VERMILLION, S.D. — The University of South Dakota athletic department has announced on Thursday that Pavel Zinchenko (goes by 'Pasha') has been hired as the next South Dakota women's tennis head coach. He embarks on his second head coaching position at the Division I level at South Dakota.
 
"We are incredibly excited to announce Pasha as our Women's Tennis Head Coach. His experience as a DI Head Coach and Assistant combined with his vision for the future of Coyote Women's Tennis made him stand out as the ideal candidate," said Deputy Director of Athletics Corey Jenkins. "Pasha will be an excellent addition to the USD Athletics family, and we look forward to welcoming him and his wife Nikita to Vermillion in the coming weeks."
 
Zinchenko comes to South Dakota after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Colorado State University. In his first season with the Rams, Colorado State went 11-12 (5-5 Mountain West). The Rams advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament and posted a 7-4 home match record on the season. He coached a pair of doubles All-Mountain West performers (2024, 2025) and a singles All-Mountain West performer in Zara Lennon. Additionally, Zinchenko helped coach a doubles team to an individual conference tournament final in the Mountain West.
 
"I'm very excited about the opportunity to lead the women's tennis team at The University of South Dakota and would like to express my sincere gratitude to the hiring committee for selecting my candidacy as the next head coach," noted Zinchenko. "It's a privilege to join such a strong athletic department and I'm looking forward to getting to know all the coaches and staff members. While visiting on the interview, the university felt like a special place and I cannot wait to get on campus, meet the whole team, and start the season! Go Yotes!"
 
Prior to his stop in Fort Collins, he served as the head women's coach at Delaware State University for three seasons. Zinchenko recruited multiple All-MEAC players, including the 2022 MEAC Rookie of the Year, Kit Yi Kate Au Yeung. While at Delaware State, he led the Hornets to the program's first-ever MEAC conference tournament title match.
 
He returned to his alma mater in September 2018 and served as an assistant tennis coach at the Division II level. He helped guide the Emmanuel women to their first-ever conference title in 2019 and it remains the only conference title on the women's side.
 
Zinchenko started his coaching career at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas where he served as the graduate assistant for both the men's and women's tennis programs at Tabor in the NAIA.
 
Zinchenko earned has earned a pair of bachelor's degrees in kinesiology (2014) and sports management (2016) from Emmanuel University in Franklin Springs, Georgia. He earned his M.B.A with a concentration in leadership from Tabor College (Kan.).