Longwood University Athletics

Bruce Myers, former head coach at North Carolina A&T and Randolph-Macon College, was named the new head coach of the Longwood women's tennis program in September of 2014.

In his first season at the helm, Myers led a drastic turnaround for the program that resulted in Longwood's first 10-win season since the 2011-12 season and only the third such campaign in Longwood's first eight years of Division I affiliation. Myers engineered that success with a roster that included just two seniors, including singles ace Malin Allgurin who went on to set the school's Division I wins record with 59 career victories.

Four of Myers' Lancers won 10-plus singles bouts, including sophomore Mason Thomas who broke out for a team-best 16-7 record playing at Longwood's No. 5 spot. Allgurin finished 10-12 atop the lineup, while sophomore Paloma Alatorre went 10-13 at No. 4 and senior Nicole Parker finished 12-10 as the No. 6. Additionally, Longwood's top three doubles pairings all won at least eight bouts.
 
Myers came to Longwood after a stint as interim head women's coach at North Carolina A&T for the 2014 season. Before his time with the Aggies, Myers served as the first head tennis coach in Randolph-Macon College history and held that post with both the men's and women's programs for the 2012-13 season.
 
"I am excited to join the Longwood family, not only for the opportunity to lead this program, but also to become a part of this great university," said Myers upon his Longwood hiring in September, 2014. "I had not been to Longwood's campus in over 20 years and so much has changed since I played a tennis match on the courts.  Longwood has certainly grown up and come of age, and I am excited to both coach and compete in the Big South Conference."
 
A 1993 graduate of Randolph-Macon, Myers enjoyed a decorated playing career with the Yellow Jackets, earning All-ODAC honors in 1992 and 1993 in singles as well as captaining the squad for three years.

Following his graduation, he delved into the business sector and held the title of Chief Executive Officer at The National Financial News Services (1993-2006) and Shoprate.com (2004-07) before returning to tennis as a tennis pro at Radnor Valley Country Club in 2008. He would eventually parlay that experience into a stint as assistant men's and women's tennis coach at Immaculata University before rejoining his alma mater as the Director of Tennis in 2012.
 
Alongside his foray into the business world, Myers continued his tennis career and became one of the top Mens 35 players in Philadelphia. A certified tennis professional by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), he was the top-ranked Mens 35 pro in the USTA Philadelphia Section in 2011, the second-ranked in the Middle State Section and No. 15 nationally. He has competed in the USTA Talbert Cup three times and won championships at the 2012 Sportime Randalls Island February Adult Championship, 2011 Courtside Adult Classic, 2011 Royal Sims Tennis Classic, 2011 Friends of Chamounix Summer Classic and the 2011 Straub Brewery Clay Court Championship.
 
"Bruce is passionate about developing young people and the sport of tennis," said Longwood director of athletics Troy Austin. "I am excited he has joined the Longwood family, and I look forward to helping him build the women's tennis program."
 
"The instant I stepped on campus, I knew that this place was special and it was the perfect place to settle down and get to work on formulating an immediate gameplan for the team's short-term and long-term success," Myers said.
 
"This program already has a history of great academic success, and with that being the foundation that is already established, it will be much easier to attract talented student-athletes to campus in the years to come."
 
Myers owns a B.A. in business economics from Randolph-Macon. He and his wife, Samantha, have three sons: Joel, Brett and Xavier, and two stepsons: Evans and Ben.
 
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