Colgate head coach Bobby Pennington announced the addition of Olivia Leavitt to his tennis coaching staff in August 2020.
Leavitt arrived at Colgate after serving as an assistant coach at Babson following an outstanding playing career at Brandeis.
"We are extremely excited and fortunate to welcome Olivia Leavitt to our tennis family,” Pennington said. “She brings to Colgate an excellent tennis and academic background playing high level tennis at Brandeis and coaching at Babson.
“Her senior year she was an integral piece of a top 10 Brandeis team, during which time she served as president of Brandeis SAAC. What really stood out at Babson is in one year she managed to have top 15 national recruiting classes in Division III.”
Those recruiting rankings were No. 10 for the Babson women’s team and No. 17 for the men. This after helping the Babson men’s team achieve its first national in-season ranking in program history and boosting Markus Nordby to become just the second Beaver in program history to earn ITA All-America Singles honors.
Leavitt began her collegiate coaching career after wrapping up a successful four-year run as a student-athlete at Brandeis. She won 44 singles matches and 52 doubles matches while helping the program rise as high as No. 8 in the national rankings. The Judges advanced to the 2018 regional final in their first NCAA tournament appearance.
A three-time All-University Athletics Association doubles selection and three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete award recipient, Leavitt graduated in 2019 from Brandeis with her degree in business.
In addition to her collegiate playing experience, the Falmouth, Maine, native served as an assistant tennis pro at Portland Country Club in 2016, and worked camps at both Bowdoin College and North Yarmouth Academy.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to be joining the Colgate family and to work under Coach Pennington’s leadership,” Leavitt said. “Colgate is the whole package, with rigorous academics and competitive Division I athletics.
“Both programs are on their way to the top of the Patriots League, and I am excited to be a part of that journey.”
Pennington says Leavitt has a true love for the game and passion for coaching. He noted that she is highly regarded in the tennis community amongst coaches.
Her roles at Colgate include assisting in recruiting, practice and match planning, individual skill instruction and in-office compliance and logistics.
