After some 40 years at the helm (or nearby), Peter Mattera has retired as Aztec Women’s Head Coach.
In a series of announcements praising his achievements (including two recent 17-7 seasons), the Aztec athletic department declared its pride in his accomplishments over 33 seasons as head coach. Simultaneously, Nico Vinel has been promoted from Associate Head Coach to Head Coach.
“Since taking over as head coach in 1993,” said a SDSU statement, “Mattera guided San Diego State to 22 winning seasons and 14 berths in the last 28 NCAA tournaments.”
Aztec athletic director John David Wicker declared:
“During Mattera’s tenure with the Aztecs, the women’s tennis program has been one of the nation’s best, winning 13 conference championships.”
Aztec Tennis Reporter salutes Coach Mattera for his achievements, including his team winning the 2025 Mountain West regular season championship.
Aztec women’s tennis is an extraordinary story in NCAA tennis. From 1976 to 1994, the Aztec women’s head coach was Carol Plunkett, a remarkably talented leader. Her teams won 299 matches and 14 of her players took All American honors 24 times, leading to her election to the Aztec Athletic Hall of Fame.
Her assistant, Mattera, the son of a teaching pro at the famed Hotel del Coronado, praised her in his retirement remarks:
“I want to thank Aztec Hall of Famer Carol Plunkett, who took a chance on me and offered me a job as her assistant. She taught me so much, not just how to do the job, but how to do it with grace, compassion, and gratitude. I’ll be forever grateful to her for her kindness and mentorship. I tried to incorporate the things she taught me in my career, and I hope I was successful.”
Mattera praised Vinel in a statement released by the SDSU Athletic Department: “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.”
