• 2017 AAC Coach of the Year
• 2017 American Athletic Conference championship
• Two conference tournament runner-up finishes (2016 & 2019)
• Coached 11 All-AAC performers, including three AAC Freshmen of the Year.
• Four-time All-American Player (1 singles, 3 doubles)
• 1995 National Championship at Texas (player)
• Two-time NCAA Tournament finalist in singles
• 1997 Big 12 Conference Co-Player of the Year
Head coach Cristina Moros, a former national champion and four-time All-American performer at the University of Texas, said she believes in developing young players and helping them reach their tennis dreams. Moros has walked in the shoes of her USF athletes. She has witnessed how dedication, hard work and goal-setting can produce championship results.
Hall of Fame coach Nick Bollettieri, founder of the IMG Tennis Academy located 45 miles from USF’s campus, began working with a teenage Moros and has been impressed with her career development.
“Cristina is knowledgeable because she has been around tennis all of her life and she’s very sincere,’’ the legendary Bollettieri says. “She knows how to relate to young players in a positive way but also shows them the facts of life and I believe that’s a big plus. She’s knowledgeable on the game and she knows how to communicate in a positive way.”
Moros, who took the reins of the Bulls program in 2015-16, has guided USF to an American Athletic Conference championship (2017), two conference tournament runner-up finishes and was named the 2017 AAC Coach of the Year. She has coached 11 All-AAC performers, including three AAC Freshmen of the Year.
But she has loftier goals in mind. For perspective, Moros often refers to a quote in her office.
What comes easy won’t last. What lasts won’t come easy.
“Building something stable and consistent, it does take time,’’ Moros says. “This is something I have learned as a coach. Things do take time and you need to be patient. Our goals have stayed the same. We want to stay high in the conference and win the conference every year. You do that by staying true to your beliefs and making sure you are bringing in the right recruits. If you do that, I believe you will get there at USF.’’
The 2021-22 campaign was highlighted by a stellar effort at the AAC Tournament, coming from 3-1 down to defeat Temple in the first round, then stunning top-seeded and No. 19-ranked UCF 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Fueling more optimism for the future, the Bulls had a pair of all-conference selections in AAC Freshman of the Year Sierra Berry and sophomore Grace Schumacher.
Moros, who has the full confidence of USF’s administration after two contract extensions, made a strong first impression after being hired by the Bulls. In her inaugural spring season of 2016, USF engineered one of the top turnarounds in NCAA women’s tennis, going 17-7 after winning just four matches the previous year. Buoyed by AAC Freshman of the Year Ana Roman Dominguez and all-conference players Vera Bessonova and Jessica Cortes Chaves, the Bulls reached the AAC final, where they were defeated by top-seeded Tulsa.
In 2017, the Bulls took the next step, winning six straight matches down the stretch and capturing the AAC championship as the No. 7 seed. USF (15-11) closed it out by defeating the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls, making the program’s 12th NCAA appearance, fell against No. 28-ranked Miami in the first round. USF had a pair of all-conference players in Dominguez and Juliana Cardoso.
Moros’ Bulls made another run at an AAC title in 2019, falling against UCF in the final, but finishing 13-11 for USF’s fourth consecutive season with at least 12 match victories. Dominguez was named all-conference for the third time, while Laura Pellicer Perello earned AAC Freshman of the Year honors.
Before embarking on her coaching career, Moros established herself as one of the best women’s tennis players in Texas history. In October of 2017, Moros was inducted into the Longhorns Hall of Honor. At Texas, Moros helped the Longhorns to the 1995 national championship and became one of just two Texas players to earn All-America honors in all four years of eligibility.
Moros, a two-time team captain, was a two-time NCAA Tournament finalist in singles who earned the Big 12 Conference Co-Player of the Year honors in 1997. She ranks fifth in program history with a .750 winning percentage (117-39) in singles and third in doubles at .787 (107-29). She was a highly sought recruit after earning a No. 1 world ranking in International Tennis Federation junior doubles, while also reaching the top 20 in singles.
After graduating from Texas in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications, Moros spent the next 12 years coaching at tennis academies. She went from the Bollettieri Tennis Academy (where she coached then-junior players Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic) to Academy Co-Director at the Roddick Moros International Tennis Academy (2001-06) in San Antonio, Texas. She served as Director of High Performance at Austin Tennis Academy (2006-10) and Advantage Doyle Tennis Academy (2010-11) while mixing in three seasons of volunteer coaching at her alma mater from 2009-11.
Moros served as associate head coach at the University of Oklahoma (2012-14). She was named the 2014 International Tennis Association Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the No. 20-ranked Sooners (17-7, 6-3 Big 12) reach the NCAA Tournament’s second round. Earlier that season, Oklahoma earned a program-best No. 14 ranking. For two seasons, she was also the Big 12 representative on the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee.
Moros became head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2015, when she led the Miners to a 12-5 mark and the best winning percentage (.706) in program history. When Moros accepted the USF job on May 29, 2015, she had 16 years of coaching experience, including a decade as a tennis director.
