Women's Tennis
Bentley, Nigel
Nigel Bentley
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- bentleyn@bc.edu
- Phone:
- 552-3171
Nigel Bentley continues his tenure as the head coach of the Boston College women's tennis program with his 27th season in 2025-26.
Bentley has built Boston College into a consistently competitive program in the Northeast Region and an emerging force on the national level. He has guided the Eagles to 10 nationally-ranked finishes, including its highest ever in 2018-19.Â
In 2024, Bentley guided freshman Olivia Benton through a 7-0 run to the ITA New England Singles Regional Finals, finishing second. Benton also earned a spot in the NCAA Individual Championships after her ITA run.
Bentley coached the team to an 11-victory season in 2022-23, going .500 on the year. Bentley led the team to a no. 2 ITA Team Ranking, and players to multiple top 15 ranks, Marice Aguiar (2nd), Laura Lopez (12th), Sophia Edwards (15th), Aguiar/Lopez (3rd).
Bentley helped navigate the 2020-21 team through the COVID-19 pandemic, playing a full ACC schedule along with several non-conference matches. Yufei Long closed her career with her second appearance on the All-ACC Third Team. Long and Kylie Wilcox (58th) along with Laura Lopez and Marice Aguiar (68th) each closed the year ranked top-75 nationally in doubles.Â
His squad began the 2019-20 spring season 7-0 and finished 9-5 overall before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the remaining matches. Long and Wilcox closed the year ranked 38th nationally in doubles as the duo upset the ITA Fall All-American Doubles Champions from Yale. Long also became just the second Eagle in school history to compete in the main draw of the ITA Women's All-American Championships.
The Eagles put together a historic 2018-19 campaign under Bentley, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 22 years and only the second time in program history. BC also posted its highest win total in more than two decades (16), including its first-ever upset of a top-10 program when the Eagles took down No. 10 Syracuse 4-3 on Feb. 3, 2019 in Chestnut Hill. Boston College closed the season ranked 43rd in the ITA national rankings and No. 4 in the Northeast Region.
Long and Wilcox were both named to the All-ACC Third Team, giving BC at least two All-ACC honorees in four of the previous five seasons. Jackie Urbinati was later named the ITA's Most Improved Senior for the Northeast. Urbinati and Wilcox finished the season ranked 51st nationally in doubles and No. 1 in the Northeast. The pair went 14-7 overall and won seven straight matches to close the year, including three over teams ranked in the top-50.
Bentley's 2016-17 squad advanced to the ACC Quarterfinal for the first time in program history after wins over Virginia Tech and NC State. During the regular season, BC defeated Miami for the first time in school history with a dominant 6-1 victory over the 37th-ranked Hurricanes.Â
The 2014-15 season was the Eagles’ most impressive season in the ACC under Bentley, as the team went a record 7-7 in league play en route to a final national ranking of No. 50. Jessica Wacnik and Asiya Dair both earned Northeast ITA honors. Wacnik was selected as the region's Senior of the Year while finishing the year ranked 75th nationally, while Dair was the Rookie of the Year. The doubles duo of Wacnik and Lexi Borr finished the year ranked 60th.
During the 2013-14 season, Bentley led BC to a 14-10 overall record and a 6-8 ACC mark. The Eagles also made it to the second round of the ACC Championship, defeating Pitt 4-0 along the way. Boston College finished with a No. 51 national ranking.
Bentley guided the 2011-12 team to another successful season on the Heights. The Eagles tallied 10 wins for the fifth time in his tenure, going 10-13 on the year. They also tallied three ACC wins for the second straight year, finishing with a 3-8 record. Bentley led the Maroon and Gold to the program's first-ever win over NC State amidst a three-game win streak that also included a victory over Wake Forest.
BC finished fourth in the Northeast and had four players finish the season ranked in the region, led by Erina Kikuchi (sixth) who earned All-ACC and ITA Northeast Senior of the Year accolades and was ranked 114th in the nation. Doubles pair Olga Khmylev and Alex Kelleher ranked 82nd nationally and eighth in the region while Wacnik ended the season with a regional ranking of No. 9. Khymlev and Kelleher were the first pair in BC history to advance to the Quarterfinals at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in the fall while Katarina Gajic was the first Eagle in many years to earn an automatic bid to the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship.
The 2010-11 season raised the standard of success at BC. Bentley guided the Eagles to a 9-14 record, a program-best three Atlantic Coast Conference wins and a final national ranking of 45, the best finish in school history at the time. Gajic was pinned with a final national ranking of 123 and led a group of four Eagles featured in the final northeast regional rankings. The successful spring campaign complimented a fall season that saw the Eagles capture singles and doubles titles at the USTA Billy Jean King Women's College Invitational, the Big Green Invitational and the Brown Invitational.
In each of the previous three seasons, Bentley coached four individuals to regional rankings.
Prior to assuming the reigns of the women's team, Bentley was the head coach of the BC men's tennis team for four years.
A United States Professional Tennis Association member with a professional-one rating, Bentley has held head director positions at country clubs throughout Massachusetts, as well as across the United States and internationally.
Since his arrival at the Heights, Bentley had served as the President of the BIG EAST Tennis Coaches Association and represented Boston College on both the ITA and NCAA Regional Selection Committees. He also served on the BIG EAST Conference's Seeding and Selection Committee and completed the USTA High Performance Program.
Before coming to Chestnut Hill in 1995 to assume an assistant coaching position on the men's team, Bentley served as tennis director at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod from 1987-94. Bentley was then hired as tennis director at the prestigious Concord Country Club in 1995. Previously, he held similar posts at Cap Juluca in Anguilla, British West Indies, Cascade Tennis Club in Vail, Colorado, and Sunrise Country Club in Palm Springs, California.
A 1983 graduate of Connecticut College, Bentley was inducted into his alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2003.
In his life outside of Chestnut Hill, Bentley provides occasional columns and features on New England tennis for local weekly newspapers and has completed five Boston marathons.
COACHING CAREER
1995-1996 | Boston College - Assistant Coach
1996-2000 | Boston College - Men's Head Coach
1999-present | Boston College - Women's Head Coach
PLAYING CAREER
1979-1983 | Connecticut College
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Bentley has built Boston College into a consistently competitive program in the Northeast Region and an emerging force on the national level. He has guided the Eagles to 10 nationally-ranked finishes, including its highest ever in 2018-19.Â
In 2024, Bentley guided freshman Olivia Benton through a 7-0 run to the ITA New England Singles Regional Finals, finishing second. Benton also earned a spot in the NCAA Individual Championships after her ITA run.
Bentley coached the team to an 11-victory season in 2022-23, going .500 on the year. Bentley led the team to a no. 2 ITA Team Ranking, and players to multiple top 15 ranks, Marice Aguiar (2nd), Laura Lopez (12th), Sophia Edwards (15th), Aguiar/Lopez (3rd).
Bentley helped navigate the 2020-21 team through the COVID-19 pandemic, playing a full ACC schedule along with several non-conference matches. Yufei Long closed her career with her second appearance on the All-ACC Third Team. Long and Kylie Wilcox (58th) along with Laura Lopez and Marice Aguiar (68th) each closed the year ranked top-75 nationally in doubles.Â
His squad began the 2019-20 spring season 7-0 and finished 9-5 overall before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the remaining matches. Long and Wilcox closed the year ranked 38th nationally in doubles as the duo upset the ITA Fall All-American Doubles Champions from Yale. Long also became just the second Eagle in school history to compete in the main draw of the ITA Women's All-American Championships.
The Eagles put together a historic 2018-19 campaign under Bentley, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 22 years and only the second time in program history. BC also posted its highest win total in more than two decades (16), including its first-ever upset of a top-10 program when the Eagles took down No. 10 Syracuse 4-3 on Feb. 3, 2019 in Chestnut Hill. Boston College closed the season ranked 43rd in the ITA national rankings and No. 4 in the Northeast Region.
Long and Wilcox were both named to the All-ACC Third Team, giving BC at least two All-ACC honorees in four of the previous five seasons. Jackie Urbinati was later named the ITA's Most Improved Senior for the Northeast. Urbinati and Wilcox finished the season ranked 51st nationally in doubles and No. 1 in the Northeast. The pair went 14-7 overall and won seven straight matches to close the year, including three over teams ranked in the top-50.
Bentley's 2016-17 squad advanced to the ACC Quarterfinal for the first time in program history after wins over Virginia Tech and NC State. During the regular season, BC defeated Miami for the first time in school history with a dominant 6-1 victory over the 37th-ranked Hurricanes.Â
The 2014-15 season was the Eagles’ most impressive season in the ACC under Bentley, as the team went a record 7-7 in league play en route to a final national ranking of No. 50. Jessica Wacnik and Asiya Dair both earned Northeast ITA honors. Wacnik was selected as the region's Senior of the Year while finishing the year ranked 75th nationally, while Dair was the Rookie of the Year. The doubles duo of Wacnik and Lexi Borr finished the year ranked 60th.
During the 2013-14 season, Bentley led BC to a 14-10 overall record and a 6-8 ACC mark. The Eagles also made it to the second round of the ACC Championship, defeating Pitt 4-0 along the way. Boston College finished with a No. 51 national ranking.
Bentley guided the 2011-12 team to another successful season on the Heights. The Eagles tallied 10 wins for the fifth time in his tenure, going 10-13 on the year. They also tallied three ACC wins for the second straight year, finishing with a 3-8 record. Bentley led the Maroon and Gold to the program's first-ever win over NC State amidst a three-game win streak that also included a victory over Wake Forest.
BC finished fourth in the Northeast and had four players finish the season ranked in the region, led by Erina Kikuchi (sixth) who earned All-ACC and ITA Northeast Senior of the Year accolades and was ranked 114th in the nation. Doubles pair Olga Khmylev and Alex Kelleher ranked 82nd nationally and eighth in the region while Wacnik ended the season with a regional ranking of No. 9. Khymlev and Kelleher were the first pair in BC history to advance to the Quarterfinals at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in the fall while Katarina Gajic was the first Eagle in many years to earn an automatic bid to the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship.
The 2010-11 season raised the standard of success at BC. Bentley guided the Eagles to a 9-14 record, a program-best three Atlantic Coast Conference wins and a final national ranking of 45, the best finish in school history at the time. Gajic was pinned with a final national ranking of 123 and led a group of four Eagles featured in the final northeast regional rankings. The successful spring campaign complimented a fall season that saw the Eagles capture singles and doubles titles at the USTA Billy Jean King Women's College Invitational, the Big Green Invitational and the Brown Invitational.
In each of the previous three seasons, Bentley coached four individuals to regional rankings.
Prior to assuming the reigns of the women's team, Bentley was the head coach of the BC men's tennis team for four years.
A United States Professional Tennis Association member with a professional-one rating, Bentley has held head director positions at country clubs throughout Massachusetts, as well as across the United States and internationally.
Since his arrival at the Heights, Bentley had served as the President of the BIG EAST Tennis Coaches Association and represented Boston College on both the ITA and NCAA Regional Selection Committees. He also served on the BIG EAST Conference's Seeding and Selection Committee and completed the USTA High Performance Program.
Before coming to Chestnut Hill in 1995 to assume an assistant coaching position on the men's team, Bentley served as tennis director at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod from 1987-94. Bentley was then hired as tennis director at the prestigious Concord Country Club in 1995. Previously, he held similar posts at Cap Juluca in Anguilla, British West Indies, Cascade Tennis Club in Vail, Colorado, and Sunrise Country Club in Palm Springs, California.
A 1983 graduate of Connecticut College, Bentley was inducted into his alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2003.
In his life outside of Chestnut Hill, Bentley provides occasional columns and features on New England tennis for local weekly newspapers and has completed five Boston marathons.
COACHING CAREER
1995-1996 | Boston College - Assistant Coach
1996-2000 | Boston College - Men's Head Coach
1999-present | Boston College - Women's Head Coach
PLAYING CAREER
1979-1983 | Connecticut College
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