SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga University Athletic Director Mike Roth announced the hiring of D.J. Gurule as head coach of the men's tennis program and the hiring of Natalie Pluskota-Hamberg as head coach of the women's tennis program.
 
"We are so excited to announce the hiring of D.J. as our head men's tennis coach and Natalie as our head women's tennis coach," Roth said. "The pair have been instrumental in the growth and success of our women's tennis program, and we are excited to see what they can accomplish in the coming seasons."
 
Gurule just completed his 17th year as head coach for the women's program after taking over ahead of the 2004-05 season. During his tenure, he has overseen profound growth of GU women's tennis. The Zags have won double-digit matches in 10 seasons under Gurule—including each of the last six complete seasons (the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19)—and the Zags have posted six of the highest seven win totals of the last 20 years under Gurule.
 
"First and foremost, I would like to thank the student-athletes on the current women's team and all the women's alumni that I was fortunate enough to coach over the past 17 years," Gurule said. "I would also like to thank Mike Roth, Chris Standiford, Heather Gores and Shannon Strahl for their support and belief in myself and the tennis programs at Gonzaga. They have worked tirelessly to ensure that we have what we need to succeed. I am incredibly honored an excited to lead the men's program at Gonzaga. The group we have are extremely talented and ready to take the next step forward. We are also privileged to have Coach Vargas Rodriguez on the staff; his passion and commitment to the team is second to none. We are eager to hit the ground running this fall."

Prior to the 2015-16 season, GU had never finished above sixth in the West Coast Conference, but Gurule led the Zags to three-straight second-place finishes from 2015-16 to 2017-18, a feat that had never been done before in program history. In 2017, the Zags reached the final match of the WCC Championships for the first time ever, one year after reaching the program's first semifinal.
 
Gurule also mentored Gonzaga's first-ever All-American in Sophie Whittle. Whittle became Gonzaga's first-ever ITA National Champion when she won the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships in October of 2018. The then-senior went on to earn a No. 1 ITA National Singles Ranking in February of 2019, and she collected multiple national awards including the ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award and the ITA Most Improved Senior Award.
 
In the last 17 years, GU has produced 29 all-conference singles performers—including five first team performers—and 26 all-conference doubles performers with eight first team performers.
 
Gonzaga women's tennis has also thrived in the classroom under Gurule's guidance. To date, GU has produced 38 ITA Scholar Athletes in addition to collecting seven ITA All-Academic Team honors as well as multiple WCC All-Academic First Team performers and Honorable Mention recipients.
 
Gurule will take over a men's tennis program that has seen immense growth in the last three seasons including a program-best second place finish in the West Coast Conference in 2018-19. The Zags graduated just two seniors in 2021 and welcome back seven, including All-WCC Singles Honorable Mention performer Matthew Hollingworth.
 
Former women's tennis assistant coach Natalie Pluskota-Hamberg has been hired head coach of the women's tennis program after spending four years as an assistant. She becomes the fifth head coach in program history.
 
"My first thank you, goes to Mike Roth, Chris Standiford, Shannon Strahl and Heather Gores," Pluskota-Hamberg said. "It is a tremendous honor and privilege to be chosen to lead the women's tennis program. I am looking forward to continuing to develop and empower our student-athletes both on and off the court. My next thank you goes to DJ for mentoring and believing in me. I wish him all the best as he transitions to the men's side and know we are both committed to the future successes of our programs. Lastly, thank you to my family for all of their support and love through this process."

Pluskota-Hamberg has spent four seasons overall as assistant coach for the Zags, from 2016-18 and again from 2019-21. She also spent a season as an assistant coach for Arkansas out of the SEC. During her time with the Razorbacks, Arkansas finished with a 14-14 overall mark and notched an SEC Tournament win over then-No. 14 Missouri in the first round. She helped coach Martina Zerulo to All-SEC First Team honors and lead seven Razorbacks to ITA All-Academic Team honors.

Pluskota-Hamberg's first season with the Zags was the most successful in Gonzaga history as she assisted the Zags to a program-best 17-4 record in 2017, reaching the WCC Championships final for the first time in school history. During the regular-season, the Zags finished second in the conference, and they ended the year with a fifth-place ranking in the ITA Northwest Regional Rankings, another program high.

In her second season with the Zags, Pluskota-Hamberg was instrumental in helping the program to its second-straight second-place WCC finish with a 16-7 overall dual record. For her efforts, she was named the tasc Performance ITA Assistant Coach of the Year by the ITA.

Pluskota-Hamberg has helped multiple Zags garner all-conference recognition with 19 Zags being honored in her four years with the program. This year, Pluskota-Hamberg mentored three All-WCC Singles Honorable Mention selections in Cate Broerman, Haruna Tsuruta and Kate Ketels, and two pairs of doubles All-WCC honorees as Hannah Jones/Adrianna Sosnowska were selected the first-ever All-WCC Doubles Second Team in program history while Tsuruta/Ketels were selected Honorable Mention.

Pluskota-Hamberg has also helped to cultivate academic success. In her four years, Gonzaga has earned two ITA All-Academic Team honors and has had 10 ITA All-Academic performers along with four WCC All-Academic First Team selections and eight honorable mention selections.

Pluskota-Hamberg came to Spokane in 2016 after a four-year professional career and two years of teaching experience. Before her professional career, she was a four-time All-American at the University of Tennessee.

The search for an assistant coach for the Gonzaga women's tennis program will begin immediately.