Sam Martinez is in his sixth season of coaching at Washington and Lee and his third as an assistant men's tennis coach. He had previously served as the women's tennis assistant coach.
Last year, Martinez helped lead the Generals to a 14-5 overall record, an ODAC title and a trip to the third round of the NCAA tournament. His first season with the men was shortened by the pandemic and W&L recorded a 5-4 record against an extremely difficult early season schedule.
Martinez assisted the 2019 women's team to a 17-8 overall record, a 12-0 mark in the ODAC and a Top 25 ranking for the duration of the season. The Generals won their 17th straight ODAC championship and defeated Sewanee, 5-4, in the NCAA Second Round, before falling to top-ranked Emory, 5-0, in the third round. First-year Georgia Wright was named the ODAC Rookie of the Year and senior Mary Hampton McNeal earned ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades under Martinez's guidance, and the Generals placed seven players on All-ODAC teams.
During his second season, Martinez helped guide the Generals to a 19-8 overall record, including a perfect 11-0 mark in ODAC matches, and the program's 16th consecutive conference championship. The Generals finished as the No. 18 team in the final ITA Division III rankings, with senior Michelle Fleanor claiming ODAC Player of the Year and ITA First Team All-America accolades.
In his first season, the Generals went 21-6 overall and captured the program’s 15th-straight ODAC title. Martinez helped mentor Brooke Donnelly ’17 to her third All-America honor in singles and first in doubles, while Tessa Hill ’19 earned All-America accolades in doubles for the first time in her career.
Martinez came to W&L from Virginia Wesleyan, where he served as an assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach during the 2015-16 season. In this role, he helped lead the Marlins’ men’s program to a 17-7 record and the first undefeated ODAC record in program history. The women finished 4-9 overall and received ITA All-Academic Team laurels.
In addition to working at VWC, Martinez also served as a tennis professional at the Tidewater Tennis Center during the same time frame.
Martinez also served as a graduate assistant tennis coach at Division II Pfeiffer University for the 2014-15 season while taking classes in the Pfeiffer Graduate School of International Business. He helped the Pfeiffer women's team to a 20-5 record en route to capturing its first Conference Carolinas Championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. Additionally, he was the Head Coach of the Gray Stone Day School for the 2014-15 season.
A 2014 graduate of Bridgewater College with a bachelor of science in business administration, Martinez was a three-time All-ODAC singles and doubles player at Bridgewater, helping the Eagles to back-to-back appearances in the ODAC title contest, the first two such appearances in program history.
