Dena Madden begins her fourth season as the Head Women's Tennis Coach at Merrimack College in 2019-20. Over three years, Madden owns an overall record of 26-16 (.619) as Merrimack's coach, and has saw her win total increase every season at the helm of the program.
The 2018-19 season was Madden's best to date, guiding the program to its sixth appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Finals in school history. Madden won 14 matches - the most of her coaching career - upon the conclusion of the 2018-19, tying the second highest single-season win total in school history. The Warriors surprised many in the region, improving on a preseason ranking to finish sixth in the conference to rank in second across the NE10 and capture a runner-up designation at the conclusion of the conference tournament. Merrimack's three-freshman recruiting class impressed, with each player ranking among the top five on the team in total victories. The Warriors saw five players earn all-conference accolades at season's end, including three singles player and one doubles pairing.
She was also honored during the 2018-19 season after she was named Maccabi USA’s Juniors & Youth Tennis Coach for 14th Pan American Maccabi Games for the summer of 2019.
2017-18 saw Madden guide the Warriors to their second Northeast-10 Championship under her direction, finishing the year with a 9-6 overall record and a 7-5 mark in the NE10. Madden owns a 12-9 overall record during her tenure including a 7-5 NE10 ledger in 2017. The Warriors finished in sixth place in the conference to reach the league tournament. Madden directed a pair of Warriors - Mia Briggs and Cassie Restrepo - to the quarterfinal round of the doubles bracket at ITA East Regionals, while Restrepo garnered NE10 All-Rookie Team recognition. The Warriors ended the 2017-18 campaign with a victory over Division I Holy Cross, Madden's first against a DI opponent.
During the 2016-17 year, Madden took over a program and led the Warriors to their fourth straight season with at least 10 victories. Merrimack advanced to the NE10 Championship for the fourth straight season, winning eight league games. Under her direction, Grace Messina earned NE10 All-Conference First Team honors, one of four all-league selections for Merrimack on the year.
Madden arrives at Merrimack from Cedardale Health & Fitness in Haverhill, Mass., where she served as a Management Consultant, working specifically in the tennis department at Cedardale. Madden is a certified Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) instructor, and assisted with all administrative responsibilities for the tennis department.
Additionally, Madden was responsible for special-event planning and marketing for the tennis programs. She served as the head of the organizational committee for the first-ever Smash Out Cancer tennis tournament, which raised over $12,000 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Jimmy Fund.
Madden still plays competitive tennis, playing in the USTA Mixed Doubles National Championships in both 2014 & 2016. In 2014 her team from New England placed third in the country. She also was recently selected and named to the USTA National Tennis on Campus Committee and will serve a two year term on this committee.
Madden also has a background in collegiate athletics, spending time at American University, St. Bonaventure University and the University of Massachusetts over the span of seven years.
At American, Madden served as the Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Women's Administrator. She managed support services for over 250 student-athletes and supervised all coaches and athletic staff. She arrived in nation's capital following a two-year stint at St. Bonaventure as the Assistant Athletic Director for Academics, and prior to that, a two-year period at UMass as the Academic Resource Coordinator for the Department of Athletics.
Madden graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in family and consumer science from UMass in 1995, and was a student-athlete with the Minutemen. She then continued her education at Amherst to earn her master's of education, specifically in higher education administration, in 1997.
Madden lives in Andover with her husband Casey and their two teenage children, Taylor and Jake.
