Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez
Former professional international tennis player Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez was hired as head coach of the Longwood men’s tennis program in December.
The director and owner of the JMTennis Academy at Metro West Golf and Tennis Club, Medina Alvarez was a longtime, highly ranked professional who competed in the Venezuelan Davis Cup and at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open as a junior player. Medina Alvarez wasted little time in extending Longwood’s historic 2017 campaign, opening the season 3-2 with sweeps over Howard and future Big South member Hampton in February.
“We’re excited to welcome Jhonnatan to the Longwood family,” said Director of Athletics Troy Austin. “With his professional experience, along with his résumé as a teacher, Jhonnatan brings a lot to a program that’s already on the rise. He has hit the ground running from the moment he stepped on campus, and we look forward to his commitment to developing this team’s wealth of young talent.”
The fourth coach of the Longwood men’s program in the Division I era, Medina Alvarez replaces 2017 Big South Coach of the Year Pierre Tafelski, who took an assistant coach position at Western Athletic Conference powerhouse Boise State.
As a player, Medina Alvarez enjoyed a decorated career, achieving ITF Junior rankings of No. 29 in singles and No. 39 in doubles, along with ATP World Rankings of No. 370 in singles and No. 458 in doubles. He won eight gold medals and five silver medals at the Venezuela National Games, two bronze medals at the Central American Games and several future titles in Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Italy.
Leave a Comment