Head Coach David Goodman added Ottawa University of Arizona graduate Sam Murphy to the Biola Tennis coaching staff ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Murphy is a Southern California native who graduated from Alta Loma High School and holds a B.A. in Exercise Science from OUAZ. He will assist Coach Goodman in coaching alongside Mark Goodman and will also contribute to the recruiting efforts for both programs.
"Sam is a great addition to our staff," said Head Coach David Goodman. "Being a former college tennis player will help him closely relate to our student athletes. And Sam also has a great amount of coaching experience, so he'll be right at home leading the talented student-athletes in our programs."
Murphy is very familiar with what it's like to be on winning teams because of his stints at Riverside City College and OUAZ.
After helping his high school team reach the CIF Southern Section Division 5 semifinals and winning a singles league MVP in 2016, Murphy spent two years at RCC and was part of teams that won 10 matches or more both years. Riverside City posted an incredible 19-3 record when Murphy was a sophomore, winning an OEC conference championship and advancing to the CCCAA SoCal Regional Semifinals before losing to Ventura College.
The OUAZ Spirit also had a successful campaign during Murphy's first year in Surprise, Arizona, giving the new coach more first-hand experience of the type of powerhouse mindset that's being built at the Biola Tennis Center. Murphy's team advanced to the Golden State Athletic Conference championship match and the National Christian College Athletic Association championship match in 2019 while beating multiple ranked teams at the NAIA level.
They went 14-8 that year and picked up two more wins in the shortened 2020 season with Murphy playing No. 5 singles and a match at No. 3 doubles.
Murphy's previous coaching experience includes three years with the Alta Loma and Valley Vista (AZ) high school programs. He helped the Alta Loma girls tennis team win a league championship and advance to the CIF quarterfinal round in 2017 while the boys team advanced to the CIF semis the following semester.
"I am excited to join the coaching staff at Biola because of the culture the team and school is built around," said Murphy. "Coach Goodman has done such a great job of growing the program over the past few years and that is something I wanted to be part of."
Murphy and both tennis teams have begun conditioning and practices at the Biola Tennis Center in advance of the 2021 season. Information on scheduling and the upcoming season will be posted to athletics.biola.edu as soon as it is available.
