Record at Carleton: 222-71 (.758) — 16 seasons
Luciano Battaglini took over as Carleton's head women's tennis coach prior to the 2007-08 season and has built the Knights into one of the top programs in the Midwest. His squads have been nationally ranked each of the last nine seasons, helping earn Battaglini recognition as the 2011 ITA Division III National Women's Coach of the Year as well as 2011 Regional Coach of the Year.
He guided Carleton to the 2023 MIAC regular season and postseason titles, earning the Knights a trip back to the NCAA Championships where Carleton advanced to the regional final ("Sweet Sixteen"). The Knights went 22-1 on the season with the lone setback coming against No. 1-ranked Chicago in the NCAA tournament.
Battaglini's squads have captured 11 MIAC titles (regular season and postseason) since 2012 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, and 2023. He was recognized by his peers with MIAC Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2012, 2017, and 2023.
A native of Brazil, Battaglini has coached players to a combined eight All-American citations, 93 All-MIAC awards, 39 ITA Scholar-Athlete awards, and five individual appearances at the NCAA Championships in addition to six team berths in the national tournament.
Prior to coming to Carleton, Battaglini worked one season as the assistant women’s tennis coach at Oklahoma State University (D-I), where he helped lead the Cowgirls to their first Big 12 title in school history. Oklahoma State finished the 2002-03 season ranked 25th in the nation. He then spent four seasons as the assistant women’s tennis coach at the University of Minnesota (D-I), and his connections to that program have allowed the Knights to play against Division I competition on several occasions.
Battaglini is a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), International Coaches Institute (ICI) and is certified as an USPTA High Performance Coach.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, he received his bachelor of science degree in psychology from Oklahoma Christian University, where he played tennis from 1996-2000. He was a 2000 ITA All-American and ITA Scholar-Athlete. Battaglini earned his master's degree in family science from Oklahoma State University.
Prior to his collegiate career, Battaglini was a seven-time state champion in Brasilia, Brazil, as a junior player, and went over 100 matches without a loss from 1990-96. In 1989-90, he was ranked in the nation's top 10 among junior players and rose to the top five in 1992. During his tennis career in Brazil, Battaglini had the opportunity to train and compete against former number one professional player in the world, Gustavo Kuerten, as well as former top 100 professional players Mariano Puerta, Mariano Zabaleta, Andre Sa, Marcos Daniel and Alexandre Simoni.
He also serves as a professor in the physical education, athletics and recreation (PEAR) department at Carleton.
