Tennis runs deep in the Azcui family.
Ramiro Azcui, the current head coach of IU women’s tennis, has a family of five.
His wife, Kathy, played tennis at Baylor University. Denise, his daughter, is currently a junior at Western Michigan University. He has two sons, one of who, Sean, is a three-sport athlete at Bloomington High School South.
Even though Sean doesn't play tennis, Azcui said his athleticism has come from his mother and that he has the work ethic of his sister.
Then there is Blake, the youngest son, who participated in Azcui's tennis summer camp at IU.
However, before his tennis-centered family came to Bloomington, Azcui was just a boy in Bolivia. Azcui said that his father was a huge tennis fan and played quite a bit as well. This sparked his interest in the sport.
The result: he fell in love.
Growing up, Azcui was ranked top two in Bolivia when he was just 12 years old. He sustained that ranking until the age of 18, when he got to compete in the Orange Bowl.
No, not one of the many bowl games in college football, but one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world for juniors. In 1978, the Orange Bowl was added to the list of Grade A tournaments.
Azcui competed at the tournament the same year as Boris Becker, who went on to win Wimbledon the next year.
After the Orange Bowl, it was time for Azcui to come to the states and get an education, but he couldn’t just give up tennis. Receiving scholarships from Abilene Christian University, he went on to become a four-year letterman and was named to the All-Conference team in both singles and doubles from 1984-1987.
With all the tennis success, Azcui was no slouch in academics either. He earned academic all-conference honors for three years and earned a spot on the Dean’s List as well. He went on to get a bachelor’s degree in physical education, and then went on to Baylor to earn a master’s degree in sports administration with an emphasis in teaching/coaching in 1989.
Baylor was where Azcui began his coaching career. It was also where he met Kathy.
There was one more pitstop before finding a home at Indiana and that was Truman State. There Azcui served as the men’s and women’s head coach and was a two-time Coach of the Year with both teams.
After three years at Truman State, Azcui decided that he wanted his Ph.D., which he chose to pursue at Indiana University.
That was when Lin Loring, former IU women’s tennis coach, offered Azcui a position as his assistant coach — a position that was meant to be temporary.
“At the time it wasn’t a full-time position,” Azcui said. “But, as the years went on, I just stayed in the coaching part and didn’t want to leave.”
Azcui and Loring worked with another for 24 years and accumulated a number of accolades and successes with their teams.
Loring is the winningest coach in women’s Division I collegiate tennis history with 846 wins. He has plenty of honors to his name, but so does Azcui, even as his assistant.
In 1977, 1999 and 2004, he was named Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year. Also in 2004, he was awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Assistant Coach of the Year.
All was well and good for Azcui and Loring until exactly one year ago, when everything changed — Loring decided to step down as head coach and retire after 44 years of coaching. Azcui was named as his replacement.
“It was bittersweet,” Azcui said. “After being an assistant for so long you dream of an opportunity to be able to become head coach. So, for me and my family it was one of the greater days. But, at the same time, it was sad to see one of the greatest coaches in college tennis retire.”
Azcui said he learned so much from Loring and is grateful for the years he was able to spend with him.
It was a quick turn around for Azcui and the team, as the season started eight days after the monumental change. The Hoosiers finished the season with a 14-14 record and qualified for the Big Ten Tournament.
Azcui led his team to a first-round win against Iowa 4-2, but they lost the next day to No. 10 Michigan 4-0.
“It was one of the most memorable spring seasons,” Azcui said. “The players really bought in, and no one thought we would end the season how we did. I thought we overachieved in a lot of areas, and we take great pride in it.”
Despite retiring, Loring was still around the team a lot during some practices and most of the home matches. Azcui said it was hard for him to completely leave the program that he led for 40 years.
This upcoming season, however, Azcui believes Loring will have an easier time being able to step away from the program and enjoy his retirement.
Even though Loring won’t be around as much, Azcui continues to accomplish some of the things Loring held up for four decades. Accomplishments like the 100 percent graduation rate for the team Loring had during his tenure at IU, which Azcui managed to carry on last season with the team.
“The shoes to fill were huge,” Azcui said. “To be able to accomplish similar things like the graduation rate brings me a lot of joy knowing I can carry on his legacy.”
With his second season as head coach approaching, Azcui said his team is young but better.
They are returning six of the nine players from the previous season, and adding three freshmen and one transfer senior, who will be the only senior on the team.
“I think we are deeper,” Azcui said. “I think all of our players can step in and help us out. We are all excited for the new season.”
Azcui’s second season at the helm will begin with the Winter Invitational in Bloomington on Jan. 13-15.
