In her time as head coach at Columbia, Ilene Weintraub ’02CC has revitalized the women’s tennis program in every aspect, building the Lions into a consistently nationally-ranked program and Ivy League contender.
The winningest coach in program history, Weintraub led Columbia to their first Ivy League title in 2013 and two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2016. Under her leadership, the Lions earned their first national ranking in 2012 and continual year-end national rankings in recent seasons including a High ITA National Ranking of No. 21 in 2020. Weintraub was twice named ITA Northeast Coach of the Year.
Columbia has also won the ECAC Championship five times under Weintraub’s direction in 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2024.
The 2024 season saw the Lions contend for an Ivy League title as Columbia finished second in the final standings. Columbia started the season with a 10-2 record that vaulted the Lions into the ITA Top 25 for just the second time in program history. As part of the path to a No. 25 ranking, Columbia defeated Kentucky for its first win in program history against a team from the SEC. The Lions then defeated Dartmouth, Brown and Yale to claim the program’s fifth ECAC Championship during Weintraub’s tenure. Columbia went on to defeat Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth, Yale and Brown during Ivy League action as the Lions finished second in the league and fell just short of an NCAA Tournament bid. Columbia finished the season at No. 45 in the ITA rankings.
Weintraub’s players have also been successful in the classroom. In 2022, 15 of 17 players were honored on the Dean’s List and five players were inducted into the prestigious 4.0 Club.
Along with her duties at Columbia, Weintraub was the head pro at the Huntington Crescent Club in Long Island from 2013-2018, where she oversaw a tennis program for over 500 families. Prior to that, Weintraub was the Head Pro at the Old Field Club in Setauket, New York, from 2004-2013. She has also worked as the Head Assistant Pro at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, and as an assistant tennis pro at Willowbrook Swim & Tennis Club in Mt. Kisco, New York, and at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York.
Weintraub is one of a handful of student-athletes in Columbia Athletics history to make an impact on the field as a player and as a Lions head coach. A four-year tennis letterwinner from 1998-2002, Weintraub served as a team captain for two years and earned two All-Ivy League honors in doubles in both 1999 and 2000. She was also honored with the Women’s Tennis Award as a senior, which is given to the member of the women’s tennis team who has made the greatest contributions based on ability, competitive spirit, and team leadership. As a high school athlete, she garnered the prestigious 1998 Pegasus Award as New York City’s top high school women’s tennis athlete.
A Brooklyn, New York native, Weintraub resides in Manhattan with her wife Jacqueline and their two daughters, Emmanuelle and Winter.
