Head Coach Luciano Battaglini, second season
Phone: 507-222-4053 (office) 612-209-8475 (cell)
Email: lhbattag@carleton.edu
Record at Carleton: 19-16 (two seasons)

Luciano Battaglini took over as Carleton's head women's tennis coach in time for the 2007-08 season. A native of Brasilia, Brazil, Battaglini spent the previous four seasons as the assistant women’s tennis coach at the University of Minnesota.

During his tenure with the Gophers, Battaglini coached 12 Academic All-Big Ten performers, three All-Big Ten first-team honorees, the 2007 ITA National Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship, eight ITA Scholar-Athletes and a NCAA Championships qualifier in 2004.

Prior to his tenure at Minnesota, Battaglini spent one season as Oklahoma State University 's assistant women’s tennis coach where he helped lead the Cowgirls to their first Big 12 title in school history. Oklahoma State finished the 2002-2003 season ranked 25th in the nation.

Battaglini is a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USTA) and has recently completed the USTA High Performance Coaching seminar.

Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Battaglini received his bachelor of science degree in psychology from Oklahoma Christian University where he played tennis from 1996-2000. He was a 2000 ITA All-American and ITA Scholar-Athlete. Battaglini earned his master's degree in family science from Oklahoma State University. He
is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in sports psychology at the University of Minnesota.

Prior to his collegiate career, Battaglini was a seven-time state champion in Brasilia, Brazil as a junior player, and went over 100 matches without a loss from 1990-96. In 1989-90, he was ranked in the nation's top 10 among junior players and rose to the top five in 1992. During his tennis career in Brazil, Battaglini has had the opportunity to train and compete against former number one professional player in the world, Gustavo Kuerten, as well as former top 100 professional players Mariano Puerta, Mariano Zabaleta, Andre Sa, Marcos Daniel and Alexandre Simoni.

He will also serve as an assistant professor in the physical education, athletics and recreation department at Carleton.

Zach Pruitt enters his first year as an assistant coach with the women’s tennis team. He previously spent eight seasons serving as an assistant and recruiting liaison for the men’s program, a role he will continue to fill. A two-time Wisconsin state doubles champion and all-state selection, Pruitt was captain and played #1 singles for the Knights as a senior. In 2000, he received the MIAC’s Arthur Ashe Award, given to a player who combines tennis and academic excellence with sportsmanship and humanitarian concern. Pruitt earned his B.A. in political science from Carleton in 2000 and his M.A. from the University of Chicago in 2006. In addition to his tennis duties, Pruitt is the coordinator of the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, a local youth collaborative.