LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Randolph College Director of Athletics Tom Galbraith has announced former WildCat student-athlete, Sam Martinez, as the new head tennis coach. Martinez will assume his post on July 1.

"It became clear during the search for our new coach that one candidate simply checked all the boxes in what we were searching to find to continue to build both our men's and women's programs," said Galbraith. "Sam was that candidate. I am confident he uniquely combines the skillset, passion, experience, and vision to lead both WildCat tennis programs to places they have not yet achieved, and I cannot wait to be alongside as it happens."

Martinez returns to Randolph after a six-year tenure as an assistant coach at Washington & Lee. He served the last three years as the assistant coach for the men's program and began his time with the Generals as an assistant with the women's program for three seasons.

The 2022 men's team for W&L finished 19-9 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16, while the 2021 squad won an ODAC title and advanced to the third round of the NCAAs. During his time with the men's program, the Generals totaled 22 ITA All-Academic honorees and an ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

From 2016-19 with the women's program at W&L, the Generals posted a 56-21 record and won conference titles in each of those seasons. Twice W&L advanced to the Sweet 16 and posted a No. 11 national ranking. Individual highlights during his tenure included an ITA Fall Regional singles title, four All-Americans, and an Elite 90 Award.

"I'm thankful and appreciative of the opportunity that Randolph has given me to lead the men's and women's tennis programs" said Martinez. "I also want to thank the committee members who assisted during the interview process. A special thanks to Jan Hathorn, Erin Ness, and Neil Cunningham at Washington & Lee for helping me over the last six years in my development."

Prior to his time in Lexington, Martinez was the assistant tennis coach at Virginia Wesleyan from 2015-16. He helped lead the men's team to its first regular season ODAC conference title and undefeated 10-0 record in school history. He also served as a graduate assistant at Pfeiffer University from 2014-2015 where the women's team won its first Carolinas Conference title.

As a student-athlete, Martinez played one season at Randolph as a freshman before transferring to Bridgewater College. He was a three-time All-ODAC singles and doubles honoree helping the Eagles to back-to-back appearances in the ODAC title contest, the first two such appearances in program history. In three seasons with the Eagles, he amassed a 66-29 individual record.

Martinez is a 2014 graduate of Bridgewater with a degree in Business Administration. He obtained his Master's Degree in Business Administration from Pfeiffer.

"I cannot wait to get started continuing to build on the programs Coach Megginson established at Randolph," stated Martinez. "I'm most excited about the opportunity to create a culture for both programs that is going to thrive in the classroom and compete for everything on the court. I'm very excited to wear the black and yellow again."