Arizona Christian University

The start of the 2023 season will be the third season for ACU Tennis under the direction of Head Coach Phil Carlisle.

Advancing to the GSAC Championship match was the highlight of the 2022 season for the ACU men.  Coach Carisle saw his first two All-GSAC players and an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention at Arizona Christian to cap the 2022 campaign.  For the women, season two under Coach Carlisle resulted in two All-GSAC selections- the first for the Carisle led Firestorm.

Coach Carlisle joined the Firestorm after a very successful eight years and nearly 240 combined wins as the head tennis coach at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Under the guidance of Carlisle, the UNOH Racers advanced to the NAIA National Tournament 13 of the last 14 combined men's and women's completed seasons- advancing past the first round on ten occasions.  A combined record of 237-119 was created by the men rolling up a record of 129-48 and the women delivering a 108-71 record.  The Racer men won five consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Championships while the women won four of the last five WHAC championships.  Both teams were undefeated in WHAC play when their seasons were cut short due to COVID in 2020.  Carlisle was named the WHAC Coach of the Year a combined six times.

With success as a team on court, individual awards came in abundance as well.  Northwestern Ohio produced four First Team NAIA All-Americans (three men, one women), nine Second Team All-Americans (six men, three women), seven WHAC Players of the Year (five men, two women), and 40 First Team All-WHAC players (19 men, 21 women).  In 2016, Carlisle was named the ITA East Region Men's Coach of the Year to go along with the ITA National Senior Player of the Year.   A year later, Carlisle coached the ITA Freshman of the Year while collecting the ITA East Region Women's Coach of the Year honor.

Before his time at UNOH, Coach Carlisle helped his alma mater Campbellsville University win the 2012 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Men's National Championship as an assistant coach.

Educationally, Carlisle earned a degree in mass communication from Campbellsville University in 2011.  Carlisle spent his four college years serving up aces for the Tigers.

Coach Carlisle and his wife, Leah- an enrollment management specialist at Arizona Christian, reside in Peoria and attend Copper Hills Church.  When not on the tennis court, Coach Carlisle enjoys golfing, hiking, biking, kayaking, and just about any other sport.