Marc Walters enters his 8th season at West Virginia Wesleyan, coming off what has been arguably the best stretch in school history for the men’s program, as well as a stellar finish for the women’s team.
The veteran coach, who won his 639th career match last spring, saw his men finish with a national ranking of #50, won both MEC titles for the third straight year, and make the second round of the NCAA tournament. As the 2019 squad reached a high of #34 nationally, it marks the first time they have finished ranked in consecutive years and just the third such rankings ever. Walters earned the MEC Coach of the Year award for the third time, and the team had an MEC-record six all-conference selections, including Freshman of the Year, Christos Kyrillou. Wesleyan had three first team All-MEC selections for the fourth consecutive year, as Maycon Dias, Carlos Dodero, and Lukas Laipold made the cut, giving Walters a total of 18 in 7 seasons.
Individually, Dias and Dodero also finished the year with a national doubles ranking of #29 after reaching a high of 19 in March. The squad’s 17 wins marked the 5th time in Walters’ tenure that the program topped 16 victories, and their string of NCAA appearances has now reached 11 consecutive years.
The 2019 women’s program jumped two spots in the MEC conference with a 2nd place finish, a 9-3 conference mark, and a #7 regional ranking, their highest in 10 seasons. Their 14 wins was also the most since 2009, and the team capped it off with a 3.69 team GPA (best on campus for the 4th year) The Lady Bobcats had five ITA All-Academic squad members, while senior Mariona Junyer earned 1st team All-MEC and joined Cecilia Martinez and Julia Yanes on the all-conference team. Overall, the team played 7 teams with top 50 national rankings during the year, one of the toughest schedules in school history.
Walters is Morgantown, W. Va. Native, and has 23 years of head coaching experience. He previously built nationally ranked programs at Barton College (both teams in the Top 25), and the University of Nebraska Kearney in Division II. Prior to coming to Wesleyan, he also served as the head women’s coach at Division I West Virginia University from 2006-2010 leading his 2010 team to a program best #7 regional ranking.
Walters brings a 639-328 (.663) career coaching record coming into the fall of 2019. He has served on the NCAA and ITA regional committees, the ITA Awards Committee, and is a current member of the ITA National Rankings committee. He also has directed 5 ITA championship events, including the 2018 Men’s Atlantic regional.
His women’s team turned in a 3.69 GPA in 2018-19, while the men pulled a 3.54 GPA, and both squads earned ITA All-Academic Team honors for the 6th straight year. Including his time at UNK, WVU, and Barton, 37 of his 42teams have garnered ITA-All Academic Team honors (3.2+ GPA). No fewer than 14 of his players were named to the ITA All-Academic squad with 3.5+ GPAs last year.
With 12 DII NCAA regional appearances, a Sweet 16, and eleven conference titles between the men’s and women’s programs in his career, Walters added to his resume in 2019 with two ranked squads.
The Bobcats have had no shortage of individual honors under Walters’ leadership. Aitor Reparaz and Joel Izquierdo won the 2014 ITA Atlantic Regional doubles title, earning a No. 8 ranking nationally. Three athletes have taken MEC Player of the Year awards under his guidance: Paula Pimenta (2013), Izquierdo (2014), and Maycon Dias (2018). In addition to Kryrillou in 2019, Pimenta (2013), Heigermoser (2017), and Dias (2018) each earned MEC Freshman of the Year honors in their first turn at WVWC.
Izquierdo received the 2014 ITA Outstanding Senior Player of the Year, while Pimenta was the 2017 ITA Arthur Ashe Award winner. Under his guidance, 38 Bobcats have earned All-MEC Honors, and the ‘Cats have seen 23 different players and doubles teams earn ITA rankings during his tenture. Walters himself has three times been named MEC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year (2014, 2018, 2019), and was Carolinas-Virginia Conference women’s COTY in 2004.
Walters has two children (Jameson, 16, and Jarrett, 14) and resides in Buckhannon.
The Walters File:
Years School Div-M/W Won-Loss W-L % NCAA
(1994-1999) Nebraska Kearney DII-M/W 155-78 (.665) ‘97M, ‘98M, ‘98W
(1999-2006) Barton College (NC) DII-M/W 252-106 (.703) ‘01M, ’04W
(2006-2010) West Virginia U. DI-W 54-46 (.540)
(2013-2019) W.V. Wesleyan DII-M/W 178-98 (.644) ‘13M, ‘14M, '15M, ‘16M ‘17M, ‘18M, ‘19M
Totals All Years (23) 639 W 328 L (.663) / 12 NCAA Tournaments, 11 Conference Titles
