Women's Tennis
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- jberhane@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-3600
Berhane finished up his second season as an assistant coach for the Crimson Tide following the 2019-20 campaign.
In his second season, the Tide compiled a 12-6 record before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key in player player development, Berhane helped coach Alba Cortina Pou to an 11-0 dual match record to begin the season, as she became the first player in program history to win Southeastern Conference Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Feb. 5 & 12).
In his first season with the Tide, Berhane had an immediate impact in helping Alabama to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. For his work, he was honored as the ITA Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
Before Alabama, Berhane spent four years as the head coach for the Western Kentucky women’s tennis team.
During his tenure at WKU, Berhane was named the 2017 Conference USA Head Coach of the Year. He led the Lady Toppers to three-straight seasons over .500 and reached the semifinal round of the conference tournament by taking down a top-40 team in 2017. In the classroom, the Lady Toppers earned a perfect APR score for four consecutive years.
Before leading WKU, Berhane spent one season as an assistant coach for Youngstown State’s men’s and women’s tennis programs, and two years prior, he served as a graduate assistant coach at East Tennessee State.
At Youngstown State, the women’s team became the first Horizon League squad other than UIC to win the conference title since 1996. At the 2014 conference championships, the Penguins took down Wright State, second-seeded Milwaukee and top-seeded Cleveland State to claim the title. YSU went on to compete in the Charlottesville Regional against No. 3 seed Virginia to cap the historic season.
During his two years at ETSU, the Pirates won the regular-season championship in 2013, defeating two ranked opponents, and many of the student-athletes Berhane helped recruit powered ETSU to the 2014 conference tournament title.
Berhane’s other coaching experiences included instruction at New York Shelter Island Camp and at the Monaco Athletic in Denver, Colo. He has also served on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Committee from 2014-18.
Berhane graduated from Lewis-Clark State College where he ranked as a Top 15 NAIA singles players in the nation, while also ranking in the top 10 in doubles. Before transferring to LCSC, Berhane attended Virginia Intermont College, leading his team to a top five NAIA ranking.
A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Berhane achieved a No. 10 Swedish ranking and was a finalist for the Swedish Championship doubles. He earned his MBA in sports management at ETSU in 2013. Furthermore, Berhane speaks three languages – Swedish, English and Tigrinya – and he also understands Norwegian.
