Silviu Tanasoiu has rewritten the record books in his 13 years as the Director of Intercollegiate Tennis and the Savitt-Weiss Head Coach of Men's Tennis at Cornell, leading the Big Red in 2017 to its second Ivy League title, its first at-large bid to the NCAA championships, and its first NCAA tournament victory. Tanasoiu was subsequently named the Ivy League Coach of the Year.
Under Tanasoiu's guidance, the 2016-17 season was historic. Cornell finished the campaign ranked 26th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association behind a 22-4 record. The Big Red's 6-1 mark in the Ivy League was good for a three-way share of the league crown, with Cornell's only other league title coming in 2011. The Big Red was then named the No. 2 seed in the Baylor Regional of the NCAA tournament, where it started with a 4-0 victory over third-seeded Rice.
Cornell looked to be on the same track in 2019-20, going 9-2 with an ECAC Indoor Championship title. The Big Red ranked in the ITA Top 25 before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
Since the pandemic-shortened season, Tanasoiu and the Big Red have continued their consistency on the court, amassing 35 wins and going 25-5 in the Reis Tennis Center. The team also advanced to the NCAA Team Championship in 2023, defeating Auburn in the first round before falling to No. 12 Duke University in the second round.
Cornell's 2024 season was one for the history books. Under Tanasoiu's guidance, Radu Papoe '25 became the first Big Red Red player in 24 years to earn Ivy League Player of the Year honors while also earning unanimous first team All-Ivy honors for the second consecutive season. Papoe also earned a 9-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship, securing the first All-American nod in program history. Highlighted by a 7-3 record against ranked opponents, Cornell finished the season 19-7 and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Team Championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. The Big Red would knock off Arkansas before falling to No. 4 TCU in the Fort Worth Regional final.
Tanasoiu has helped recruit and mold several All-Ivy League selections on East Hill. Most recently, Radu Papoe was named unanimous first team All-Ivy, and Adit Sinha earned second team All-Ivy in singles for 2024, while Sinha and Nathan Mao earned second team honors in doubles. Alafia Ayeni was named first team All-Ivy in 2019, with Lev Kazakov and David Volfson earning second team honors, and Daniel Soyfer picked up honorable mention recognition. Ayeni was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and second team All-Ivy.
Lev Kazakov '20 was the ITA Northeast Region Player to Watch after ending the season ranked 98th nationally in singles and earning a spot on the All-Ivy League second team in singles. David Volfson '19 was named the ITA Northeast Region Rookie of the Year, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and an All-Ivy League first team pick in both singles and doubles in 2016. Tanasoiu also guided the program's first five-time All-Ivy League honoree, Sam Fleck '15.
Tanasoiu came to the Big Red via the University of Oklahoma, where he served as an assistant coach with the Sooners' men's tennis team for five years and was named the ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011. A native of Romania, Tanasoiu was part of many day-to-day operations, including coaching, facilitating practices, planning, conditioning, promoting, scheduling, marketing, making travel arrangements, ordering equipment, and managing the team's budget.
But his recruiting ability was paramount. Among the players he lured to Oklahoma were Andrei Daescu (ranked No. 10 in NCAA singles and a 2010 All-American), Ionut Beleleu (No. 50 in NCAA singles), and Costin Paval (No. 62 in NCAA singles and a 2010 All-American). The Sooners reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history in 2010.
With the Sooners, Tanasoiu implemented video analysis, sports psychology, nutrition education, and conditioning specific to the sport. He also served as co-director of the OU/Nike summer tennis camps and was the director of the 2011 OU High-Performance Camp.
He also has experience as a personal coach for professional Anda Perianu from 2004-2006, helping Perianu compete in 11 Grand Slam events and reach No. 120 in the WTA rankings. Prior to that, Tanasoiu worked for a year and a half as the assistant tennis professional at Cherry Valley Country Club on Long Island.
Tanasoiu earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Oklahoma in 2006. He competed with the Sooners for three seasons, earning first-team All-Big 12 recognition in 2003 and 2004. He was also an ITA Academic All-American and a member of Leadership Scholars, Dean's Honor Roll, and President's Honor Roll.
He started his collegiate career at Louisiana-Monroe. In his native Romania, Tanasoiu was the national junior champion in 1998 and 1999, also cracking the top 50 in the European junior rankings in the latter year.
Tanasoiu Coaching Highlights
First Win: 01/20/2012 at Penn State University (4-3)
First Home Win: 02/10/2012 vs. University at Buffalo (7-0)
100th Career Win: 01/30/2021 vs. St. Bonaventure University (7-0)
Updated May 2024
