The University of North Carolina’s tradition of excellence in men’s tennis continues under Sam Paul, now in his 11th year as head coach of the Tar Heels.
The 42-year-old native of Lancaster, S.C., has been uniting the winning reputation of UNC men’s tennis with his adroit skills for coaching and recruiting since he was named the head men’s tennis coach in April 1993, making North Carolina one of the most talented and respected programs in the nation. He holds a career head coaching record at UNC of 149-90, including a 56-24 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season dual matches.
He is also the only head men’s tennis coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference to have tutored three players who are were ranked in the Top 500 in the world in men’s singles — Don Johnson (UNC Class of ’90), David Caldwell (UNC Class of ’96), and Tripp Phillips (UNC Class of ’00).
The past several years were busy ones for Coach Paul as he took on extra duties as personal coach for UNC alumnus Don Johnson during his magnificent recent runs in doubles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Paul accompanied Johnson, who serves as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels, to both tournaments as Johnson and his doubles partner Jared Palmer claimed the doubles title at Wimbledon in 2001 and finished as the runnerups at the U.S. Open the same year.
Paul, who had been an assistant coach for the Tar Heel program for four years from 1989-93, took over for legendary coach Allen Morris, who guided Carolina tennis fortunes for 13 years from 1980-93. In 2002, Paul directed his Tar Heels to a 19-6 dual match record and the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, the 25th in school history. UNC also earned its 10th NCAA Tournament bid in the last 11 seasons. Last season, Carolina went on to earn its 11th NCAA Tournament bid in the past 12 seasons. Only once in Paul’s head coaching tenure have the Tar Heels failed to make the NCAA Tournament field.
Paul has been awarded for his coaching ability as he was selected the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 1996, 2000 and 2002. The 1996 Tar Heels amassed a 21-5 overall record, went undefeated in the ACC regular season at 8-0 and saw five players complete individual 20-win seasons. Senior David Caldwell received ACC Player of the Year honors for the third consecutive season and won the flight No. 1 singles title for the third straight season - both league firsts. The 2000 Tar Heels compiled an 18-6 mark, reached the NCAA Tournament regional finals and had three players earn ACC flight championship honors. Senior Tripp Phillips earned All-America distinction as he advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. In 2002, the Tar Heels had one of their most glorious seasons in recent memory as UNC went 19-6 overall against a brutal schedule and won the ACC title for the first time since 1992 with a stirring 4-3 championship match victory over Georgia Tech.
Possessing an excellent tennis mind with an eye not only on the present but on the future, Paul has continued to put together strong schedules that must be counted among the most difficult in the country. A tactician at heart, he takes an interest in the details of the game — the weaknesses of opponents and the little improvements in his own team’s play that pay big dividends in performance.
Paul came to Chapel Hill in September 1989 after serving as the Director of Tennis and the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at the University of Richmond for two years, where he won honors as the Colonial Athletic Association’s Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year in both 1988 and 1989. His women went 11-11 in his first year at the helm, finishing third in the CAA, and improved to 14-7 in 1989, which was good for second place in the CAA. The 1989 team was also ranked in the region’s Top 10.
Working with a non-scholarship men’s program at Richmond, Paul led the Spiders to a 12-9 mark and third-place league finish in his second year.
During Paul’s four years as the Carolina assistant, UNC was 82-29 overall in dual matches, 26-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season dual matches and 10-2 in ACC Tournament dual matches. Paul assisted on teams which won ACC Tournament titles in 1990 and 1992, were the ACC Tournament runnersup in 1991 and 1993 and won the conference’s regular-season championship in 1991 and 1992. All four teams Paul worked with at Carolina as an assistant to Coach Morris were ranked in the Top 25 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
The 1992 Carolina team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and the 1993 squad was in the NCAA Tournament Final 16. Since Paul took over as UNC’s head coach the Tar Heels have made the NCAA Tournament field every year but one.
During his time at Carolina, the Tar Heels have also had remarkable success in the Rolex ITA Collegiate Championships. A Carolina player has competed in the national singles indoor competition eight of the past 13 years, most recently Trystan Meniane in the fall of 2002. In fact, in 1993, former assistant coach and two-time All-America selection Roland Thornqvist won the grand slam event in Minneapolis, Minn. In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Paul has worked with ATP Tour players J.J. Jackson, Don Johnson and Chris Woodruff, all of whom trained in Chapel Hill.
Paul graduated from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., in May 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in applied psychology. He also played tennis for the Blue Hose for two years. In addition, he has a 1981 Associate of Arts degree with a concentration in business from Anderson (S.C.) College. He played tennis there as a freshman and sophomore.
In addition to coaching at Richmond, Paul also served as an assistant coach for the tennis teams at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas for one year and at the University of South Carolina for three years.
Paul is also beginning his 13th year as camp director of the annual Carolina Tar Heel Tennis Camps. Those camps are held each summer.
Head Coach Sam Paul
Education: Presbyterian College (1983, B.S. in Applied Psychology)
College Coaching:
• University of South Carolina, Assistant Coach, 1983-86
• Trinity University, Assistant Coach, 1986-87
• University of Richmond, Director of Tennis, 1987-89
• University of North Carolina, Assistant Coach, 1989-93; Head Coach, 1993-present
Recognition:
• 1996 ACC Coach of the Year
• 1996 Region II Coach of the Year
• 1996 National Coach of the Year Finalist
• 2000 ACC Coach of the Year
• 2000 Region II Coach of the Year
• 2000 National Coach of the Year Finalist
• 2002 ACC Coach of the Year
