Dean Clower, who held the title of interim head tennis coach, was promoted to head coach of the Wyoming Cowgirl tennis program in the spring of 2012.

The 2023 season was arguably the greatest in program history as Clower led the Cowgirls to their first Mountain West title in program history. Clower, who was named the league's Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, led Wyoming to its first national postseason tournament ever, as the Brown & Gold played in the inaugural Universal Tennis NIT. Overall, the Cowgirls went 16-11 and 9-1 in conference action. Clower coached a trio of All-Mountain West honorees in Ana Fernandez (doubles), Maria Oreshkina (singles) and Sophie Zehender (doubles & singles). Oreshkina became the third Cowgirl in program history to receive four All-MW honors (Veronica Popovici (2011-14) and Magdalena Stencel (2015-18).

In 2025, Clower led his young Cowgirl squad to eight victories and four Mountain West wins. The Cowgirls advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament in '25. UW has advanced to at least the quarters of the MW Championship Tournament every season under Clower. Violetta Borodina and Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia were named to the All-MW Singles Team while Borodina and Dilnaz Mashabayeva were named to the All-Doubles Team.

2026 saw Clower guide another three Cowgirls to Mountain West honors. Violetta Borodina, Silver Bijlsma and Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia were all named to the the Mountain West All-Singles Team while the duo of Borodina and Bijlsma were named to the all-doubles squad together. Clower led Wyoming to 12 dual victories and a top-65 ranking at one point earlier in the season.

Wyoming went to the Universal Tennis NIT for the second consecutive season in 2024. The Cowgirls went 16-11 overall and 7-3 in league play in 2024. A trio of Cowgirls were named All-Mountain West. Noesjka Brink and Sophie Zehender were named to the All-Singles Team while Violetta Borodina and Zehender were named All-Doubles as a duo. Zehender became the fourth Cowgirl to be named all-singles for the fourth time. In addition to her singles accolades, Zehender became just the second Cowgirl in program history to be a four-time all-doubles honoree. Zehender was the first Cowgirl and just the seventh student-athlete in Mountain West history to achieve four-time honors in both doubles and singles.

In 2022, Clower coached a trio of Cowgirls to All-Mountain West honors. Maria Oreshkina, Ana Fernandez and Sophie Zehender were all honored for the second consecutive season. Oreshkina and Zehender were named to the All-Singles Team, while Fernandez joined her doubles partner, Zehender, on the All-Doubles Team.

In 2021, the Cowgirls finished the season on a seven-match winning streak, tied for the third-longest streak in program history. On the season, UW went 13-6 overall and 7-2 in Mountain West play. The Cowgirls went 4-0 at home on the season, marking the third time under Clower that the Cowgirls went undefeated in Laramie, playing in at least four home matches during the season. Clower coached a trio of All-Mountain West honorees as Maria Oreshkina and Sophie Zehender were named to the Singles Team. Zehender, along with partner Ana Fernandez, were both named to the Doubles Team as well. As a team, Wyoming finished ranked sixth in the final ITA Mountain Region Poll and had three individuals finish the season ranked in the top 20 (Oreshkina, Zehender and Noesjka Brink).

During the 2019-20 season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clower coached a pair of all-conference student-athletes as Maria Oreshkina was named to the All-Mountain West Singles Team while Oleksandra Balaba was named the league's Co-Freshman of the Year. The duo was also named to the All-MW Doubles Team as tandem as well.

In 2018-19, the Cowgirls completed the season with an overall record of 14-8 overall mark and 3-2 in MW play. For the tenth straight year the program finished with double-digit victories. The winningest coach in school history, Clower earned his 100^th career win with a victory against Northern Arizona on March, 3, 2019. Two individuals earned All-MW honors. Seniors Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg earned the honors in doubles for the third straight year. The duo are the first in school history to win the award three straight years. Also, van Der Ploeg was selected All-Conference in singles action as well.

Clower became the fifth head women’s tennis coach in Cowgirl history. After taking over the program, he led them to a 14-9 overall mark and a record of 5-2 in Mountain West play. They finished tied for second which at the time was the highest finish ever for a Wyoming team. As a team, the Cowgirls were ranked in the Campbell’s/ITA national rankings every week since they started coming out on January 3, 2012. Their highest was the 56th spot on March 27th, which was a best in school history. Along with that, they defeated three nationally ranked teams on the year and finished the year ranked 61st. The doubles team of Veronica Popovici and Simona Synkova also won the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament in the fall, while earning a spot of 47th in the rankings. In addition to that, two members of the squad were named All-Mountain West. Popovici and Synkova were named First Team All-Conference in singles play, while they were selected to the All-Conference Doubles Team as well. It was the third time in school history that a player had won back-to-back singles awards and the first time that a player won the doubles award three seasons in a row.

In his second season, Clower and the Cowgirls finished the year with an 11-12 record and a 4-4 mark in league play. The 11-wins marked the fourth straight year that the tennis program reached double-figure victories. As a team, they were ranked 61st heading into the spring and six weeks throughout the season. The doubles team of Synkova and Popovici were ranked 21st in the preseason Campbell's/ITA rankings and entered the spring 52nd. They participated in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships and reached the finals of the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament. They also garnered All-Mountain West honors. For the fourth time in her career, Synkova was selected All-MW in doubles and is the only Cowgirl to achieve that honor in school history. Popovici earned All-MW honors in doubles for the second year in a row. Both student-athletes were selected to the All-Mountain West singles team. It was the second time for Synkova and the third for Popovici, which is also a school record.

For the fifth straight year, the Cowgirl tennis team reached double-figure victories with an 11-8 mark overall while finishing with a 4-1 record in league play during the 2013-14 season. Two Cowgirls earned All-Mountain West honors for the third time in Clower's head coaching tenure. Popovici was selected in singles for the fourth straight year and was the first Cowgirl to achieve that honor in school history. She and doubles partner Dorottya Jonas were named to the All-MW team in doubles. It was the first such honor for Jonas and the third for Popovici.

It was another milestone year for Clower and the Cowgirl program during the 2014-15 season. He helped the Cowgirls to a 15-6 record overall during the 2015 spring season and a perfect 5-0 mark in league play. The 15-wins were at the time most in program history, while the five wins tied for the most wins in league play. The first-place finish in MW action was also a school best for a Wyoming tennis team. Four individuals garnered postseason honors during the season including seniors Alma Espinosa and Christa Gecheva, sophomore Dorottya Jonas and redshirt freshman Magdalena Stencel. Earlier during season, he became the all-time winningest coach and all-time leader in conference wins in school history. Wyoming went 2-1 at the 2015 Mountain West Tennis Championships defeating the top-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs, 4-3, before falling in the championship match against New Mexico, 4-2. For his efforts, Clower was named the Mountain West Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year.

During the 2015-16 campaign, Wyoming recorded an 11-12 mark overall and 3-2 in the MW conference. It's the seventh straight season the Cowgirls have recorded double-digits wins and finished .500 or better in league play. Senior Nastya Tokareva and sophomore Magdalena Stencel were selected to the All-Conference Doubles Team for the first time in their careers, while both were named First Team All-Conference in singles play.

In 2016-17, the Cowgirls had a record breaking season. The squad went 18-4 overall and undefeated in league play and claim the Mountain Division title. The 18 wins was a program best and the 5-0 mark is the second time in school history to record that mark. It's the seventh straight season the Cowgirls have recorded double-digits wins. Two doubles teams were ranked during the season for the first time ever. The team went a perfect 10-0 at home and recorded a nine-match winning streak. Four individuals were selected All-Conference and two doubles teams were ranked during the season. Senior Dorottya Jonas and junior Magdalena Stencel were selected to the All-Conference singles team, while sophomores Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg were named First Team All-Conference in doubles play.

During the 2017-18, UW finished with a 12-8 overall record and a 3-2 mark in league action. It was the ninth straight season the Cowgirl program finished with double-digit wins. Three individuals earned All-Conference honors for the tenth year in a row and the seventh in Clowers’ tenure. Senior Magdalena Stencel earned her fourth straight award in singles. She is only the second player in school history to achieve that mark. Juniors Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg were selected All-MW in doubles for the second straight year, while Koonik was named all-conference in singles.

Clower came to Wyoming after two seasons as an assistant coach at Lamar University (Beaumont, Texas). His duties included assisting with practice sessions, on the court training of both singles and doubles teams, creating and maintaining data bases for prospective players, along with ensuring compliance with recruitment regulations. Prior to that, he spent one season as a volunteer assistant with the program and as an adjunct professor for kinesiology.

Clower began his collegiate career as a student-athlete at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kan. He was a two-year team captain and was ranked fifth in the nation in doubles as a freshman and sophomore. Clower then moved on to a two-year career at Lamar University. He finished with a season-best 14-7 record in singles play and 9-9 in doubles at the number one spot as a junior. During his senior season, he posted a 9-10 overall record, 12-6 in doubles-play and a 48th ranking in NCAA Division I. He became the first player in school history to accomplish that feat.

A native of Broken Arrow, Okla., Clower earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in general studies with a minor in history and kinesiology from Lamar University in 2006. He and his wife, Amanda, have a daughter, Riley, and son, Westyn.

Name	Title	Email Address	Phone
Dean Clower	Head Coach	eclower@uwyo.edu	(307) 760-6199
Julie Gonzalez	Associate Head Coach	jgonza29@uwyo.edu	(919) 432-7512
Philippe Zehender	Assistant Coach	pzehende@uwyo.edu

2026-27 Women's Tennis Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff

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