Head Coach Marc Vecchiolla

Women’s Tennis, 13th Season

Men’s Tennis, 3rd Season

As a coach, Marc Vecchiolla tries to get his tennis players to think outside the box. The success of his Mercer County Community College men’s and women’s tennis teams show how much the results aren’t ordinary.

Vecchiolla helped  re-establish the women’s tennis program in 1997 after an 11-year absence. Since then, the Vikings have won the NJCAA Division III title four times (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2005) and placed second three times (1998, 2001 and 2006). In addition, they were Region 19 Tournament champions for nine straight seasons from 1997-2005, with six of the teams finishing undefeated. He has coached 27 women’s players to All-American status, including 11 who gained the honor twice. His was most recent All-American was Maria Eldridge in 2009.

Vecchiolla was named the NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2005. He was inducted into the NJCAA Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005, becoming, at 36, its youngest inductee.

In 2007, Vecchiolla added a second head coach’s role with the MCCC men’s tennis program. Already an assistant coach, Vecchiolla was promoted to the top position following longtime Head Coach Stan Dlugosz’s retirement. Vecchiolla continued to work with his players to develop a strong work ethic, accentuate their strengths and improve their weaknesses. It paid off in his first season in the spring of 2008 when the Vikings finished 11-2 (the highest win total since 1985), won the Region 19 title and finished fifth at the NJCAA Division III Championships. His top player, Marc Nichols, won the No. 1 singles national title with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Haris Redzematovic of Kingsborough Community College (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

Vecchiolla has become synonymous with Mercer County tennis. He has served as Director of Tennis Operations with the Mercer County Park Commission since 1994, managing the tennis facility, which consists of 22 outdoor courts and 6 indoor courts. The complex at Mercer County Park was honored with a 2008 USTA National Outstanding Facility Award, and Vecchiolla accepted the award at the U.S. Open.

Vecchiolla, a resident of Robbinsville, N.J., is a member of the Mercer County Tennis Council and the Mercer Tennis Hall of Fame Committee. A graduate of Steinert High School in Hamilton, N.J., he earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration in 1991 from East Carolina University, where he was captain of the men's tennis team.

Women's Tennis Year by Year Coaching Record                                                               Men's Tennis Year by Year Coaching Record