LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 29, 2018) – Former Oklahoma Christian tennis standout Jaime Sanchez- Cañamares has joined the women's staff at Nebraska as an assistant coach.

Nebraska head coach Scott Jacobsen announced the hiring of Sanchez- Cañamares on Monday. Sanchez- Cañamares spent last season as an assistant coach at another NCAA Division I program, Florida State, and also has worked for former OC head coach Chris Young with the women's program at Oklahoma State.

"I would like to thank Scott Jacobson and (Senior Associate Athletic Director) Keith Zimmer for the opportunity to be part of this incredible institution," Sanchez-Cañamares said. "From the very first moment, Nebraska felt like home and that is special to my family and I. I'm extremely thrilled and humbled to start this journey with coach Jacobson and I can't wait to hit the ground running as we aim to take Nebraska women's tennis to new heights. It's great to be a Husker!"

Last year, Sanchez-Cañamares helped Florida State to a 21-9 record, that program's best win total since 1999. The team advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before falling to No. 2 seed Vanderbilt. Florida State's appearance in the Elite Eight marked the first time in school history the team advanced past the Sweet 16. He helped guide the Seminoles to a No. 16 ITA/No. 11 UTSA ranking and the team defeated Florida twice in a season for the first time in program history.

"I feel incredibly grateful to have found someone of Jaime's caliber to join our Husker family," Jacobson said. "He is a rising star in the world of college coaching and has tremendous passion for the game. Jaime is going to have a positive and powerful impact on the future of Nebraska's program. In addition, he is genuine and caring in nature and will be incredibly supportive of our student-athletes."

Sanchez-Cañamares, from Albacete, Spain, spent two years at OC, in 2012 and 2013. He started on the 2012 team that won the NAIA title, posting a 22-1 singles record. He rallied from a 3-1 third-set deficit to win the decisive singles match in a 5-4 semifinal victory over Embry-Riddle (Fla.), then took a third-set tiebreaker to win his singles match in the final against Fresno Pacific (Calif.), which OC also won 5-4.

Sanchez-Cañamares made the NAIA All-America second-team list in 2012. In 2013, he was named as a National Christian College Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete and Intercollegiate Tennis Association Academic Scholar.

He left OC following the 2013 season, when the university dropped the tennis program. He transferred to Embry-Riddle, where he helped that team to NAIA runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015. Before he came to OC, he was a part of Fresno Pacific's NAIA title-winning squad in 2011.

After playing collegiately, Sanchez-Cañamares coached elite junior and professional players at Saviano High Performance Tennis in Plantation, Fla. Among the players he coached there were 2017 U.S. Open women's champion Sloane Stephens and former Women's Tennis Association standout Eugenie Bouchard.

He spent the 2017 season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Oklahoma State women's program led by Young, a former player and coach at OC.

Sanchez-Cañamares helped Cowgirls post a 25-6 record in 2017, a season during which they won the Big 12 title and reached the NCAA Division I quarterfinals. Four OSU players competed in the NCAA individual tournament.

Sanchez-Cañamares also worked at tennis clubs in Spain, New Jersey and Connecticut during the summers between his collegiate seasons. He served as the director of the performance academy at La Manga Club in Spain, where he coached and developed junior players, including 2018 Wimbledon Junior Championships runner-up Jack Draper.