Women's Tennis
Lugo Cirkovic, Juan
Juan Lugo Cirkovic
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Juan Lugo was named assistant coach for the Rice Owls women's tennis team prior to the start of the fall semester in 2024. Lugo comes to South Main after spending the previous two seasons coaching at East Tennessee State for both men's and women's tennis.
Lugo's first season on South Main saw the Owls increase their win total from 12 to 17 wins, as well as earn a ranking of No. 36 to finish the season, the highest the Owls have been at year's end since 2016. The Owls earned mutliple All-Conference honorees for the third-straight season and made its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to Rice, Lugo coached two seasons as a Men’s Tennis Assistant Coach and Women’s Tennis Volunteer Assistant Coach for ETSU in 2022-2024 remaining undefeated with both teams in the SoCon Tournament with 3 regular seasons and 4 conference championships.
With the men's team, Lugo helped coach Dimitri Badra to back-to-back SoCon Player of the Year honors along with multiple SoCon Player of the Week honors. In 2024, the Bucs finished seventh in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Rankings after winning their 13th SoCon Tournament Title in program history. The Bucs had four All-SoCon players in 2024 and also won their 12th regular season SoCon Championship.
In his first season on ETSU’s coaching staff, Lugo helped five Bucs earn All-SoCon honors. The tandem of Francisco Lamas and Thiago Pernas concluded the season ranked #68 nationally in doubles. Furthermore, the Bucs won the SoCon Tournament title and finished the campaign ranked #9 in the Ohio Valley Region.
With the women's team, Lugo helped coach Sofia Markova to earn SoCon Player of the Year after compiling a 7-0 mark in SoCon action, All-SoCon First Team in Singles and All-SoCon Second Team in Doubles, get 3 players of the week and 1 player of the month. He helped the team win back-to-back conference championship which made the team qualify for the NCAA championship with the highest-ever ITA Rankig (#60).
In his first season on ETSU’s coaching staff, Lugo helped Laylo Bakhodirova to earn SoCon Player of the Year after compiling a 7-0 mark in SoCon action, ITA Ohio Valley Region Most Improved Senior, and ETSU Female Athlete of the Year. He also helped the team earn All-SoCon honors and get into the NCAA tournament after winning the conference championship for the first time since 2016.
As a player for ETSU, Lugo played four seasons for the Bucs where he won 4 conference tournaments making it into 4 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He earned multiple All-SoCon honors and multiple academic awards during his time in Johnson City. He was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player in his Senior Year and was a multiple-time ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete. He was ranked as high as #37 in the nation in doubles with Frazier Rengifo and #59 in the nation with Chris Mikrovas. He also represented Team Venezuela in the 2019 Davis Cup.
Lugo's first season on South Main saw the Owls increase their win total from 12 to 17 wins, as well as earn a ranking of No. 36 to finish the season, the highest the Owls have been at year's end since 2016. The Owls earned mutliple All-Conference honorees for the third-straight season and made its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to Rice, Lugo coached two seasons as a Men’s Tennis Assistant Coach and Women’s Tennis Volunteer Assistant Coach for ETSU in 2022-2024 remaining undefeated with both teams in the SoCon Tournament with 3 regular seasons and 4 conference championships.
With the men's team, Lugo helped coach Dimitri Badra to back-to-back SoCon Player of the Year honors along with multiple SoCon Player of the Week honors. In 2024, the Bucs finished seventh in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Rankings after winning their 13th SoCon Tournament Title in program history. The Bucs had four All-SoCon players in 2024 and also won their 12th regular season SoCon Championship.
In his first season on ETSU’s coaching staff, Lugo helped five Bucs earn All-SoCon honors. The tandem of Francisco Lamas and Thiago Pernas concluded the season ranked #68 nationally in doubles. Furthermore, the Bucs won the SoCon Tournament title and finished the campaign ranked #9 in the Ohio Valley Region.
With the women's team, Lugo helped coach Sofia Markova to earn SoCon Player of the Year after compiling a 7-0 mark in SoCon action, All-SoCon First Team in Singles and All-SoCon Second Team in Doubles, get 3 players of the week and 1 player of the month. He helped the team win back-to-back conference championship which made the team qualify for the NCAA championship with the highest-ever ITA Rankig (#60).
In his first season on ETSU’s coaching staff, Lugo helped Laylo Bakhodirova to earn SoCon Player of the Year after compiling a 7-0 mark in SoCon action, ITA Ohio Valley Region Most Improved Senior, and ETSU Female Athlete of the Year. He also helped the team earn All-SoCon honors and get into the NCAA tournament after winning the conference championship for the first time since 2016.
As a player for ETSU, Lugo played four seasons for the Bucs where he won 4 conference tournaments making it into 4 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He earned multiple All-SoCon honors and multiple academic awards during his time in Johnson City. He was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player in his Senior Year and was a multiple-time ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete. He was ranked as high as #37 in the nation in doubles with Frazier Rengifo and #59 in the nation with Chris Mikrovas. He also represented Team Venezuela in the 2019 Davis Cup.
WBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02
