Western Carolina University

Bret Beaver took over as the Head Coach of the Western Carolina women's tennis program in August of 2018 and just completed his fifth season in the spring of 2023.

In the spring of 2023, Beaver directed the Catamounts to a program-record 14 wins during the spring campaign which included an 8-2 mark on WCU’s home courts. The eight home wins marks the most by the Catamounts since the 2017 season. 
 
Western Carolina also earned its first SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2023 as Isabella Sambola claimed the honor as Sambola was one of three joined by Leilany Ipunesso and Jade Groen to earn SoCon All-Freshman team honors. Groen also claimed a SoCon Player of the Week honor. Groen and Andrea Redondo earned second team doubles team honors as well. 

For the second time under his direction, Western Carolina women's tennis earned the second-most wins in a season in program history with 12 in 2022. With the tutelage of Beaver, the Catamounts defeated UNCG, in Greensboro, N.C., for just the third time in the two team's 29 meetings. The team also tied for its highest seed in the Southern Conference Championships with a No. 6 seed. Miray Konar earned SoCon All-Freshman honors and Jordyn King was awarded the SoCon Sportsmanship award. 

In the challenging times of the 2021 season, playing during a pandemic, Beaver and the Catamount squad ended the season with a 9-9 overall record. He guided Kata Foldeak to a SoCon First Team All-Conference and All-Freshman nod in her first year as a Catamount. The duo of Jacy Smith and Julia Pezzuco, under Beaver's watch, also earned SoCon All-Conference Second Team at No. 1 doubles.  

The 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic but Beaver was able to help lead Strickland to break the career program record for most wins in singles and doubles. Strickland also received national recognition being named the national recipient of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) / Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award - a first for the Catamount program. 

In his first full season as head coach, in 2019, Beaver led the Catamounts to a record of 12-10 just one win shy of tying the school record for most wins in a season in the program's history. Also in his inaugural season, Beaver had two players earn all-conference honors marks the first time in the program’s history a pair of Catamounts were honored, in singles, with post-season accolades. Jordan Strickland and Jacy Smith were each named to the All-Conference Second Team and Smith was also honored on the All-Freshman squad. 
Beaver came to Western Carolina from former Southern Conference school Elon University where he spent three seasons, 2015-2018, as an assistant coach and then associate head coach for the Phoenix women’s tennis program.

In the 2018 season Elon, under the direction of Head Coach Elizabeth Anderson and Beaver, the Phoenix reached the semi-finals of the CAA Tournament and placed four on the all-conference team.

While Beaver was an assistant coach at Elon, the team amassed a record of 46-31 and a total of nine Phoenix earned post-season honors. In his first and second year with the team, Elon earned the No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament.

Prior to Elon, Beaver was an assistant women’s tennis coach at Charleston Southern University from 2013-15 in Charleston, S.C. Beaver was instrumental in the success of the women’s tennis program that won the Big South tournament championship during the 2015 season, earning a bid to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships.

The Buccaneers also won two Big South regular-season titles in 2014 and 2015. Beaver coached the Big South Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons. Charleston Southern achieved a national ranking of No. 74 in 2014 with a 35-7 overall match record with Beaver as an assistant.

Beaver has also worked as a tennis professional at the Wild Dunes Tennis Center in Isle of Palms, S.C., as well as a camp counselor for the Tennis Camp at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. and a tennis instructor for the Towpath Tennis Center in Akron, Ohio.

Beaver received his bachelors in Peace and Justice from Nazareth College.