Otterbein University Athletics

Pat Anderson is in her 20th season as a coach for the Otterbein women’s tennis team, serving as a volunteer coach as of spring 2017 after leading the team for over 19 years.

Coach Anderson is a four-time Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Coach of the Year, including back-to-back honors in 2013 before repeating the accolades after a record-setting season in the spring of 2014. Anderson capped off her tenure as head coach with a 247-160 overall record, including a 130-43 mark in OAC competition.

Otterbein played to its best season in program history in 2014, setting a school record for most wins in a season by going 20-3 overall and winning the OAC regular-season and tournament titles. The program, behind the play of four-time OAC Player of the Year Julie Stroyne, made its first-ever NCAA appearance as a result.

Anderson led the Cardinals to the championship match of the OAC Tournament in 2013 as well, finishing the season at 18-5 overall, 8-1 against league schools.

Anderson was also named OAC Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading her team to both the OAC regular-season and tournament championships, and in 2001 after her group won the league title.

Anderson is a graduate of the University of South Dakota and has a B.S. in Physical Education and Health. Before coming to Otterbein, she taught physical education and health, and coached various sports including boy’s and girl’s tennis.

Anderson is a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and the United States Tennis Association (USTA). She plays and captains a women’s 4.5 USTA team that reached the sectionals from 1997-13, playing in Charleston, SC and Dayton, Ohio.

Anderson also helps run the boy’s and girl’s Division II sectionals and districts of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Tournament in Columbus, and serves on the board of the Greater Columbus Tennis Association.

Coach Anderson and her husband, Mark, who led the Otterbein men's tennis team for seven seasons, won a silver medal in 55-mixed doubles at the 2007 Senior Olympics in Louisville, Ky.

The women’s program has been extremely successful both on the court and in the classroom under Anderson, with the team finishing in the finals or semifinals of the OAC Tournament in 14 of her 18 seasons. In addition to the pair of conference titles, the program has produced a number of All-OAC and Academic All-OAC athletes.

Coach Anderson’s philosophy is to help players become better people, not just better players. The program looks for recruits that understand tennis as a team sport and that working together for a common goal gets the team where it needs to be.

“It’s not just about improving a player’s game,” says Anderson. “It is the bond that is formed and the memories the athletes will carry forever.”