Marina Cooper, a 2014 A-State Hall of Honor inductee, is entering her fifth season as the head coach of the Arkansas State Women’s tennis program.
During her fourth season at the helm she helped the Red Wolves win their first victory in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since the 2010-11 season with a 4-3 victory over Appalachian State. It was also the first victory in the tournament during Cooper’s career. Cooper also helped guide Tamara Slijcpecevic to her fourth straight Sun Belt All-Conference selection, the first player in Red Wolves’ tennis history to accomplish the feat. Slijcpecevic finished with 50 careers wins, tied for sixth most in school history, all of which came under the direction of Cooper.
The Red Wolves’ success also extended to the classroom where the team won the Sun Belt Conference team GPA award of the third consecutive season. The squad also placed four members on the SBC Commissioner’s List and an additional team member on the SBC Academic Honor Roll.
During her third season as the Red Wolves to a 6-11 record, including a 4-0 home record, marking the first time since 2000 A-State finished a season undefeated at home. The Red Wolves also claimed the Sun Belt Conference's team academic award for the second year in a row, continuing a strong tradition of academic success in the Arkansas State women's tennis program.
During her second season as head coach, the Red Wolves went 5-11 in 2013 and suffered a narrow defeat to MTSU in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by a score of 4-3. Sophomore Tamara Slijepcevic was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team for singles play and A-State won the conference's academic award.
After being named Arkansas State's head coach before the 2011 fall season, the Red Wolves attained an 11-9 record during the 2012 dual match season. A-State freshman Tamara Slijepcevic was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Team under Cooper's watch.
Cooper was an assistant coach under former head coach Marcia Williams from 2007-2011. She helped the team to double-digit victories in three of her five seasons as an assistant coach, including the 2011 team that was 10-7 and advanced to the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. During her time as an assistant coach, the Red Wolves had three players named All-Sun Belt Conference, including Biljana Miloshevska in 2011.
Also during Cooper's tenure as an assistant coach with the Red Wolves, the tennis program continued its academic success as well. The Red Wolves have been selected as an ITA All-Academic Team each year since 1999 and has historically almost always been at 100 percent for the Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
In addition to her responsibilities as an assistant coach, she was also the Coordinator of Wellness Programs at the newly opened Red W.O.L.F. Center for three years and served as a part-time instructor at Arkansas State University for five years. Cooper taught Health Promotion II for Exercise Science majors and several sections of Concepts of Fitness, Fitness Walking, Tennis and Badminton.
Prior to serving as an assistant coach, Cooper was one of the most decorated and successful players at No. 1 singles for Arkansas State for three seasons after playing No. 2 her freshman year. At No. 1, Engelbrecht posted an overall mark of 37-9. A two-time All-Sun Belt Conference performer, she was also successful as one-half of A-State’s No. 1 doubles pair throughout her career. Her all-conference selections came at a time when only six players made up one team.
She was one of the toughest players to ever put on an A-State uniform after playing through several injuries in her career. She would never come out of a game and always gave her all. She wasn't very highly recruited out of South Africa due to not being able to play as much as wealthier peers and suffering an ankle injury before coming to Arkansas State.
The Bloemfontein, South Africa native graduated from A-State in 2006 with a degree in exercise science and received her master's degree in exercise science in August 2008. While a student, she was a member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester and was also a four-time member of the ITA All-Academic team and Scholar-Athlete list.
During the spring of 2006, Cooper received the prestigious Terry Gwin Award, one of the two highest awards an A-State student-athlete may receive.
She married Duane Cooper of Jonesboro, Ark., on June 28, 2014.
