BRIDGEWATER, Va. --- Martin Perry,
three-time NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year, has been
named the new head coach of the Bridgewater College men’s and
women’s tennis programs in an announcement made by President
George Cornelius and Director of Athletics Curt Kendall. Perry has
spent the last eight-plus years as the head men’s and
women’s coach at national power, The University of
Chicago.
“We are thrilled to have a coach and athlete of Martin
Perry’s stature join our ranks,” said Cornelius.
“Marty has proven his success in recruiting and coaching at
the national level and we look forward to the positive impact he
will have on the tennis programs at Bridgewater.”
Perry brings a laundry list of accolades to Bridgewater, including
being named the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)
Division III Women’s Tennis National Coach of the Year in
2009 and 2010 and being named the National Coach of the Year on the
men’s side by the college tennis governing body this past
season.
“Acquiring Marty Perry as our head men’s and
women’s tennis coach is a great hire for Bridgewater College
and our tennis programs. His incredible success at the Division III
level and his recruiting accomplishments completely speak for
themselves,” said Kendall. “He operated a top-notch
athletic program at the University of Chicago and accomplished a
lot at a highly competitive academic institution. We believe that
Marty’s hiring provides us with an opportunity to expand our
recruiting base and we are confident he will continue to move our
already successful tennis programs to the next level.”
In 2011, Perry coached University of Chicago women’s tennis
player Kendra Higgins to the NCAA finals in singles, and led the
Maroons women’s team to a fourth place finish in the NCAA
Championships for the third straight season. Higgins teamed up with
Chrissy Hu on the doubles side to claim back-to-back NCAA titles in
2009 and 2010.
Perry also led the men’s team to an unbelievable turnaround
during his first season in the Windy City. Following a 7-16
campaign in 2003-04, under Perry’s tutelage, the Maroons
improved by 11 wins to an 18-9 overall mark in 2004-05 and earned
the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament berth.
In the highly competitive University Athletic Association (UAA),
Perry coached four-straight UAA Rookie of the Year recipients and
dethroned national power Emory University in 2010 when the Maroons
women claimed the UAA championship. This marked the first time in
more than two decades that Emory did not claim the conference
crown.
Overall, Perry coached 15 All-Americans during his time at the
University of Chicago and turned in the nation’s
number-one-ranked women’s recruiting class at the Division
III level in 2008, according to tennisrecruiting.com. In 2010,
Perry’s men’s recruiting class was ranked third in the
nation at the Division III level.
During the last two years, Perry has been the director of the
Maroon Tennis Academy in Chicago where he has implemented and
directed adult and junior tennis programs in the Windy City in
conjunction with the University of Chicago athletic department.
Prior to his time with the Maroons, Perry was the head men’s
and women’s tennis coach for one year at Division I Colgate
University. During his lone season with the Raiders, he coached the
men’s and women’s teams to winning records and earned
wins over Patriot League rivals American, Bucknell, Lehigh and
Lafayette. On the men’s side, Perry’s squad defeated
then-Big East foe Boston College.
Perry opened his collegiate coaching career with a nearly four-year
stint at the College of William & Mary as an assistant on the
men’s team. During his time with the Pride, Perry assisted
with the day-to-day operation of a William & Mary squad that
was consistently in the top 50 of Division I men’s tennis. In
1999 and 2000, Perry served as the assistant director of the ITA
Summer National Championships in Williamsburg.
Aside from his collegiate coaching acumen, Perry has been an active
member with Nike Tennis Camps, boasting nine years of experience
with the camps at William and Mary and the University of
Minnesota.
Perry earned his Professional Tennis Registry professional rating
in 1994 and completed the USTA High Performance program in January
of 2006 in Boca Raton, Fla.
Perry received his bachelor of arts in history from Cleveland State
University in 1998.
Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college
located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in
1880, it was the state's first private, coeducational college.
Today, Bridgewater College (www.bridgewater.edu) is home to
nearly 1,700 undergraduate students. The college boasts a
successful intercollegiate sports program that sponsors 20 NCAA
Division III sports and a competitive, intercollegiate Equestrian
program (www.bridgewatereagles.com).
This release is courtesy of the Bridgewater College
sports information department.
Perry Pegged to Lead Bridgewater Tennis
Posted: Aug 15, 2011