Kostin: 800 wins and counting

VCU men’s tennis coach Paul Kostin claimed his
800th victory earlier this month, making him the fifth
head coach in Division I to reach that milestone.

The men’s tennis team defeated the University of Denver
4-2 on April 12, rounding out Kostin’s victory count.

While the wins are a great achievement, the coach
isn’t making a big deal of it.

“I don’t feel any different now that I have 800 wins,” Kostin said. “I just try to take it one match at a time
and go from there.”

Kostin said he never sought to win so many games and that
800 wins wasn’t first on his list of things to accomplish.
“I honestly did not think that I would win 800 games.
The goal is to try to win championships,” he said.

Under Kostin, the men’s and women’s tennis teams
never have had a losing season. Kostin has led the
men’s teams to 16 straight NCAA tournament berths.
He has won 14 conference championships with the
men’s team and two with the women’s team.

Kostin led the men’s and women’s teams back to
the NCAA tournament this season. The men’s team
received an automatic berth for winning the Colonial
Athletic Association tournament while the women’s
team received an at-large bid.

Kostin, who has been coaching tennis for 27 years
– the last 18 being at VCU – said the goal at the
beginning of the season is to have a winning season,
to win the conference championship and to win the
national title. However, Kostin said it is his players,
not he, who is most responsible for the wins.

“I have been blessed with great players. It doesn’t
matter how good a coach is, he can’t win without the
right type of players,” he said.

Kostin said his players and the love of the game
keep him going.

“I have been doing this a long time. I love to be
around young adults, and I love what I do,” he said.
“For me, the most rewarding thing about coaching is
seeing the players grow up and be successful in life
outside of tennis.”

Kostin also said he likes to be able to influence his
players, and he enjoys the relationships he has with
the players after tennis.

“I want to make sure the players reach their potential,
on and off the court,” he said.