Women's Tennis
- Title:
- Women's Head Coach
- Email:
- dean-orford@utulsa.edu
- Phone:
- 918 640 3961
| The Orford File | |
|---|---|
| PERSONAL INFORMATION | |
| Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa | |
| Education: Tulsa, 1992 (bachelor's degree in graphic design) | |
| Playing Experience: 4-year letterman, The University of Tulsa, 1987-91 | |
| Family: wife, Sally Ann; sons, Josey and Eli | |
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | |
| 2005-present: Tulsa, head coach |
|
| TULSA HIGHLIGHTS | |
| - Tulsa's all-time winningest women's coach - Eight Conference Tournament Championships - 13 NCAA appearances - 1 NIT Championship appearance and title - Seven-time Conference Coach of the Year - Coached Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner to All-America status at the 2019 NCAA Doubles Championship |
Dean Orford will be in his 21st season leading the Golden Hurricane in 2025-26. He is one of the winningest active NCAA Division I women’s tennis coaches in the country with a 371-146 (.717) career head coaching record.
Under his tutelage, Orford has guided the Hurricane to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, eight conference championships and one NIT Championship title. Tulsa was crowned Conference USA champions five times –– 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 –– and has captured American Athletic Conference titles three times –– 2015, 2016 and 2018. His teams have finished with a top-50 ranking in 13 seasons, with their highest ranking of No. 19 coming twice, first in the 2010-11 season when the Hurricane posted a program-best 26-3 mark. The second time occurred in 2018, as the team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
Orford became Tulsa’s all-time winningest women’s tennis coach on January 21, 2011, picking up his 105th career victory with a win over Mississippi State. Tulsa has been dominant at home during Orford’s tenure, boasting a 216-39 (.847) record at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
In 2024-25, Tulsa made it back to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2018. The Hurricane posted 19 wins on the year, including a 4-3 thriller over 27th-ranked and top-seeded Florida Atlantic in The American semifinal round. Orford coached two senior doubles tandems to individual titles, including Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings, who won the ITA Central Region to earn a bid to the NCAA Individual Championships. Ana Naranjo Martinez and Mariana Manyoma Velasquez won the inaugural doubles title at the AAC Individual Championships, becoming the program’s first individual conference champions. Tulsa won the doubles point in 20 of 28 dual matches, and Berlanga was tabbed The American Player of the Year, the program’s fifth under Orford.
Orford led the 2023-24 team to the UTR Sports National Invitational (NIT) Tournament title, winning his first postseason national tournament in his 19th year leading the Golden Hurricane. The Hurricane prevailed in the eight-team tournament with a 4-0 sweep over Wyoming (quarterfinals), a thrilling 4-3 win over West Virginia (semifinals) that was clinched by eventual Women's MVP Ana Naranjo Martinez, and a decisive 4-2 decision over top-seeded Colorado in the final to claim the title for TU.
Tulsa's 2018-19 squad posted an overall 15-10 mark against a scheduled that featured nine ranked teams, while the doubles tandem Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner represented the Hurricane in NCAA postseason competition. The duo advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship and became the second and third players in program history to earn All-America honors.
Orford has been named The American Coach of the Year twice while Tulsa has been a member of the conference, earning the honor in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016.
The 2015-16 season saw Orford guide his team to their second straight American Athletic Conference championship. He earned his seventh conference coach of the year award as he was honored by the American Athletic Conference while coaching Saana Saarteinen to the AAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year accolades.
In just his second season at the helm, in 2006-07, Orford’s team tied a program-best 21 wins, while earning his first C-USA Coach of the Year award in leading the Hurricane to their first-ever conference championship. In all, from 2006 to 2012, Orford coached Tulsa to five C-USA Championships in six years and was named C-USA Coach of the Year five times. Orford’s 2010-11 team set the school record for wins in a season, as they went 26-3 while achieving the program’s highest ITA ranking when they were tabbed at No. 19 on April 5, 2011. A year later, the Hurricane defeated 14 ranked teams during the 2012 spring season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. In addition to his seven conference coach of the year honors, Orford has been named the ITA Central Region Head Coach of the Year twice, most recently in 2011.
Orford returned to coach at his alma mater in 1993 as the men’s assistant coach. In 12 years, he helped the men win 177 matches. During that span, the Hurricane reached seven NCAA Tournaments and captured two Missouri Valley Conference titles. He finished as the national runner-up for Assistant Coach of the Year in 2002, while being named Region V Assistant Coach of the Year five times.
As a collegiate player for the Golden Hurricane, Orford lettered at Tulsa from 1987-91 while playing as high as the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles.
Before coming to Tulsa, Orford taught top-ranked junior tennis players in the state of Oklahoma. He was also the Tennis Pro at the South Hampton Bath and Tennis Club in New York, where he was the director for junior development.
A native of South Africa, Orford received his bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Tulsa in 1992. Orford and his wife, Sally Ann, have two sons: Josey Eli and Ethan.
Orford’s Year-By-Year Record
| Year | Record | Finish/Conference | Postseason | Final ITA National Ranking |
| 2005-06 | 14-12 | Semifinals/C-USA | None | -- |
| 2006-07 | 21-5 | Champion/C-USA | NCAA 1st Round | #44 |
| 2007-08 | 22-6 | Champion/C-USA | NCAA 2nd Round | #34 |
| 2008-09 | 23-6 | Runner-up/C-USA | NCAA 1st Round | #36 |
| 2009-10 | 22-6 | Champion/C-USA | NCAA 2nd Round | #32 |
| 2010-11 | 26-3 | Champion/C-USA | NCAA 2nd Round | #21 |
| 2011-12 | 23-4 | Champion/C-USA | NCAA 2nd Round | #23 |
| 2012-13 | 19-7 | Runner-up/C-USA | NCAA 1st Round | #29 |
| 2013-14 | 17-6 | Runner-up/C-USA | NCAA 1st Round | #25 |
| 2014-15 | 16-11 | Champion/American | NCAA 1st Round | #51 |
| 2015-16 | 22-5 | Champion/American | NCAA 2nd Round | #24 |
| 2016-17 | 20-8 | Runner-up/American | NCAA 1st Round | #44 |
| 2017-18 | 23-6 | Champion/American | NCAA Sweet 16 | #19 |
| 2018-19 | 15-10 | Semifinals/American | None | #56 |
| 2019-20 | 9-4 | N/A | None | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 15-7 | Runner-up/American | None | #48 |
| 2021-22 | 17-8 | Runner-up/American | None | #46 |
| 2022-23 | 14-11 | Semifinals/American | None | #72 |
| 2023-24 | 14-12 | Second Round/American | NIT Champion | -- |
| 2024-25 | 19-9 | Runner-up/American | NCAA 1st Round | #37 |
| Totals | 371-146 (.717) | 5 C-USA Titles; 3 American | 13 NCAA Appearances/1 NIT Championship Appearance | Ranked among top-50 14 of 20 years |
