A proven leader and winner, German Dalmagro (pronounced Her-mahn Dal-mahg-ro) has been hired to guide the Nebraska women’s tennis program. Nebraska Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Trev Alberts officially announced the hiring on Wednesday, with Dalmagro becoming the 10th head coach in the history of the Husker program.
“We are excited to welcome German and his family back to Nebraska and look forward to him leading our women’s tennis program,” Alberts said. “German has a strong record of recruiting and developing outstanding players, and he has extensive experience in the Big Ten Conference including his previous success at Nebraska. He was also an excellent collegiate singles and doubles player, allowing him to relate well to the players in his program.”
Dalmagro comes to Nebraska after spending the 2023 season as the head coach of the Arkansas State women’s program, adding head coaching experience to a strong resume of success throughout his career. He returns to Lincoln after serving as the Huskers’ associate head coach for five seasons from 2014 to 2018, when he helped Nebraska improve its win total every season.
“I would like to thank Keith (Zimmer), Trev and the search committee for their efforts in the hiring process and for trusting me to be the next Head Coach at Nebraska,” Dalmagro said. “I would also like to thank Jeff Purinton, Amy Holt and the whole Arkansas State department for their support and trust during my time there. It’s a great school with great people, and I wish them the best.
“I am very grateful, humbled and honored to represent the Huskers and to keep building the team to new heights. We will work hard in recruiting and developing our players on and off the courts to represent the ‘N’ with integrity, pride and grit. I am very excited for this opportunity to lead the team, and I can’t wait to get started.
“It’s a coming home kind of feeling. My family and I loved our time in Lincoln, and I couldn’t be more excited to be back as the next head coach. None of this would be possible without my wife Karly and her unconditional support, and for allowing me to follow my dreams. I am looking forward to being a part of Nebraska and the community with her and our children.”
Dalmagro has nearly two decades of overall collegiate coaching experience, including nine seasons in the Big Ten Conference. Before taking over the Arkansas State program in January of 2023, Dalmagro was the associate head coach at Illinois for four seasons.
Dalmagro has helped the Illini secure top-25 ranked recruiting classes two out of his final three years in Champaign. In 2022, Illinois wrapped up the regular season with a 15-8 overall record and finished tied for third with an 8-3 record in the Big Ten Conference.
In the 2020-21 campaign, Illinois was 9-9 playing a conference-only schedule, finishing the season with a 4-3 victory over seventh-ranked Northwestern. In November of 2022, he helped the doubles team of Kate Doung and Meagan Heuser win their first professional tournament at the Fighting Illini Women's Open USTA/ITF 15k in Champaign, marking the first pro tournament title by a doubles team in school history.
In Dalmagro's first season in 2018-19, Illinois posted a 16-12 overall record, earning three wins over top-20 programs and seven wins over top-50 opponents. The Illini advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Finals for the first time since 2001 and made the NCAA Tournament.
While with the Illini, Dalmagro assisted in the development of the second All-American in program history, Asuka Kawai. Kawai was the first Illini individual since 2005 to qualify for the NCAA Singles Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals for the best finish in program history.
Dalmagro’s time as associate head coach at Nebraska was a rousing success. He helped the Huskers earn a top-60 national ranking in each of his five seasons, including a high of No. 21 in the 2017-18 season. The women's tennis program also excelled academically during his tenure, as the tennis team earned the Herman Award for the top GPA among all women’s programs in both 2014 and 2018.
Dalmagro served as assistant women's tennis coach at Kansas from 2006 to 2013 helping the program earn seven All-Big 12 singles and doubles honors. The Jayhawks reached the Elite 8 in doubles at the All-American Championships in 2009. The program had 13 Academic All-Big 12 players in his tenure with the Jayhawks.
Dalmagro began his coaching career at the University of West Florida for the 2005-06 season. As an assistant coach for men's and women's tennis, he helped both squads reach the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Both squads attained a top-five national ranking as Gulf South Conference champions.
Dalmagro was a standout player at West Florida and Abrahama Baldwin Agricultural College. He helped lead West Florida to back-to-back NCAA Division II Championships in 2004 and 2005 and was part of the 2005 Gulf South Conference champion team and 2004 Gulf South runner-up squad. His career was highlighted by All-America honors in 2004 (doubles), 2003 (singles and doubles) and 2002 (singles and doubles). He was ranked nationally as high as No. 3 in doubles and No. 11 in singles.
Dalmagro and his wife, Karly, have two sons, Enzo and Luca, and one daughter, Lucia.