Ramsey Smith
Ramsey Smith was announced as the 11th head coach in Duke men’s tennis history in June, 2008.
Smith, a former Duke men’s tennis standout, was on the Blue Devils coaching staff for three seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach prior to accepting the head coaching position. He started back at his alma mater in the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach. After just two seasons he was promoted to associate head coach for the 2007-08 campaign.
During his three seasons as an assistant coach, Smith helped lead Duke to a 49-31 overall record and 23-10 mark in the ACC. Under his tutelage the Blue Devils produced five All-Americas, eight All-ACC selections and one ACC Tournament MVP in just three seasons.
In his first season as an assistant coach at Duke, the Blue Devils went 22-7 and ended the year tied for first in the ACC with a 9-2 record. Led by five seniors, Duke was ranked in the top-10 the entire season and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the polls twice. Duke won the 2006 ACC Tournament Championship with a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory over No. 9 Virginia after trailing 3-0 in the match. Jonathan Stokke was named the ACC Tournament MVP after starting the comeback. The Blue Devils won two matches in the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Winthrop, 4-0, and No. 26 Boise State, 4-2, to advance to the round of 16 where they would lose to No. 13 Stanford, 4-0. Three Blue Devils were selected to the All-ACC squad, including Stephen Amritraj, Peter Rodrigues and Ludovic Walter. Walter would also earn All-America recognition along with Stokke and Joey Atas. Stokke also earned the USTA Sportsmanship Award, the ITA Mideast Region Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award and the ITA National Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award.
In 2006-07 the Blue Devils compiled a 16-10 overall record and 8-3 ledger to finish third in the ACC. Duke won their first match in the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 victory over UMBC before losing a tight 4-3 match to No. 17 Alabama in the second round. Atas and David Goulet claimed All-America honors for the Blue Devils while Atas, Rodrigues and Kiril Dimitrov were picked to the All-ACC squad. The 2007-08 team also featured a young group with just three upperclassmen. They went 11-14 overall and 6-5 in the ACC. The team played nine matches that ended in a 4-3 final with seven losses in those contests. Duke advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they would knock off No. 23 Arizona State, 4-2, in the first round. They then suffered a 4-2 loss at No. 12 North Carolina in the second round contest. Goulet and Reid Carleton were selected to the All-ACC team.
Smith also started the Royal Blue Club while he was an assistant coach for Duke. The club is a Duke tennis fan club that gives special promotions for men’s and women’s tennis matches. Smith has also helped the Blue Devils raise money for new indoor and outdoor courts, indoor scoreboards and a new video system with cameras on all six indoor and outdoor courts.
A native of Hilton Head, S.C., Smith lettered four seasons at Duke from 1998-2001 and now ranks second all-time at Duke with 119 career singles victories. He helped the Blue Devils to four-year records of 96-11 overall and an undefeated 32-0 in conference regular season action. From 1998-2001 Duke claimed four ACC Championships, four Top 10 national rankings and three NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearances. Smith finished his career with a 119-37 singles record and 103-47 doubles ledger. A staple in the ITA singles and doubles rankings, Smith was ranked as high as No. 5 in singles in 2001 and No. 5 in doubles in 2000 with Doug Root. He was ranked in the top-10 in singles for four consecutive rankings during his senior season.
Smith was a two-time All-America earning the honor in 2000 and 2001. He was named to the All-ACC three times in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Smith was named the ACC Tournament MVP in the 2000 and 2001 ACC Championship victories. In addition, he was a two-time recipient of the Tennis Magazine/Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award and was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002.
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Duke in 2001, Smith played one year of professional tennis. He posted an ATP world ranking of 603 in singles and 723 in doubles before suffering a career-ending shoulder injury in September of 2002. He reached the semifinals at Futures Tournaments in Malibu, Calif., Chetumal, Mexico, and Little Rock, Ark.
Following his professional career Smith worked with the Stan Smith Billy Stearns Tennis Academy, where he served as a coach, camp organizer and academy secretary for three years. He also spent two summers (2003 and 2004) as a full-time fly fishing guide with Alaska West Sportfishing.
Smith successfully completed the USTA High Performance Coaching Program in Carson, Calif. in 2007 and is USPTA certified Teaching Professional.
Born September 4, 1978, Smith currently resides in Durham.
