Stas Smirnov enters his fifth season as an assistant with the NM State men's tennis team.
In five seasons in Las Cruces, Smirnov has helped the program reach new heights, including helping lead the program to a WAC Regular Season Championship during the 2020-21 campaign. With Smirnov on staff, the Aggie men have put forth two First Team All-WAC honorees and six Second Team All-WAC honorees in singles actions. In doubles play, three Aggie duos have been named Second Team All-WAC. Additionally, one Aggie was named WAC Honorable Mention in Smirnov's first season with the men's program.
Smirnov first arrived on campus as a graduate assistant for the women's program under Emily Wang, however, made the switch over the men's program after just one semester of coaching.
Prior to training the NM State student-athletes, he served as a tennis pro at Elite Racquet Sports. While in Los Angeles, Smirnov worked directly with clients to set up specific individual programs and organized lessons.
Smirnov played tennis at the University of the Southwest for two seasons (2016-18). The Ukrainian native served as a volunteer assistant tennis coach at Hobbs High School during the 2016 season. As a junior, Smirnov advanced to the quarterfinals at the ITA Central Regional Tournament in both singles and doubles and wrapped up the season ranked No. 13 in the ITA Central Region singles rankings. He spent his first two seasons at Tennessee Tech (2014-15) and helped guide the Golden Eagles to an Ohio Valley Conference Regular-Season Championship as a freshman.
A stout athlete in the classroom as well, Smirnov earned academic honors all four years both at Tennessee Tech and at the University of the Southwest.
Prior to his time in the states, Smirnov was the top-ranked player in the Ukrainian National Rankings for three-straight years – once at the U16 level and twice at the U18 level. He was also the 2013 Ukrainian National Champion in doubles and mixed doubles at the U18 level and a training camp invitee for the 2014 Ukrainian Davis Cup Team.
Smirnov graduated from University of the Southwest with a bachelor’s in kinesiology and a minor in psychology in 2018. He received his master's degree in education from NM State in May of 2021.
