EU Tennis Season at a Standstill After Coach’s Controversial Departure

EU Tennis player and senior Asma Hasan prepares to receive a serve during practice. || Photo by Bentley Barrington

The women’s tennis team’s season was cast in uncertainty following the Sept. 6 resignation of Director of Tennis Max O’Malley, days after he allegedly verbally lashed out at a student-athlete during practice.

O’Malley resigned from his part-time coaching position because he accepted a new job outside of Elmhurst, according to Glen Brittich, the director of athletics. The team has not been able to play any of its matches since he stepped down.

According to multiple players, O’Malley was placed on administrative leave, shortly after, women’s tennis player Asma Hasan said, O’Malley told her to “fuck off” during practice. Hasan said she immediately left to report the language to Brittich and Assistant Director of Athletics Shawna Armstrong, along with players Olivia Hernandez and Anastasiia Shymkiv.

O’Malley did not respond to requests for comment.

Players who were at the practice said O’Malley received a phone call after Hasan left with Hernandez and Shymkiv. They said O’Malley stepped away from the courts before returning and informing the players that he had been placed on administrative leave. He apologized to the players for what he said to Hasan and said their next two matches would be postponed, according to one player.

Brittich said he cannot comment on personnel matters, and did not confirm that his department placed O’Malley on administrative leave.

Hasan said she received an email earlier in the day from O’Malley asking the team to turn in their athletic paperwork. Around 1 p.m. that day, Hasan emailed her forms to Kristin Garcia, the assistant athletic trainer, and CC’d O’Malley (The Leader reviewed a copy of the email). But when she showed up to her 3 p.m. practice at the Lester Brune Tennis Courts, O’Malley told her she needed to leave because she wasn’t medically cleared to play, Hasan said. Hernandez and Shymkiv were also asked to leave practice due to incomplete paperwork.

When Hasan told O’Malley she had sent an email with her forms attached, he responded, “Don’t fucking lie to me,” according to Hasan.

Hasan said she then took out her phone to open her Outlook app. She said O’Malley told her, “I don’t care. I’m pissed off. You all should have had this done days ago.”

O’Malley added, “Either stay and run for three hours or fuck off,” according to Hasan. Hernandez, who heard the interaction, confirmed the general language used.

“Asma got really sad and upset,” Hernandez said. “She doesn’t get upset, she holds her temper really good usually.”

Hasan said O’Malley approached her aggressively and that the interaction left her taken aback — that she lost sleep the following week and her room was a mess.

“I get a bit nervous, and I feel pretty threatened by him at that moment,” Hasan said.

Hernandez and former women’s tennis player AnnaSophia Stone said that O’Malley never seemed physically threatening, but that he could be prone to anger.

Hernandez and Hasan agreed that O’Malley was kind sometimes during practice, and that he helped guide the team. The players said their practices were going great until Friday.

Several players who spoke to The Leader said they have an overall positive view of O’Malley, but noted he swears often. While some said this isn’t out of the ordinary for coaches, others said the swearing was excessive and not something they experienced with previous coaches. Hernandez described O’Malley as a conflicting coach.

“I personally always thought he was nice. And he gave good pointers, good tips,” Hernandez said, speaking about O’Malley’s behavior previous to the Friday practice. “He helped us out a lot. And then, there were a couple of people he was specifically mean to. He swore a lot.”

Hasan said that this time it was completely out of the ordinary and over the line. She also said that less than 24 hours before the Friday practice, O’Malley was kind to her — complimenting her play and telling her he’s seen a lot of improvement, making the words exchanged the next day particularly surprising.

“I look forward to going to practice after a long day and getting all my stress out on the court,” Hasan said. “I didn’t expect to walk in and get added stress because of something I didn’t do wrong.”

Men’s tennis player Isaac Puchalla said that O’Malley was sometimes unprofessional — often growing upset when losing practice games to players or, at times, throwing his racket.

O’Malley was hired in August 2025. He is a 2024 graduate from the University of Arizona and majored in economics. He was the assistant coach to the wheelchair tennis team at the University of Arizona and worked in sales and tourism before arriving at EU, according to his LinkedIn.

“His coaching experience and leadership skills will be instrumental in developing our tennis programs,” said Brittich about O’Malley when he was hired, according to a press release published in the DuPage Policy Journal in August 2025.

The women’s 2025-26 season record was 0-10 overall, 0-5 conference. The men’s 2025-26 season record was 0-8 overall, 0-7 conference.

Brittich said the athletic department is working to provide interim leadership while they are in the process of hiring new coaching staff. Graduate assistant Olivia Grabowski, who is helping to coach the players in the meantime, said the department plans to hire two new coaches: one for the men’s and one for the women’s.

The women’s tennis team is actively in season, but they have yet to play a game. All of their matches so far have been postponed, which will most likely push their season into the colder months. As of publication, their first four games have all yet to be played.

The tennis teams were notified of their coach’s resignation on Sept. 7, when Brittich texted a team group chat that O’Malley “has resigned as Director of Tennis effective immediately,” according to a copy of the text viewed by The Leader.

The university-sponsored practices were also canceled temporarily, meaning it was up to the team to come together and practice when they could. Structured practices resumed last week, according to players.

“Our team relationship and our team dynamic was very solid because the only thing that had been consistent for the past three years was us,” Stone said.

Stone, a senior, played tennis her first three years before quitting, citing poor programming. She played under four coaches during her three years — counting Armstrong as interim coach in 2025 — and said that O’Malley never should have been hired, citing his age and experience.

Players have said O’Malley continues to play tennis at the Wilder Park courts, which are just across South Prospect Avenue from EU. Hasan said he approached her to say hi while she was playing there, but she ignored him.

Freshman men’s tennis player Carmelo Volacek came to EU to play tennis. He said O’Malley was a way to get better.

“It was kind of sad to see him go for me, because now we have no coach,” Volacek said.

Puchalla, a senior, commented on the lack of coaching the tennis team has had since he began playing his sophomore year: “We’re more used to not having a coach than having a coach, which is kind of crazy to say, but that’s the reality.”

Puchalla said that he still loved his experience playing tennis at EU. He enjoys the strong team dynamic and looks forward to his senior year.

Hasan, who continues to look forward to practices, is excited for when the team will resume their matches. Hernandez and Hasan said the athletic directors have been very supportive.

“They’re there for me. They’re there for our team,” Hasan said. “They’re figuring everything out for us. They do want us to have a fun and engaging season with the right leader, because our previous leader was not as supportive.”

Brittich said his department is “currently working to identify the opportunities for our student-athletes to be able to compete this fall. We talk with our student-athletes about these details as they come available.”