NYU Athletics

Alma Mater: NYU '87
Seasons as Head Coach: 33 (including 2025-26)
Career Record: 214-185 (.536)
ITA All-Americans: 25
UAA Coaching Staff of the Year: 1 (2023)

Horace Choy has been the head coach of the New York University women’s tennis team since taking over prior to the 1993-94 season. During his tenure, Choy’s teams have produced an overall 214-185 record, including 21 seasons of .500 or better.
 
During his tenure, Choy has coached 25 All-Americans: Jimena Menendez – 2024 & 2023 singles; Victoria Wang – 2024 singles; Dakota Fordham – 2024 & 2023 doubles, 2022 & 2021, singles & doubles; Isabella Hartman – 2024 & 2023 doubles; Ida Krause – 2022, singles & doubles; Carol Plakk -2021, singles & doubles; Karina Jensrud - 2019, singles; Anna Maria Buraya - 2019 doubles, 2017 singles; Anatasiia Balyk - 2019, doubles; Fleura Shiyanova - 2018 & 2017, doubles; Coco Kulle - 2018 & 2017, doubles; Laila El Dessouki - 2014, doubles; Carmen Lai - 2014, doubles).
 
The 2024-25 season was historic for the NYU tennis program as Menendez went where no Violet had ever gone before…to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Individual Tournament Championship. NYU’s all-time wins’ leader (63) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Singles Champion, Menendez won three matches to advance to the semi’s.
 
Wang also performed majestically for Choy in ’24-25. She fell to Menendez in the ITA Northeast Championship Final and teamed with Siona Vallabhaneni to advance to the ITA Northeast Doubles Championship. All three qualified for the ITA National Championships, with both Menendez and Wang earning All-America honors.
 
The squad posted an 8-7 record in dual matches in ’24-25, as the Violets ended the season ranked #18 nationally by the ITA and #1 in Region II.
 
Choy’s Violets were tabbed as an ITA All-Academic Team, 11 players were named ITA Scholar Athlete, six received University Athletic Association (UAA) All-Academic honors, while Hannah Chang was named College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District.         
 
 In 2023-24, the Violets went 6-5 in dual matches and finished the season ranked #49 in the nation by the ITA. Menendez won the ITA Northeast Region Singles Championship, while Fordham and Hartman took the ITA Doubles title and also went on to earn ITA All-America accolades. Menendez captured UAA First Team honors, while Fordham and Hartman received Honorable Mention.   
 
Off the court, eight players were tabbed as an ITA Scholar Athlete, five were named UAA All-Academic, Kendall Kamerschen was an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar, and the Violets took ITA All-Academic Team honors.
 
The 2022-23 campaign was historic for Choy and the Violets, as NYU qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in program history while Krause (singles and doubles) and Fordham (doubles) were NYU’s first-ever participants at the NCAA Individual Tournament. Despite the Violets falling to Kenyon College in the second round of the NCAA’s after receiving a first-round bye, the dynamic duo did win their opening-round matches of the Individual Tournament.
 
The ’22-23 squad matched the program record for most wins (11) and placed a program-best third at the UAA Championship as Choy and his assistants earned UAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
 
The Violets finished the season ranked #16 nationally by the ITA, the program’s highest-ever postseason rating.
 
Individually, Krause won the ITA Northeast Regional Singles Championship and combined with Fordham to snare the doubles crown. Both were selected First Team All-UAA in doubles, Krause received the nod in singles and Menendez took home Second Team honors in singles.
 
Team members also received accolades for their off-court accomplishments as 10 were named ITA Scholar-Athlete, five were selected UAA All-Academic, three earned CSC Academic All-District, and Krause was voted CSC Third Team Academic All-American.        
 
In 2021-22, Fordham and Plakk combined to win both the ITA Northeast Doubles Championship and the ITA Cup during the fall season, becoming the program’s first-ever National Champions. Fordham also won the ITA Northeast singles title with Plakk as the runner-up. Both players earned All-America honors in both singles and doubles.      
 
In the spring, Plakk earned First Team All-UAA First Singles and was selected as the ITA Northeast Region Rookie of the Year.
 
The Violets also fared well in their classrooms as seven team members earned UAA All-Academic honors and three (Lucy Avant, Pooja Muvva, Phoebe Su) received the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.
 
NYU did not compete in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, eight team members earned UAA All-Academic honors.
 
The 2019-20 campaign was cut short due to Covid-19, but the accomplishments were enough to fill an entire season. The Violets won all four of their dual matches in the abbreviated spring season and were ranked #17 in the nation and #10 in the Northeast Region by the ITA. During the fall, three of Choy’s players were victorious at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships. Jensrud took the singles title, while Buraya and Balyk combined to win the doubles crown.     
 
All three went on to compete at the ITA Oracle Cup and earn All-America honors. In addition, Buraya and Jensrud received All-UAA First and Second Team Singles honors, respectively, while combining for All-UAA First Doubles.
 
In the final ITA rankings of the season, Jensrud was placed #19 nationally and #7 in the Northeast Region in singles, while Buraya and Balyk were ranked #6 and #4, respectively, in doubles.
 
Choy’s players also excelled in the classroom as 10 were honored as ITA Scholar Athletes and six earned UAA All-Academic accolades.  
 
In 2018-19, Choy’s Violets posted a 10-2 match record and finished the season ranked #19 nationally by the ITA. The Violets also won two of its three matches at the UAA Championship, taking fifth place and matching the team’s highest finish since 2009. Buraya ended the season ranked #32 in singles by the ITA, while the doubles pair of Shiyanova and Kulle combined to win the ITA Northeast Region Doubles Championship and capture All-America recognition. Kulle also earned honors as First Team All-UAA Second Singles.
 
In 2017-18, the Violets also finished the year with a 10-2 record and earned its first-ever top-20 ITA ranking, ending the season at #20 nationally after peaking at #17 earlier in the season. Choy mentored three All-Americans during the campaign: Buraya, Kulle and Shiyanova. Additionally, Buraya and Kulle were named First Team All-UAA for singles and Honorable Mention All-UAA for doubles.
 
In 2016-17, Choy led the Violets to an 8-5 overall record, a #33 national ranking by the ITA and a #11 finish in the Northeast Region. Many individuals received accolades, highlighted by Rupa Ganesh being named Second Team All-UAA Third Singles. Ganesh and Judy Kam combined to record 10 #3 doubles victories, the highest one-season total in team history. 
 
In 2015-16, the Violets posted a 9-4 record, their most wins since 2006-07, and finished the season ranked #29 by the ITA, the program’s first-ever national ranking. Lai set a team mark with 20 singles wins, tied the program record with 11 #1 singles victories and notched the second-best single-season win percentage (.869, 20-3) in team annals. El Dessouki went 3-0 at the UAA Championship at #4 singles and earned Second Team All-UAA honors.

In 2014-15, for the first time in team history, NYU women’s tennis players earned ITA All-America honors. El Dessouki and Lai achieved the feat after winning the ITA Northeast Regional Doubles Championship during the fall. The Violet duo won five matches at the competition, including a three-set victory over the #1 pair from Vassar College in the finals.
In addition, El Dessouki and Lai automatically qualified for the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/ITA Small College Championships, where they wound up finishing seventh in the nation.
 
The 2013-14 season featured several notable performances, as Alison Wang led NYU in wins for the second straight season, posting an overall record of 7-3 at #1 singles. The Violets swept 11 doubles matches at the Vassar Invitational. Wang and Ashley Masanto advanced to the round of 16 in singles at the ITA Northeast Regionals, while also combining to reach the doubles semifinals. At the NY State Championships, Mari Tzakis and Madeline King reached the #3 and #4 singles finals, respectively.
 
In 2006-07, Choy led the Violets to their best-ever finish (fourth place) at the UAA Championship.
 
Prior to coming to NYU, Choy spent five seasons as the head girls’ tennis coach at New York City’s Hunter High School. His teams compiled a 38-2 record during his tenure at the school and three times advanced to the semifinals of the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) playoffs. Choy helped lead Hunter to the PSAL Championship match in 1990 and to two semifinal appearances in the Mayor’s Cup competition.
 
A 1987 graduate of NYU’s School of Business and Public Administration with a Bachelor of Science degree in management and marketing, Choy was a two-year member of the Violets’ men’s tennis team. Also serving as a tennis instructor at NYU, Choy has been a United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) certified teaching pro since 1990.
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“I have always enjoyed the camaraderie that comes with team sports,” Choy said. “Tennis also allows you to work on aspects of the game on your own. In a match, the player is out there on the line and you have to rely on your own character. I believe that playing college tennis really gives you the best of both worlds, and I really enjoy the challenge of helping my players through that.”
 
CHOY's YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD

* Season suspended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
** Season canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic