Former Linfield University women’s tennis great Ella Riddle Maliska is in her fourth year as Strength & Conditioning and Sport Performance coach.
After completing a bachelor’s degree in exercise science at Linfield in 2018, Riddle Maliska spent one year working in England as assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Leeds Rhinos Women’s Professional Netball team and as head strength and conditioning coach for the Leeds Beckett Women’s Tennis team. While in England, she completed a master’s degree in strength and conditioning with an emphasis on female athletes.
Folllowing her return to Oregon from England, Riddle Maliska was assistant coach of the Linfield women's tennis team for one season before taking on the head coaching role for two seasons. She led the Wildcats to consecutive NWC team championships, a 16-0 mark in NWC play and was 27-6 in dual matches overall. She was named NWC Coach of the Year in 2022.
Riddle Maliska was a highly decorated tennis player at Linfield, earning Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America recognition twice in singles and a third time in doubles. She was a two-time NWC Player of the Year and earned first team NWC all-star recognition in each of her four seasons. During her career, the ITA also named Riddle Maliska as that organization’s West Region Freshman and West Region Senior Player of the Year.
As Linfield team captain, she was the top player on back-to-back NWC championship clubs and received Linfield’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year award as a senior.
In her role as Strength & Conditioning and Sport Performance coach, Riddle Maliska collaborates with current Strength & Conditioning program leader Phil Rombach. Together, they team with Health and Human Performance professor Dr. Cisco Reyes, Linfield’s athletic trainers, and associate director of athletics Doug Hire on development of a comprehensive long-term plan.