The third head coach in program history, Chad Berryhill took over the reins of the Eagle program from long-time men’s and women’s coach Dave Paschal in January 2024.
In his first season with the Eagles, Berryhill helped the seven women on the roster to a number of program firsts in 2024. The Blue & Gold won an NCAA II era-best 17 matches and were ranked fifth in the nation, which is the highest ranking in program history. The Eagles notched eight wins against ranked opponents including the program’s first win against an NCAA II top-10 foe. After finishing in a program-best tie for third in the Sunshine State Conference race, the Eagles notched a win in the conference tournament for the first time. A little over a week after that win, the Eagles earned their first NCAA II national tournament berth and secured their first tournament win with a 4-0 defeat of Tampa before falling to Barry in the second round.
The 2024 campaign also yielded several first-time individual honors for Embry-Riddle. Laura Cuesta Bret was named the SSC Freshman of the Year and the ITA/NCAA II South Region Rookie of the Year, both program firsts. Cuesta Bret partnered with Itxaso Blanco for a No. 4 doubles ranking – the highest in the Eagles’ NCAA II era - and they became the first student-athletes to earn ITA All-America recognition. In addition, Jessica Christa Wira Hadipoernomo was selected as the winner of the ITA Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.
Berryhill came to Embry-Riddle from Saint Leo bringing with him a track record of success at various levels of college tennis. An eight-year head coach at Saint Leo, he led the men's team to six NCAA II national tournament appearances, and three ITA Indoor national championships, while the women made five trips to the NCAA II national tournament and two to the ITA Indoor championship. The men's team has claimed two Sunshine State Conference titles and in 2023, they won the ITA Indoor National Championship.
Berryhill's Saint Leo teams consistently featured in the national rankings with the men's team earning top-three rankings in six of the last seven seasons, and the women's team being ranked among the top five in each of the last five years.
A native of Lansing, Michigan, Berryhill has been coaching at the collegiate level since 2005 when he was named the head coach of the Hillsborough Community College women's tennis program. In five years at HCC, he led the Lady Hawks to a National Junior College Athletic Association national title in 2008, as well as three national runner-up finishes and a No. 1 national ranking in four of his five seasons.
Berryhill departed HCC to become an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UCF before returning to a head coaching role at his alma mater Ferris State in 2012. The Ferris State men's team reached the NCAA II final four in 2016 and won two conference regular season titles and a conference tournament title.
In addition to the team accolades, Berryhill has coached 44 ITA All-Americans (20 singles and 24 doubles), 35 NJCAA All-Americans, nine conference players of the year, seven conference freshmen of the year, 81 all-conference selections and 23 ITA national award winners. Berryhill's student-athletes have also performed well in the classroom with 140 ITA Scholar-Athlete and 21 ITA All-Academic Team honors.
Berryhill has also been recognized himself for his coaching accomplishments. A two-time USPTA Florida Division College Coach of the Year (2019, 2024), he has been honored as an ITA/NCAA II women’s regional coach of the year twice (2022, 2023) and the men’s regional coach of the year three times (2018, 2022, 2023). He won ITA/NCAA II Women's Tennis Coach of the Year honors in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, was the USPTA Steve Wilkinson College Coach of the Year in 2019, and the NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 2008. He was named the SSC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in 2018 and the league's Men's Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2023 in addition to being a four-time Florida Community College Athletic Association Coach of the Year.
His work in the tennis community extends outside of the college ranks as Berryhill has served as Co-Director of the Nike Tennis Camps at Rollins, a Staff Professional and Administrative Director at Tennissmith School in Tampa and Director of Tennis at the Tennis Academy at Harvard in Boston.
Berryhill earned his undergraduate degree in professional tennis management from Ferris State and his Master of Science in physical education from the University of South Florida. He is USPTA Elite Professional and Wheelchair certified and has served on ITA awards and rankings committees.
