SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker has announced the hiring of Nicolas (Nico) Vinel as head coach of the Aztec women’s tennis team on Tuesday. Vinel, who has spent the last 11 seasons at SDSU, including the last six years as the associate head coach, takes over for Peter Mattera, who announced his retirement after 33 seasons as San Diego State’s head coach.
Vinel started as a volunteer coach with the Aztecs in 2014-15, before being promoted to assistant coach in 2016-17 and eventually associate head coach in 2019-20.
Under his six years as an associate head coach, SDSU has produced 19 all-Mountain West players and seven MW Players of the Week. San Diego State has also excelled in the classroom, earning 32 academic all-MW honors and 11 MW scholar-athletes, while garnering ITA All-Academic team honors for four seasons.
“I am incredibly honored to step into the role as head coach of this program which has meant so much to me and my family over this last decade,” said Vinel. “I want to thank JD Wicker and (deputy A.D., people & culture) Jenny Bramer for the opportunity of a lifetime, and for their belief in my vision for the team’s future. I’m especially grateful to Coach Mattera for the remarkable leadership, mentorship, and the foundation he leaves behind after 40-plus years at San Diego State. I look forward to bringing my passion and the knowledge I’ve gained to build on the success of the program. I am so excited to get started.”
“I'm excited to have Nico ascend to the head coaching role for our women's tennis program,” said Wicker. “He's been involved in the program for the last 11 seasons, and we've seen tremendous growth in his coaching and ability to work with the team. I think Nico is going to do a phenomenal job with the young women in our program and leading San Diego State going forward.”
In his role as associate head coach, Vinel assisted in all aspects of running the San Diego State women’s tennis program – both on-court and off-court. On the court, he was extremely involved with practices, assisting with one-on-one drills and with on-court coaching during matches. Vinel played an integral role in helping SDSU winning the Mountain West regular season championship this past season, and MW tournament championships in both 2022 and 2024.
Off the court, Vinel played a key role in scheduling, recruiting, and monitoring academics. Vinel considered one of the most fulfilling parts of his job to be his ability to offer players guidance through their entire experience as student-athletes.
“Nico is a wonderful coach and has been incredible to work with the last 11 years,” said Mattera. “He’s the right person for the job, and I feel very confident that he will take this program and do great things. I’m excited to follow Aztec Tennis in the future under his leadership.”
In 2025, the Aztecs won the regular season MW Championship for the first time since 2013, boasting a 17-7 record and 9-1 mark in the MW, which is the best conference record in program history.
Prior to his arrival to San Diego State, Vinel spent several years coaching elite players in the South of France, where he worked and traveled with the country’s top Europeans junior players as well as some athletes ranked in the top 100 world ATP/WTA rankings.
A native of France, Vinel began his American collegiate career as a player at Virginia Commonwealth Univ. In his first season, he earned the Colonial Athletic Association “Freshman of the Year” award, helping lead his team to win the CAA conference championship with a 19-8 record.
Vinel then transferred to Santa Clara Univ., where he ultimately became captain of the highest-ranked tennis team in school history. During his senior year, he led the Broncos to the second round of the NCAA Division I tournament following their victory against No. 15 Texas. Vinel graduated from SCU in 2012 with a degree in economics.
The France native is married to the former Kacie Wagner, and has a daughter, Luna, and a son, Noah.