Coaching Staff

Anda Perianu Anda Perianu
Director, Reis Tennis Center
(607) 254-8921
ap753@cornell.edu

Anda Perianu is the director of tennis and facility manager at Reis Tennis Center. A superb tennis player who counts Martina Navratilova as one of her coaches, Anda held the NCAA number-three U.S. women’s singles ranking in college and was two-time Big Twelve Player of the Year.

As assistant women’s tennis director at Baylor University, Anda helped the team achieve its first national number-one ranking in the program’s history and coached three members of the team to All-American status.

Silviu Tanasoiu Silviu Tanasoiu
Director of Intercollegiate Tennis and the Savitt-Weiss Head Coach of Men’s Tennis
(607) 254-8919
sat84@cornell.edu

Silviu Tanasoiu comes to the Big Red via the University of Oklahoma, where he has served as an assistant coach with the Sooners’ men’s tennis team for five years and was named the ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year in both 2010 and 2011.

“We feel very fortunate to have attracted such a terrific young coach to lead our intercollegiate tennis program and our men’s team,” said Andy Noel, the Meakem*Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education. “I believe Silviu possesses the skills, work ethic and intangibles to maintain and ultimately grow our program to new heights.”

Tanasoiu, a native of Romania, was part of a wide variety of day-to-day operations, including coaching, facilitating practices, planning, conditioning, promoting, scheduling, marketing, making travel arrangements, ordering equipment and managing the team’s budget.

But his recruiting ability was paramount. Among the players he lured to Oklahoma were Andrei Daescu (ranked No. 10 in NCAA singles and a 2010 All-American), Ionut Beleleu (No. 50 in NCAA singles) and Costin Paval (No. 62 in NCAA singles and a 2010 All-American). The Sooners reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history in 2010.

With the Sooners, Tanasoiu implemented video analysis, sports psychology, nutrition education and conditioning specific to the sport. He also served as co-director of the OU/Nike summer tennis camps and was the director of the 2011 OU High Performance Camp.

He also has experience as a personal coach for professional Anda Perianu from 2004-2006, helping Perianu compete in 11 Grand Slam events and reach No. 120 in the WTA rankings. Prior to that, Tanasoiu worked for a year and a half as the assistant tennis professional at Cherry Valley Country Club on Long Island.

Tanasoiu earned his bachelor’s degree in pyschology from the University of Oklahoma in 2006. He competed with the Sooners for three seasons, earning first-team All-Big 12 recognition in 2003 and 2004. For those two seasons, he was also an ITA Academic All-American, and a member of Leadership Scholars, Dean’s Honor Roll and President’s Honor Roll.

He started his collegiate career at Louisiana-Monroe. Back in his native Romania, Tanasoiu was the national junior champion in 1998 and 1999, also cracking the top 50 in the European junior rankings in the latter year.

Katie Zordani Katie Zordani
The Carl H. Meinig ’31 Head Coach of Women’s Tennis
(847) 489-1185
kkz5@cornell.edu

A native of Lake Forest, IL, Katie is a graduate of the University of Iowa, where she competed for the women’s tennis team for four years before she completed her master’s degree. As a player, Katie earned a spot on the Academic All-Big 10 team all four years. She posted a 36-49 record in dual singles and 34-40 in dual doubles. She was also presented the team’s Grinder Award (2011-2012), Iron Hawk Award (2013-2014), and Leadership and Citizen Award (2014-2015).

David Palmer David Palmer
James Broadhead ’57 Head Coach of Squash
(617) 610-6310
dtp37@cornell.edu

Two-time world champion David Palmer has completed four seasons as The James Broadhead `57 Head Coach of Squash at Cornell, helping the women’s team finish as high as seventh in the final national rankings in his first season at the helm and guiding the men’s team’s ascension back to 10th at the close of the 2019-20 campaign.

Palmer has helped attract elite talent to the Big Red recently. Freshman Veer Chotrani of the men’s team and sophomore Sivasangari Subramaniam of the women’s team both earned spots on their respective College Squash Association All-America first teams and All-Ivy League first-team honors in 2020. Chotrani was also named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year — just the second for the Big Red men’s team since the inaugural presentation of the award in 1984.

One of the most accomplished squash athletes in the sport’s history and proven to be one of the great teachers of the game, Palmer was named to his current position in October 2016.

Palmer competed on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour from 1997-2011, twice reaching a number one world ranking (2001-02, 2006). During his pro career, he won the PSA Super Series finals in 2002, reached the World Tour finals 53 times and came away with the title on 27 occasions. Palmer was a two-time World Champion (2002, 2006), one of just seven athletes to claim a world title on multiple occasions, as well as a four-time British Open Champion (2001, 2003, 2004, 2008). Palmer was ranked in the top 10 of the PSA for 10 consecutive years (2000-10) before retiring from professional competition in 2010.

Internationally, Palmer captained the Australian national team six times and won a total of seven Commonwealth Game medals, including a pair of golds in men’s single and mixed doubles in 2012. He was named the nation’s Senior Athlete of the Year four times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2014), and was voted the Player of the Decade by his peers.

Over the past five years, he has run the David Palmer Squash Academy based out of Orlando, Fla., as well as serving as a part owner and managing Director of Black Knight USA, a manufacturing and wholesaler of sporting equipment. With his academy, Palmer works with multiple professional players all around the world, eight of whom rank among the top 30. He also works with a number international junior players. The Academy will relocate to Ithaca and will utilize Cornell’s Belkin International Squash Courts for camps throughout the year.

In 2007, Palmer was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia, an order of chivalry given by Queen Elizabeth II of Australia, to recognize Australian citizens for achievement or meritorious service.

Spencer Furman Spencer Furman
Assistant Coach, Men’s Tennis
mf798@cornell.edu

Furman most recently served as manager at Baylor. He previously was an assistant coach at Nebraska, working in all aspects of the program from recruiting to practice planning and execution. While at Duke as an undergraduate, Furman served an administrative internship in the athletics department, working with marketing and fundraising, human resources and development.

The 2021 Big 12 individual champion as a graduate transfer at Baylor, Furman earned a top 50 ITA singles ranking and a top 15 spot in doubles, and made it to the NCAA finals.

Furman graduated from Duke in 2020 with his degree in psychology before earning a Master’s in Business Administration at Baylor in 2022.

Mark Burke Mark Burke
Assistant Coach, Squash
mab667@cornell.edu

Honors & Accomplishments
• Former No. 1-ranked player in Belgium (2009).
• Ranked as high as 97th in the world by the Professional Squash Association (February 2002).
• Advanced to Round of 16 at 2010 World Open Masters in Birmingham, England.
• Winner of multiple PSA Challenger events and professional events in Belgium — including consecutive Wilson National Series titles in 2008 and 2009.
• Three-time representative for Belgium at the European Team Championships (2010, 2011 and 2012).

Coaching Experience
• Volunteer Assistant Coach, Cornell University (February 2019)
• Invited Coach, Japan National Team Training (March 2018 and March 2019)
• National Coach, Luxembourg men’s, women’s and junior teams (September 2015 to January 2019)
• RTC Program Coach, Flemish Squash Federation, Belgium (September 2015 to June 2017)
• Head Coach, Burkesquash Academy, Belgium (May 2005 to July 2019)
• Head Coach, Recrean Sportcentrum, Belgium (June 2004 to April 2015)
• Head Coach/Trainer, Bateas Squash/Tennis Club, Belgium (January 2000 to June 2006)
• Head Coach/Trainer, De Diepput Squash Club, The Netherlands (January 2000 to February 2002)

Coaching Credentials
• UKCC Level 3 Squash Coaching (2014).
• BLOSO Trainer B, Belgian Squash Coaches Accreditation System (2006).
• NCAS Level 2 Squash Coaching Certificate (2002).

Education
• M.A.Sc, Sports Coaching, University of Queensland (Australia) (2008).

At Cornell
Burke has helped develop some of the programs’ best talent in recent memory. Freshman Veer Chotrani of the men’s team and sophomore Sivasangari Subramaniam of the women’s team both earned spots on their respective College Squash Association All-America first teams and All-Ivy League first-team honors in 2020. Chotrani was also named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year — just the second for the Big Red men’s team since the inaugural presentation of the award in 1984. By defeating top-seeded Dartmouth in the semifinals of the Hoehn Cup, the Cornell men’s squash team finished 10th in the final national rankings — its highest standing under the guidance of head coach David Palmer.

After originally joining the Big Red as a volunteer assistant coach in February 2019, Burke was promoted to his current role in October 2019.

Prior to Cornell
Burke joined the Big Red with experience coaching national teams in Japan and Luxembourg while serving as the head coach at Burkesquash Academy and Recrean Sportcentrum in Belgium for 15 years. He has coached several players on both the boys and girls sides that have reached the No. 1 junior ranking in Belgium.

Burke also enjoyed a celebrated professional playing career, ranking No. 1 in Belgium as recently as 2009 and achieving a highest Professional Squash Association world ranking of 97th in 2002. He won a handful of PSA Challenger events, Winner of multiple PSA Challenger events and professional events in Belgium — including consecutive Wilson National Series titles in 2008 and 2009 — and he was a three-time representative for Belgium at the European Team Championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He advanced into the Round of 16 at the World Masters Championships in 2010.