Gonzaga men’s tennis coach Jonas Piibor announced the addition of former Zag Nick Kamisar to the staff as a volunteer assistant in January, 2020.
“I’m very excited and happy to be back at Gonzaga,” Kamisar said. “It’s going to be fun to be on the coaching side this time. I think we have a very strong team this year and I’m looking forward to the start of the season. "
Kamisar had a highly successful two-year playing career at Gonzaga from 2013-2015 after transferring from the University of Washington, where he competed his first two years. At Gonzaga, Kamisar competed mostly at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions and earned All-WCC honorable mention for both singles and doubles play.
“We could not be more excited to have one of Gonzaga’s most decorated tennis players join our coaching staff,” Piibor said. “Nick’s love for the game is second-to-none and there is no question he will have a great impact as a coach with our team both on and off the court. [Assistant coach] Cesar [Vargas] and I are very fortunate that he wants to come back here to his alma mater and coach with us as a volunteer.”
Kamisar had wins over several Division I nationally-ranked players including conference wins against a player from San Diego ranked 47th and a player from Pepperdine ranked 50th (who also reached a career-high rank of No. 866 ATP). Kamisar also defeated the No. 99-ranked player in singles to win the 2014 EWU Fall Classic, where he also won the doubles tournament with teammate Alvaro Nazal. In 2015, Kamisar defeated No. 2 singles player and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at the $22,000 Pacific Northwest Championships.
“I wanted to return to GU as a coach because I had a great experience here as a player and that experience emboldened me to play on the professional circuit afterwards” Kamisar said. “I felt I could use both my college experience and the experience I gained on the professional circuit to make a positive impact on the players as a coach.”
In professional competition, Kamisar defeated an ATP-ranked player on the Singapore Davis Cup Team at the July 2015 Vancouver BC Futures tournament as one of three wins in route to qualifying for the main draw. He was the doubles champion of the 2016 Washington State Open, and in April 2019, he won the RBC Wealth Management Houston Open.
Kamisar also has extensive tennis coaching experience, most recently as a tennis professional at the Woodinville Sports Club in suburban Seattle.
Prior to college, Kamisar was the No. 1-ranked player in Washington state, and the No. 2-ranked player in the Pacific Northwest by the USTA. He was nationally-ranked as high as 44th in his junior career and 65th in his senior year of high school by Tennisrecruiting.net.
