A man on a mission and seven-time NCAA championship coach, René Vidal enters his third season as the Bearcats Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach.
In 2021-22, just his second season as Head Coach at McKendree, Vidal led the men’s team to unprecedented success, earning GLVC Coach of the Year after defeating the University of Indianapolis in epic comeback fashion in the GLVC Championship match at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
2022 Men’s Tennis Best-Ever Season
- 2022 GLVC Champions (1st-ever)
- 2022 GLVC Coach of the Year
- NCAA Championship Tournament Round of 32 (1st-ever)
- 21-3 Record (best-ever)
- Top 25 ITA final ranking #22 (best-ever)
- Opened the season by winning seven consecutive matches, which is the best start to a season in the school's Division II era (2013-present)
- Won a single season school record 21 matches, which bettered the old school record of 20 wins that was set in both 2009-10 and 2010-11.
- Won a school record five GLVC matches as they went 5-1 in GLVC play with the lone loss being a 5-2 setback at home to UIndy.
- Was ranked as high as No. 35 in the ITA Division II team rankings, which is believe to be the highest for the program since moving to the NCAA Division II level in 2013.
- Posted a 7-2 record against nationally ranked foes.
- Posted the program's first-ever win over NCAA Division III powerhouse Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to this year's 5-4 win over the Bears, WashU had been 11-0 all-time against the Bearcats in men's tennis history.
- Leonardo Frederico made his history as he became the first-ever Bearcat men's tennis player to earn GLVC Player of the Year honors. Frederico went undefeated in singles matches in GLVC play to earn the Player of the Year honor.
- Captured its first-ever GLVC Tournament championship with a 4-3 win over Indianapolis in the title match. In fact, that was the first-ever championship in men's tennis in the school's history.
- Made just its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the program's history as they earned an at-large spot in the tournament in 2014.
- Won the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament match with a 4-0 win on over Tiffin.
2022 Academic Achievements – Men’s & Women’s Tennis
- The McKendree men's team earned ITA Division II All-Academic Team honors (Team recorded a 3.21 GPA during the 2021-22 season)
- Seven Bearcat men's tennis players were named ITA Division II Scholar-Athletes for the 2021-22 school year
- Leonardo Frederico was named a CoSIDA First-Team Division II At-Large Academic All-American (first men's tennis player in school history to earn Academic All-America honors)
- Frederico was also named the GLVC's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Men's Tennis for the 2021-22 school year
- The McKendree women's team also earned an ITA Division II All-Academic Team honor (Team recorded a 3.475 GPA during the 2021-22 school year)
- Seven Bearcat women's players were named ITA Division II Scholar-Athletes for the 2021-22 school year
In 2020-21, his first season as McKendree Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach, Vidal led the women’s team to an 8-5 winning record and 4th place tie in the GLVC, its best season in seven years, and the men’s team to a 9-6 winning record, qualification into the 2021 GLVC Men’s Tennis Championship Tournament, and an ITA season-high national ranking of No. 50.
Prior to McKendree, Vidal served as assistant men’s tennis coach at NCAA Division III powerhouse WashU for two seasons, helping guide the Bears to a No. 9 ITA national ranking and its 13th consecutive Elite Eight appearance in 2019. At WashU, Vidal coached eight Academic All-UAA honorees, tops in the UAA Conference, and three All-Americans, including Ethan Hillis, whom he guided to a NCAA singles quarterfinal appearance and No. 5 national ranking.
Coach Vidal’s Track Record of Success
- Seven-Time NCAA Conference Championship Coach at Boise State (3 Big Sky), Colgate (2 Patriot League and Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year), Mississippi State (1 SEC and No. 30 ITA national ranking), and McKendree (1 GLVC and No. 22 ITA national ranking)
- 2021-GLVC Men’s Tennis Championship Qualification and ITA Top 50 ranking
- 2021-GLVC Women’s Tennis wins over Lindenwood, Maryville, Rockhurst, Southern Indiana, and Quincy
- 2021-GLVC Men’s Tennis wins over Lindenwood, Maryville, Rockhurst, Southern Indiana, UMSL, and Quincy
- 2021-22 Mentor, ITA/USTA Mentorship Program
- 2019 WashU Elite Eight at NCAA Division III National Championships and No. 9 ITA national ranking
- USA High Performance Coach at Evert Tennis Academy and former SIU-C Head Women’s Tennis Coach (Semi-finalists, Missouri Valley Conference Championships)
- Leadership Speaker and Author of 4 books, including “Play Smart to Win: Better Tactics Lead to Better Results”
- Owner-Operator of the most successful private junior coaching business in Greater St. Louis region; clients representing top high schools: Clayton, JBS, Ladue Horton; and becoming student-athletes at Case Western, Columbia, Emory, Kenyon, and Trinity (TX).
- Sports Publications: Florida Tennis, ITF, USPTA ADDVANTAGE, and PTR TennisPro Magazines
- Family: Angelo Vidal, Tennis Student-Athlete at Kenyon College (2018-22); Manny Vidal, Tennis Student-Athlete at Goucher College (‘25); Alex Vidal, Varsity Basketball Student-Athlete at Clayton High School (CHS ‘24)
- Former Nationally Ranked Junior Player and JUCO tennis alumni (Broward College-FL)
- Master’s degree, Sports Management (St. Thomas University-FL)
What Leaders Are Saying About Coach Vidal
“Here’s a guy who has been in the trenches and has much to share.”
-Bobby Bayliss, Emeritus Men’s Tennis Coach at Notre Dame
René Vidal is the consummate professional."
-Andy Brandi, University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame (Women’s Tennis)
"René is a straight-shooter, an excellent communicator."
-Tim Cass, General Manager at USTA National Campus
"René Vidal is one of America's top coaches...his morals are above reproach, a winner in every way."
-Dick Gould, Emeritus Men's Tennis Coach at Stanford University
"René improved my game mentally and physically."
-Jesse Levine, ATP Career Singles High #69
