Steinberg Stepping Down As CU's Women's Tennis Coach

        BOULDER — University of Colorado head women's tennis coach Danielle Steinberg will be stepping down from her position due to family reasons, athletic director Rick George announced Thursday.  Her last day will be June 30.
 
        Associate head coach Anthony Pham has been named as interim head coach while CU conducts a search for Steinberg's successor.
 
        "When we hired Danielle, we wanted to bring in someone who could elevate our program and connect with our student-athletes," George said.  "Danielle accomplished both and more, not only elevating the program but doing an incredible job of developing our student-athletes on and off the court.  I respect and support her decision and I wish her the very best. "
 
        Her final team recently recorded a 3.214 grade point average for the spring semester, with the nine players on the roster owning a cumulative GPA of 3.443.
 
        "We understand and support Danielle's decision to return home to be with her family," said Alexis Williams, CU's associate athletic director who also serves as the sport supervisor for tennis.  "She is a great coach, and we were fortunate to have her lead our program for three seasons.  Her ability to relate to the players and knowledge of the game is incredible and she will be missed.  We are looking forward to the continued success of the team that she has built."
 
        Steinberg just completed her third season as head coach of the Buffaloes, with the team compiling an overall record of 27-32, with a 6-16 mark in Pac-12 conference games.  The latter is a bit deceiving, as the team's league record was just 0-2 in 2020 due to the pandemic; the six Pac-12 wins equaled CU's total over the previous five seasons before she was hired.  The 3-7 record in league play both this year and in 2019 were the most since the Buffs were 3-8 in the Big 12 in 2010; Colorado was 9-12 this spring.
 
        "It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this program the past three years," Steinberg said.  "I want to thank Rick George, Jill Keegan, Alexis Williams and Ceal Barry for trusting me with leading this amazing group of young women. It has been a pleasure to come work with this group every day and share my life with them.  It has arguably been the toughest year of my life, but working with and for this group of women made it easier to show up, give my 100 percent, and kept my love of coaching alive. 
 
        "Tennis and coaching have been my main passion and driving force for the past 25 years," she added.  "It is my first love and will forever hold a piece of my heart.  However, at this junction in life, my priorities have shifted, and it is time to put my coaching career on hold.  I have decided to step away from the game and from coaching in order to focus on my family." 
 
        Pham joined the CU staff this past February, coming to CU from the University of Wisconsin where he was the associate head coach for the Badgers' No. 21 ranked program for the 2019-20 season.  He had just been promoted to associated head coach on June 1.  He has 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, including time as an assistant at Purdue University, an ATP Touring coach, and the head coach at Niagara University, the latter over both the men's and women's programs.   At Niagara, he was Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for both the men and women in 2013.