Rutgers University Athletics

Hilary Ritchie begins her 10th season as head coach of Rutgers tennis in 2025-26, after she was promoted her to the position on August 25, 2016. A former Colorado State and Iowa standout during her collegiate career, Ritchie was an assistant with the Scarlet Knights for six years (2010-16) prior to her elevation to head coach.

In 2024, Ritchie led the Scarleet Knights to an exciting spring. RU picked up a solid Big Ten win in the conference opener over Oregon, 4-3. The team also earned multiple regional rankings as Mai Nguyen earned the No. 8 spot in singles while she also ended the campaign No. 3 in doubles along with partner Naomi Karki. In addition, the team earned an overall ranking of No. 5 in the Northeast Region.

Ritchie continued to build momentum and set new program standards with another historic season in the spring of 2024. On the heels of a strong fall, the Scarlet Knights finished 12-12 in the spring, picking up nine nonconference wins including three shutout victories. The team also recorded two Big Ten victories, defeating Michigan State and Minnesota. RU also found success in the Big Ten Tournament, defeating the Spartans once again to advance to the second round for the second consecutive year. Graduate Student Yana Gurevich became the first Scarlet Knight in program history to earn All-Big Ten honors, after going 12-5 in conference play. 

The team made history in the ITA rankings, claiming its first-ever national team ranking in addition to a doubles ranking. Rutgers reached as high as No. 68 in the polls while the pair of Amira Badawi and Mai Nguyen came in at a season-best No. 54.

The Scarlet Knights came out hot in the 2023 spring, starting off with a perfect 4-0 record for their first and best undefeated start since 2018. RU faced nine Top 75 opponents in a very challenging Big Ten schedule. However, the team found success in the nonconference portion of the schedule, picking up nine victories including five shutout wins.

In the second to last match of the regular season, the pair of Tara Chilton and Amira Badawi defeated the then-No. 28 ranked pair from Ohio State in a dominating 6-1 decision. The team kept it rolling in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament as Rutgers defeated Michigan State for the first tournament win in program history. 

During the spring of 2022, Ritchie helped the duo of Tess Fisher and Minchae Kim reach new heights with a doubles ITA ranking of No. 53 after opening the season 5-0. The pair would also grab a No. 9 ITA Northeast Regional ranking. Fisher picked up a ranked singles win while winning Big Ten Athlete of the Week in February. The young team gained valuable experience in 2021-22 with underclassmen accounting for 37 of Rutgers' 58 singles victories.

In the spring of 2021, Ritchie led the team to new heights as they recorded its most Big Ten wins in program history with four conference dual victories this spring. Freshman Chloe Brown led the Scarlet Knights with five dual singles wins, while classmate Daira Cardenas followed with four singles victories. The duo of junior Tess Fisher and freshman Alisa Prinyarux paced the squad with seven dual victories in doubles action. Maya Jacobs was named the NJAIAW Women of the Year for Rutgers.

In an unprecedented 2019-20 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Ritchie guided the team to a strong start to the season going 8-4. RU won five of its first six matches with shutout victories over Rhode Island and Binghamton. The Scarlet Knights only played three Big Ten opponents before the campaign was forced to an abrupt ending. 

Under Ritchie's leadership, the team finished 2018-19 in the top 10 of the ITA Regional rankings. Rutgers closed the year with its highest overall win total (9) since joining the Big Ten conference, jumping into the standings for the first time since 2013-14. During the campaign, the Scarlet Knights picked up Big Ten wins over Penn State and Nebraska. It marked the fourth time that Rutgers received a regional ranking since Ritchie has been with the program.

In the 2017-18 slate for Ritchie's second season, the team went 5-15 against a tough schedule. Rutgers went 4-0 to kick off the slate but struggled throughout the rest. The team still excelled in the classroom however, as they were named an All-Academic ITA team and four Big Ten Distinguished Scholars. 

In her first season at the helm of the program, RU finished 8-13 during the 2017 spring campaign. Rutgers produced its first Big Ten Conference victory in team history on April 2, 2017, when the Scarlet Knights defeated Penn State on the road, 5-2. RU also downed Wisconsin at the East Brunswick Racquet Club, as the program finished with its most wins since it joined the league in 2015.

A valuable member of the program for eight years, Ritchie was named the 2015 Assistant Coach of the Year in the Northeast Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. During her time at Rutgers, Ritchie has assisted the program through three conference changes.

Before becoming an assistant at RU, Ritchie served as a graduate assistant at Div. III St. Lawrence for two seasons. There, Ritchie was involved with various aspects of the tennis program, including on-court coaching, recruiting, fitness programs, fundraising and day-to-day operations.

A letterwinner at Colorado State and Iowa, Ritchie played her senior campaign with the Rams, posting a team-best 18-11 record at No. 1 singles and 22-2 record at No. 1 doubles. The 22 wins marked the most doubles victories in CSU history and were fifth all-time for career victories.

Ritchie was a two-time All-Mountain West honoree at singles and doubles and earned ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades in 2004, 2007 and 2008. As a Hawkeye, Ritchie recorded a 37-25 record at doubles before transferring to CSU.

The Colorado native worked as a tennis instructor in Princeton, N.J. over the summer of 2010. She spent the previous summer at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. working as a tennis instructor and camp counselor.

Ritchie received her Masters of Education while at St. Lawrence University. She graduated Cum Laude from Colorado State in 2008, with a bachelor of arts in speech communication. She resides in Chester, New Jersey, with her husband, Bob, and their two children, Tyler and Skylar.

Record as Head Coach
At Rutgers: 62-100 (10-75 Big Ten) - Eight Seasons
Career: 62-100 (10-75 Big Ten) - Eight Seasons