 15 years, winning 17 matches and recording a winning percentage of .850 (second-highest in school history). Advancing to the Conference USA championships match as the No. 1 seed, FIU finished the year ranked No. 46 in the final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The 2015-16 season saw five Panthers garner a total of nine conference awards, including Conference USA Freshman of the Year Maryna Veksler. Along with Carlotta Orlando and Andrea Lazaro earning the Doubles Team of the Championships honor, Nina Nagode and Nerma Caluk were all-conference selections. In the classroom, the Panthers continued their strong performance as all six members earned C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll accolades (GPA of 3.0 or better) led by Caluk and Veksler, who collected the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal (GPA of 3.75 of better).
During the 2014-15 season, FIU saw an improvement for the third-straight season under Petrovic, finishing the year with a 13-8 record. Four Panthers (Yana Koroleva
, Orlando, Nagode and Caluk) were recognized by C-USA, collecting a total of seven awards. As the No. 5 seed in the C-USA Tennis Championships, the Panthers advanced to the semifinals, defeating Southern Miss (4-0) and Middle Tennessee (4-3) before falling to the No. 30-ranked Rice Owls. It was FIU’s best performance in a conference tournament since reaching the Sun Belt Championship match in 2012. Six Panthers earned C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (GPA of 3.0 or better), including Koroleva and Caluk, who received C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medals (GPA of 3.75 or better).
During the 2013-14 season (11-7), her squad made an eight-win improvement from the year before, giving FIU 10-or-more wins for the first time since the 2010-2011 campaign. Two Panthers earned all-conference honors as Orlando and Giulleta Boha were named Second-Team All-C-USA. Not only did FIU find success on the court, but the Panthers earned the 2013-14 adidas Athletic Director’s Award for the highest team GPA (3.3) among all FIU teams, while six members of that year’s squad were named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (GPA of 3.0 or better).
Her first season with FIU (2012-13) saw Orlando earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors in singles play while five tennis players earned conference academic honors.
Petrovic came to FIU after spending nine seasons with the South Carolina women’s tennis team. Petrovic joined the Gamecock coaching staff in September 2004 after a stint as the sports manager at the Michael-Ann Russell Community Center in North Miami Beach, Fla. After serving as assistant coach her first five seasons with the Gamecock program, Petrovic was promoted to associate head coach in the summer of 2009. Petrovic served as the interim head coach beginning February 28, 2012, until the hiring of Kevin Epley on June 11, 2012, to replace legendary head coach Arlo Elkins.
Petrovic was the catalyst behind South Carolina's influx of talented players during her tenure. A tireless recruiter, Petrovic helped bring All-SEC performers Gira Schofield, Natasa Vuckovic, Ana Marija Zubori, Dijana Stojic, Anya Morgina and Jaklin Alawi to the school. Schofield earned all-conference accolades every year she competed at South Carolina, becoming the first player in school history to do so. A year later in 2010, Zubori became the second player to garner All-SEC accolades four-straight years while becoming the first Gamecock in school history to achieve first-team All-SEC status more than once. Schofield also reached the NCAA Singles Championship four times and earned a season-ending national ranking four-straight years, both school firsts. Zubori then ended her career with a national singles and doubles ranking four consecutive seasons, the first player in school history to achieve the feat. Vuckovic earned All-SEC honors three times from 2006 to 2008, and Stojic received second-team All-SEC accolades in 2010 and 2011. Morgina became South Carolina's fourth first-team All-SEC honoree in 2011 while also picking up Intercollegiate Tennis Association Carolina Region Player to Watch honors, making her just the second player in school history to receive the award. Morgina was an All-SEC Second Team member in 2012, as was Alawi.
During the 2012 season, Petrovic guided the Gamecocks to their 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament as the lone coach on staff for most of the season. After Elkins stepped away from his coach duties and handed the reins to Petrovic for the remainder of the season, she posted a 9-8 record while finishing 5-6 in the SEC with a national ranking of 31. The Gamecocks went 16-9 overall and reached the second round of the NCAAs, the 16th time in the past 18 years they have won at least one round in the tournament. Morgina, Stojic and Alawi all earned national rankings at season's end to mark the second time in the past three years a trio of Gamecocks have appeared in the ITA's final poll for singles. Alawi and Stojic also garnered a top 50 ranking in doubles. Morgina qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight year and nearly picked up All-America honors after losing in three sets in the second round.
For the 2009 season, Petrovic and Elkins helped their Gamecocks engineer an outstanding run to finish the season. Sitting at 8-7 overall and 1-3 in the SEC with a No. 40 national ranking, the team rebounded to end with a 6-5 record in SEC play and entered the NCAA Tournament at 14-10 and ranked 22nd. The Gamecocks upset the NCAA Tournament's No. 10 seed Tennessee in the second round in Knoxville, Tenn., to reach the championships in College Station, Texas. South Carolina then shut out Washington in the round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals. Against the national No. 2-seed Georgia Bulldogs in the quarters, the Gamecocks stole the doubles point but came up one victory short in singles to lose an epic 4-3 battle. It tied for the best postseason finish in school history. At a luncheon during the championships, Petrovic was honored as the ITA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year for her role in helping South Carolina achieve the success it had last season. Petrovic became the first assistant coach in school history to receive the honor from the ITA.
A native of Valjevo, Serbia, Petrovic was a four-year letterwinner for South Carolina from 1999 to 2002. She was voted ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year and earned second-team All-SEC honors the same year. Petrovic began her career by winning nine of her first 10 matches en route to a final national ranking of No. 33. As a sophomore, Petrovic earned team MVP honors, was selected to the NCAA Singles Championship draw and reached an individual ITA national ranking of No. 13, the highest-recorded individual ranking in school history. Petrovic's season-ending singles billing of No. 29 made her just the fifth Gamecock to finish among the top 30 in the nation and the first to do so since 1987. She remains the last player in school history to finish among the top 30 as well.
Petrovic continued to lead the Gamecocks during her junior and senior seasons. She currently resides in 10th place on the school's all-time list for doubles victories with a 67-34 (.663) record and is 28th in singles wins with a 65-59 (.524) slate. Her combined record of 132-93 (.587) is tied for 18th all-time. While Petrovic enjoyed a great deal of success on the tennis court, she also received academic accolades as a two-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Petrovic earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from South Carolina in 2002. The former Katarina Markovski is married to Stevan Petrovic.
Petrovic’s Coaching Record
| 2012: South Carolina* |
9-8 |
.529 |
| 2012-13: FIU |
3-16 |
.158 |
| 2013-14: FIU |
11-7 |
.611 |
| 2014-15: FIU |
13-8 |
.619 |
| 2015-16: FIU |
17-3 |
.850 |
| 2016-17: FIU |
21-2 |
.913 |
| 2017-18: FIU |
17-3 |
.850 |
| 2018-19: FIU |
11-8 |
.579 |
| 2019-20: FIU |
8-2 |
.800 |
| 2020-21: FIU |
12-2 |
.857 |
| 2021-22: FIU |
17-5 |
.773 |
| 2022-23: FIU |
18-5 |
.783 |
| 2023-24: FIU |
19-3 |
.863 |
| Totals |
176-62 |
.739 |
*- Interim head coach
