Stollings Adds Couts, Petrella to Lady Raider Staff

LUBBOCK, Texas – Lady Raider Basketball Head Coach Marlene Stollings announced the hiring of Tiffanie Couts and Ralph Petrella to her support staff.

Couts will serve as the director of operations while Petrella has been named the head Lady Raider Basketball strength and conditioning coach.

"I am excited to have Tiffanie and Coach Ralph join the Lady Raider staff. They have been with me for over five years dating back to my time at VCU," Coach Stollings said. "Both Tiffanie and Coach Ralph have been a vital part of turning around every program. They bring high energy to any program they are around and will be instrumental in the revitalization of Lady Raider Basketball."

Tiffanie Couts comes to Lubbock after four seasons at the University of Minnesota where she served as the director of basketball operations.

Previous to joining the Golden Gophers staff, Couts spent one season as a graduate assistant for Stollings' VCU women's basketball team.

Following graduation, Couts was an intern for the CarMax Summer Basketball League, where she assisted in league operations, maintained the league website, coached teams and served as a liaison between CarMax and the City of Richmond elected personnel.

Couts graduated from the University of Richmond in 2013 with a bachelor's of science in business administration and management with a marketing concentration. Couts was a member of the Spider women's basketball team from 2009-11, where she was a four-time scholar athlete and helped the team to a 20-13 record and an appearance in the WNIT Second Round in 2010.

Couts earned her Masters of Education in sport leadership from VCU in 2014.

Ralph Petrella comes to Texas Tech after four seasons at the University of Minnesota. He will be responsible for all aspects of sports performance for Lady Raider Basketball.

Before arriving at Minnesota, Petrella held the role of director of sports performance for women's basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) along with Coach Stollings.

He spent the two previous years as an assistant sports performance coach working with VCU women's basketball, field hockey and track and field throwers.

Some of Petrella's previous career stops include roles as assistant strength and conditioning coach/director of intern development at Robert Morris (2011-13) after a brief stint as an intern, and a student assistant strength and conditioning coach at West Liberty University (2007-11). He also developed Moon Area High School's lacrosse strength and conditioning program (2012-13) and has served as a program consultant for Steubenville High School's strength and conditioning programs.

In 2011, Petrella earned a Bachelor's of Science in exercise physiology with a concentration in strength and conditioning from West Liberty. He was a four-year starter and 2011 Division II All-American Bowl selection as an offensive lineman for West Liberty's football team.

Petrella has Functional Movement Screen certification through Functional Movement Systems, strength and conditioning specialist certification through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and CPR and AED certification through the American Red Cross.

Texas Tech University Athletics

Stollings Adds Couts, Petrella to Lady Raider Staff

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