WASHINGTON – Georgetown University Men's and Women's Assistant Coach Freddy Mesmer announced on Friday that Michael Retta will be added to support the program as a volunteer assistant coach. Retta saw NCAA tournament success as a player while at Vanderbilt University and was a member of the No. 1 recruiting class in program history in 2011. 

"I am extremely excited to have Michael join our program for the spring of 2021," said Mesmer. " Michael brings a wealth of coaching experience from the junior level all the way to the top of the game. Michael's energy and passion for the sport is unmatched and will help us tremendously through this abbreviated season. Motivation has been crucial during these few weeks of practice and it is a pleasure having someone like Michael on board to continue to motivate and help create good habits for our student-athletes both on and off the court."

Retta finished his collegiate career at Vanderbilt with his team ranked as high as No. 11 in the ITA rankings. Most recently, he traveled working with Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren, ranked No. 59 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings, to the New York Open. Retta has also served as a supplement to Denis Kudla, ranked No. 110 in the ATP. 

"I am excited to join the Hoya family. It has always been a dream of mine to work with student-athletes at the collegiate level. Coach Mesmer is building a winning tradition at Georgetown, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. These young men and women will learn how to fight through adversity, and win both on and off the court.  Additionally, I am very excited about the stellar recruiting class Coach Mesmer is bringing next year. This is the first step of many taken under his leadership to help this program reach their ultimate goal, which is winning a Big East Title. I would like to thank the Georgetown Athletics Department for the opportunity, and look forward to the future. Go Hoya!"

In 2017, Retta spent a year coaching and traveling on the ATP Challenger Tour with Mitchell Frank (former college tennis No. 1 & NCAA champion). He is also the Assistant Director of Tennis at Hidden Creek Country Club, where he co-directs a junior tennis program that paves a path to college. This year alone his players from the club have committed to play at Haverford, MIT, Georgetown, Skidmore, George Washington, Swarthmore, and Sewanee respectively. 

Retta studied human organization development, and double minored in financial economics and corporate strategy while at Vanderbilt.