Neil Caniga took over as the Roger Williams University Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach in August of 2009 and will begin his fourth season as coach of both the men’s and women’s programs.
In his first year as Head Coach of the Men’s Tennis program, Caniga earned CCC Coach of the Year honors as he led the team to its second consecutive regular season conference title and its second straight undefeated conference regular season. The Hawks finished the season with a 16-7 overall record and a perfect 11-0 in the conference before falling in the CCC Championship match. The women’s tennis team reached the conference semifinals after upsetting the #5 seed, posting an 8-3 conference record and concluding the year with four all-conference players and a 9-9 overall record.
In the 2010-11 season, the Men’s Tennis team won the CCC title for the second time in three years, going 10-1 in the conference, and winning their NCAA Tournament First Round matchup against UMass-Dartmouth to end the year with an overall record of 18-7. The team placed five players on the All-TCCC team and Caniga won the Coach of the Year award for the second year in a row. The Women’s Tennis team had another successful season, finishing 14-8 overall (10-1 CCC) to earn the #2 seed for the CCC tournament and ending the season as conference runners-up, while putting four Hawks and the all-conference team.
This past season, Caniga coached the Men’s Tennis team to a 10-8 overall record, finishing as runners-up in the CCC Championship match and putting four players on the all-conference team. The Women’s Tennis team went 12-7 overall and 6-2 in conference, earning the #3 seed for the CCC tournament and reaching the CCC Semifinals, with five Hawks earning All-CCC recognition.
Prior to RWU, Caniga spent three years coaching at his alma mater Moravian College, where he was named 2009 Landmark Conference Coach of the Year. Upon taking over as Head Coach for the Greyhounds, Caniga improved a 6-8-1 team to a 13-6 team–setting the school record for most wins in a season–en route to a Landmark Conference Finals appearance. Caniga also assisted with the recruiting for the Moravian women’s program, which went on to win back-to-back conference titles in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
Caniga also served as the Tennis Professional at Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, N.J. from 2006-08 teaching both junior and adult clinics along with individual private lessons. He has also served as Tennis Instructor at the Greyhound Tennis Camp since 2003.
Caniga is a 2006 graduate of Moravian College where he had an outstanding career, earning four First-Team All-MAC honors. Playing as the First Singles Player and First Doubles Player, he finished his four years ranked third all-time in most single wins and second in most doubles wins. He continues to compete and remains a top-ranked player in the USTA Middle States Men’s Open Division.
He is a USPTA certified tennis professional, a member of both the ITA and USTA, and has attained his Masters in Sports Coaching from the United States Sports Academy.
