Looking for someone to take charge of its women's tennis program, the Hillsdale College athletic department didn't have to go far to find a quality candidate.

Melanie Zampardo,  a former Hillsdale College women's tennis star and an assistant coach for the Chargers in the 2024-25 campaign, has been named Hillsdale's third women's tennis coach since the program was restarted in 2010, effective for the 2025-26 season.

Zampardo took the Hillsdale women's tennis job as a first-time head coach, but she has spent her most of her life in tennis, and several years as a part of the Hillsdale College women's tennis program as both a player and coach prior to taking on the head role. She worked closely with interim head coach Nikki Walbright in 2024-25 as an assistant, helping the Chargers to their best overall record and regular season G-MAC finish since the 2018-19 season while taking on increasing levels of responsibility as the season wore on.

Before her successful stint as an assistant for the Chargers, Zampardo excelled for Hillsdale as a player across three seasons. Originally recruited to Wayne State, Zampardo transferred into Hillsdale for the 2021-22 season and instantly became a lineup mainstay once eligible to play for the Chargers.

Over three seasons in blue and white, Zampardo recorded 67 match wins while playing No. 2 and No. 3 singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles for the Chargers, earning second team All-G-MAC honors all three seasons. Her senior season in 2023-24 was the best campaign of her career, as she finished with a career-high 27 total victories between singles and doubles play and formed a doubles team with sophomore Megan Hacksman that spent much of the season in the Midwest Regional rankings and was nationally ranked for multiple weeks. Along with her individual success, she also helped the Chargers reach the semifinal round of the G-MAC Tournament for three straight seasons, continuing a streak that has now reached seven straight campaigns after the 2024-25 season.

Zampardo's significant tennis knowledge and her leadership on and off the court made her an attractive assistant coaching candidate after her playing career had finished, and, with another year of development as a coach, stood out to Hillsdale College Director of Athletics John Tharp as he was seeking a candidate to take over the women's tennis program full-time following the 2024-25 season. 

An excellent student at Hillsdale, Zampardo was a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's Degreee in Exercise Science earlier this year. Originally hailing from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Zampardo is an alumnus of University Liggett High School in Grosse Pointe Woods, where she was team MVP all three seasons and played in the MHSAA Division 4 state championship match at No. 1 singles as a senior in 2019.