Nervous and on edge, Katie Dougherty prepared for a conversation with Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta in early June.
Dougherty, the head coach of the Hawkeyes women’s tennis program for seven seasons, had to tell Barta the previous season would be her last.
Her closest relatives lived eight hours away and she was planning to have a baby boy, who is now 11 days old. With each flight back to Maryland, the possibility of returning became more intriguing for the Ellicott City native.
Dougherty had spoken to Maryland women’s tennis coach Daria Panova about joining the Terps a few seasons ago, but “the timing wasn’t right.” But after Panova made a staff change and Dougherty informed Barta about the opening, the Terps made Dougherty’s homecoming as an assistant coach official.
“[Barta] said he could wrap his head around this and understand me taking care of my family,” Dougherty said. “I’m taking a huge pay cut and moving to a place that’s much more expensive. I think people look at this maybe as a step backwards, but the timing is right for our family.”
In 2010, Dougherty’s first season as head coach at Iowa, the Hawkeyes went 17-8 and reached No. 18, the highest mark in program history. The success helped the Hawkeyes advance to the 2010 NCAA Championship matches, and the team’s 17 wins made Dougherty the winningest first-year head coach in Iowa history.
In Dougherty’s stint in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes earned five first-team All-Big Ten honors and 22 Academic All-Big Ten honors and advance two doubles teams to the NCAA Championships.
“She sees the potential in our team,” Panova said. “We’ve been missing this little extra push that’s hopefully going to get us to a different level this year. It’s a lot of mental games and encouragement and leading by example, and that’s what she does.”
Dougherty, whose parents and younger sister still live in Maryland, served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Wisconsin before joining the Hawkeyes. Her 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes were recognized nationally by Tennisrecruiting.net. While Dougherty coached the Badgers, Panova was an assistant at Minnesota, and the two have known each other for more than eight years.
Dougherty also played at Wisconsin as a nationally ranked doubles player, finishing her career with 45 victories in doubles and 45 victories in singles competitions.
In Maryland’s matchup with Iowa last season, Dougherty’s coaching style stood out to Panova. A last-match victory over an Iowa freshman led to a 4-3 Terps win, but Dougherty’s calm nature shined through the duel.
“It came down to the wire,” Panova said. “She’s been close, but we just have a little bit more talent on this team. I feel like she was able to get that far in matches with coaching and now we have as well the talent that’s going to help us get there.
Since Panova can’t watch every match, her staff is responsible for evaluating player performance during each contest. Panova anticipates that’s where Dougherty, who knew she wanted to coach since her playing days with the Badgers, will have the biggest impact.
Several local head coaches have reached out to Panova and expressed interest in watching Maryland’s home matches this season after she announced Dougherty’s position.
“I love the recruiting aspect of it and determining what players are a good fit,” Dougherty. “With Under Armour and Kevin Plank, and Kevin Anderson and the leadership and moving into this new phase, the Maryland brand has never been more interesting and hotter.”
