Zaher Resigns as Men's Tennis Coach

National search for replacement to begin immediately

Sherif Zaher

BUFFALO, NY – University at Buffalo men’s tennis coach Sherif Zaher has resigned his position effective immediately to return to his native Egypt.

Zaher, who recently completed his third season as head coach, will return to his homeland due to family reasons. A national search for a replacement will begin immediately.

“We are disappointed that Coach Zaher will not be able to continue to build our program as we have seen solid improvement in the level of talent on the team during his tenure,” said Warde Manuel, Director of Athletics. “However, we understand his decision, wish him the best and thank him for his efforts.”

The Bulls finished the 2009 season with an overall mark of 7-11. Zaher recruited one of the winningest doubles teams in UB’s history, as junior Kirill Kolomyts and sophomore Marcelo Mazzetto finished the season with a 15-6 overall mark, playing at No. 1 doubles this year. That is the highest winning percentage of any doubles team since UB joined the Mid-American Conference in 1998-99.

Both Mazzetto and Kolomyts earned second-team All-MAC kudos, marking just the second time the Bulls have had two players earn All-MAC honors in the same year.

He also coached 2008 graduate Nikish Singh Panthlia to 24 singles victories at No. 1 singles in 2007-08, the second most victories in a single season in UB’s Division I history. Three players under Zaher’s watch – Singh Panthlia (62), Kolomyts (52) and senior Octavian Stane (51) finished in the top ten in career singles victories.

Zaher had an overall mark of 21-41 in his three seasons.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at UB for making this a great experience for me,” said Zaher. “I wish everyone the best of luck in the future, and I hope that every program continues the great strides of improvement that have been made over the past few years. Keep it up, and Go Bulls!"