Saint John’s Nassief collects county coach of the year in girls tennis

There are two things Todd Nassief said he’ll never take for granted.

The first is players who are willing to work hard for his Saint John tennis program, and second is other coaches who put in the same type of effort for their programs.

Nassief has been named the Ashtabula County Girls Tennis Coach of the Year for 2025, based on a vote from the other county coaches.

The Heralds went 17-2 against a schedule which included much bigger schools such as Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, Mentor, Perry, and Willoughby South.

Saint John won the Ashtabula County Girls’ Tennis Tournament for the third time in the past four years n August.

“I’m honored to receive the award,” Nassief said. “I never take it for granted. You never know when the last time you’ll earn one. I know all of the area coaches, and they work very hard on their programs, and I think highly of all of them.”

Over the past four years, the Saint John program has had a winning percentage of 88%.

Dedication and commitment are qualities no coach can teach.

Nassief said the girls who play for Saint John over the years have always brought that with them to the court every day.

“Success begins and ends with the players,” Nassief said. “Their commitment is really the secret. It’s why we’ve been so successful. Our success would not be possible without this great group of players.”

Saint John was led by Co-Player of the Year Maggie Hoza, who posted a record of 22-7 at first singles and qualified for the Division II district tournament.

She’s the second player from the Saint John girls tennis team to reach the district as a singles player, the other being Julianne Sheldon.

The Heralds had a lot of talent and depth this season.

In singles, Lily Perry was 17-7 at second and Jullianna Beltavaski checked in 17-3 at third.

The Heralds also had strong doubles teams.

Taylor Fusek and Maddie Holler went 19-4 at first doubles, while the tandem of Joslyn Petro and Lili Aughinbaugh finished 17-4 at second.

Delaney Tirotta came off the bench to fill in when needed and went 2-0 playing singles and 5-0 in doubles.

Nassief said all of his players did a tremendous job of representing their school, not just through their play, but through the attitude and integrity they displayed during the game.

“I tell the girls, you cannot always control the outcome of the match,” Nassief said. “But, you can always control your attitude and effort, and I think they did a great job of that this year. I’m so proud of them.”

Nassief said he could not have achieved the success he did without the services of his assistant coaches — Kayla Johnston, Janet Yeagley, and Allen Neuhofs — as well as the players’ parents, who he said play a “critical role” in developing players.

He is also thankful for the support the program gets from Heralds Athletic Director Nick Iarocci and Saint John School President Sister Maureen Burke.

“They’re so supportive of the tennis program,” Nassief said. ”Anything we need, they always take care of it for us.”