Sasha Boros

Former University of Iowa student-athlete and assistant coach Sasha Boros was named head coach of the Hawkeye women’s tennis program on July 29, 2016.

In addition to her head coaching duties, she is impacting the Iowa City community and is a champion for women’s athletics. She is the voice of the HERkys podcast, where she interviews special Hawkeye guests, and coordinated the HERkys’ Hawk Walk, which helped celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and all those who have been committed to providing equitable access to sports for girls and women.

During her eight seasons in Iowa City, Boros has guided the Hawkeyes to an 89-84 overall record with 39 Big Ten victories.  Iowa has posted a pair of top five Big Ten regular season finishes during her tenure.

In 2024, the Hawkeyes posted 11 victories with a pair of wins over ranked foes.  The team was ranked in the ITA team rankings for a majority of the season, climbing as high as No. 61.

Iowa tallied a ranked road win at No. 75 Nebraska on March 10 before following with a 4-2 victory over No. 34 Illinois at the HTRC at week later.  Sophomore Daianne Hayashida earned All-Big Ten honors and climbed as high as No. 85 in the ITA singles rankings.  The doubles tandem of Hayashida and senior Vipasha Mehra were ranked as high at No. 66.

During the fall, Hayashida advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships — a first by a Hawkeye since 2019 — and she competed in the main draw of the ITA Women’s All-American Championships.

During the 2023 campaign, Boros coached Iowa to 13 wins, including seven over ranked opponents.  The team just missed out on at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes defended the HTRC, winning seven of nine matches, including five of their final six contests. Iowa’s regular season win at No. 31 Illinois was its highest victory over a ranked opponent in 13 years. Boros mentored Samantha Mannix to All-Big Ten honors.

In the fall of 2021, Boros saw freshman Alexa Noel ascend as high as No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national rankings, the highest ranking by a student-athlete in program history. The Summit, New Jersey, native won seven matches during the fall, including downing the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in the nation. Noel was an ITA All-American Championships finalist and an ITA National Fall Championships semifinalist.

Boros led the Hawkeyes through a record-breaking spring season in 2021. Iowa finished 2021 with a 12-6 overall record and a 12-4 Big Ten record, the most leagues wins in program history. Iowa ended its 2021 season ranked No. 41 in the final ITA rankings, and reached as high as No. 37 on the season — the highest team ranking since 2011.

Noel was selected to compete at the 2021 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships in Orlando, earning the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier and becoming the third player in program history to make the singles draw. She earned All-America honors — the first in program history.

Noel ended the season with a 24-1 record while competing at the No. 1 singles position. She was named ITA Rookie of the Year and Big Ten Conference Player and Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Hawkeye in program history to earn league’s Player of the Year honors. Noel was ranked as high as No. 13 nationally, the highest ranking in program history. Senior Elise van Heuvelen Treadwell became the first player in conference history to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors five times in a career and was awarded the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.

Boros led the Hawkeyes to a 6-6 record during the shortened 2020 season. The Hawkeyes had their first win over a ranked opponent since 2014, defeating No. 50 Kansas State. The season was canceled by Big Ten Conference and NCAA on March 12 due to concerns of coronavirus (COVID-19). Following the season, Van Heuvelen Treadwell was named ITA Central Region Senior of the Year.

Boros led the program to the Big Ten Tournament for the second time in three seasons in 2019. Iowa advanced to the quarterfinals and finished the season with 13 wins — the second highest total in eight years. Van Heuvelen Treadwell was named first-team All-Big Ten for the third year in a row. Iowa finished the season ranked No. 65 in the ITA rankings.

In 2018, Boros coached the Hawkeyes to a 10-14 overall record. Senior Zoe Douglas was the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, and Van Heuvelen Treadwell earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season.

In her first season on campus in 2017, Boros led the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2014. Iowa won its first nine matches of the season, recording the second-best start in program history. The Hawkeyes finished the season 16-9 and reached as high as No. 47 in the national rankings. Schmid coached Van Heuvelen Treadwell to first-team Big Ten accolades and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

Boros, a four-year letterwinner from 1992-96, is the eighth head coach in the history of the program. She was the Hawkeyes’ team MVP in 1996, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1996, and earned a Juris Doctorate from the UI College of Law in 1999. She was an assistant coach at Iowa from 1997-99, helping the Hawkeyes reach the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history, a top 25 national ranking and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.

Boros returned to Iowa City with 15 years of head coaching experience, including 10 years at Stetson University (2002-11) and five seasons at the University of Missouri (2012-16). Her Tiger teams were ranked nationally in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, while competing in both the Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences.

During her time at Stetson, she led the Hatters to the 2009 regular season conference title and was a three-time Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year honoree.

Boros has two daughters — Lucy and Lily -- and her brother, Steve, played baseball at Iowa.