WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue men's tennis head coach Pawel Gajdzik has welcomed Dann Nelson to the program as an assistant coach. Nelson arrives in West Lafayette with over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, including the last 18 as a Division I head coach.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dann to our program," Gajdzik said. "He brings considerable experience and knows what it takes to be successful in a competitive conference. On top of mentoring top competitors on the court, Dann has done an incredible job guiding quality student-athletes in the classroom and in the community."
Nelson has won 188 dual matches and four conference championships over four head coaching stops.
"I want to thank coach Gajdzik for this opportunity," Nelson said. "I am excited to get started working with coach and the players."
Nelson spent the last five seasons at UTRGV as the head men's tennis coach. During his time in Edinburg, Texas, Nelson's squad picked up multiple fall titles, earned All-WAC honors and climbed as high as No. 11 in the ITA Texas Region. The Vaqueros were also named an ITA All-Academic team five years running.
Prior to going to UTRGV, Nelson was the head coach at Southern Illinois for 11 years, posting a 122-110-1 record. The Salukis received 19 all-conference awards under Nelson and won the 2016 Missouri Valley Regular Season Championship and the 2009 Missouri Valley Tournament title, earning the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990.
Nelson joined Southern Illinois following two successful seasons as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Western Illinois. Nelson inherited a program that had not won during the 2002-03 season and went without a conference win in two years. During his first campaign in Macomb, Ill., Nelson guided the Leathernecks to regular season runner-up honors in the Mid-Continent Conference.
He made his head coach debut at Westminster College for two seasons, winning the SLIAC championship in 2002 and 2003.
From 1997-01, Nelson served as a teaching professional at the Edmond Racquet Club in Edmond, Okla. As the Associate Director of Junior Development, Nelson worked with several nationally-ranked players as well as numerous state champions. Several of Nelson's students went on to play Division I tennis.
Nelson began his coaching career in 1997 as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian, where he earned All-American honors as a student-athlete. During his playing career, Nelson amassed a 44-5 doubles record spanning the 1995 and 1996 seasons. He also participated in the NAIA Championships in each of those years. During Nelson's senior season, Oklahoma Christian earned the Sooner Athletic Conference title, the Region V team title, and achieved the No. 4 ranking in the nation. He graduated in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in social studies.
Nelson went on to earn his Master of Education from Central Oklahoma in 2001 while working as a volunteer assistant coach.