Adelphi University Athletics

Rebecca Fakas was named the head coach of the Adelphi University men's and women's tennis programs on Jan. 13, 2020.

She had spent two seasons as an assistant coach, before assuming the role of interim head coach late in the fall of the 2019 season. The result is that Fakas has formed both programs into perennial contenders in the NE10.

In 2024-25, under Fakas' guidance the men's tennis program saw new heights as it captured its second consecutive NE10 title and first ever NCAA Tournament victory. Marko Jovanovic became the program's first ever three-time NE10 Player of the Year as well as Adelphi's first ever three-time sport excellence award recipient. Andrea Albiero was named the conference's rookie of the year and joined Jovanovic, Spyridon Papageorgiou and Rodrigo Ochoa as NE10 first team selections. Hugo Munoz Reinoso, Jovanovic and Katarina Liedbeck were all named to CSC Academic All-America teams. The women's program reached its second straight NCAA tournament after earning a 8-2 (7-1 NE10) record in the fall season. The entirety of the Panther starting lineup was named to all-conference teams with Zuzanna Witkowska making the first team.

Now a two-time NE10 Women's Coach of the Year, Fakas' teams took their most significant steps forward in 2023-24, with both the men's and women's programs capturing an NE10 Championship and earning selection to the NCAA Division II Tournament. While the women snapped a six-year drought without a title, the men's team -- in the wake of what was back-to-back losing seasons before Fakas assumed the role of head coach -- lifted their first NE10 hardware in 2024.

To add to what was a historic year for both teams, Katarina Liedbeck and Marko Jovanovic were both named recipients of the NE10's prestigious Elite 24 Award -- which is presented to the student-athlete at the championship site with the highest cumulative grade-point average. Both Liedbeck and Jovanovic possessed near-4.0 grade-point averages in their major studies of Computer Science and Accounting, respectively. Additionally, Jovanovic was honored as the CSC Division II Men's Tennis Academic All-American of the Year and repeated as NE10 Player of the Year.

The year prior, Fakas coached the men's team to the program's first-ever NE10 regular-season title. A squad with seven combined wins in two seasons before Fakas took over, the Panthers have now reached the semifinals of the NE10 Tournament in each of her three seasons at the helm of the program.

After finally overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, Fakas settled into the traditional fall and spring seasons for her men's and women's squads in 2021-22. That fall, Fakas was named the NE10 Women's Coach of the Year, after guiding the Panthers to their first appearance in the NE10 Championship final since 2017. Along the way, Fakas' squad stunned top-seeded Le Moyne College, 4-0, in the semifinal round.

Her first full season coaching both squads in 2020-21 saw the women's team finish 10-2, while the men's team compiled a 6-4 record.

The women's team, which placed nearly its entire starting lineup on the NE10 All-Conference First Team, reeled off eight consecutive wins to close out the regular season and reached the semifinals of the NE10 Tournament.

Meanwhile, the men's team qualified for the NE10 Tournament for the first time since 2017 and ended a five-year postseason winless drought. 

One of the most decorated tennis players in school history, Fakas boasted an all-time record of 127-20 across singles and doubles in her time in the Brown and Gold, including a 43-3 mark in NE10 singles play. 

She was named All-Conference by the NE10 in singles and doubles in each of her four seasons, and capped her career as the 2017-18 NE10 Player of the Year. A two-time NE10 All-Tournament selection and championship MVP, she helped the program win three straight NE10 titles and appear in the NCAA Tournament three times.

She was also honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-American in her senior season, was an NE10 Academic All-Conference selection, and was one of three finalists for the NE10 Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award. 

A native of Little Neck, N.Y., Fakas earned a degree in Sports Management from Adelphi.

Fakas' Year-by-Year Coaching Record (Men)
2 NE10 Championship, 3 NE10 Regular Season Championships, 2 NE10 Final Appearance, 5 NE10 Tournament Appearances, 2 NCAA Tournament Appearance