Entering his 17th season with the Bucs, George Samuel has led the men’s tennis team to post-season play nearly every year, including 12 NCAA National Tournament appearances in the past 14 years. Samuel also led the Bucs to a top-ten finish in NCAA Division II in 2007.
Barry made its 13th consecutive appearance at the NCAA South Regional Tournament in 2007 where they advanced to the national tournament with a hard-earned 5-1 win over Rollins. After upsetting the #2 Drury University in the round of 16, the Bucs were defeated 5-2 by the UC San Diego Tritons. Still, the seven-time Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year continues the legacy of one of the most successful men’s tennis programs in NCAA Division II.

Samuel also boasts academic excellence in his program as the men’s tennis team led all Barry’s male athletic programs with a 3.154 spring term GPA and a remakable 3.235 cummulative GPA. Samuel has notably set standards for his players both on the court and in the classroom.

Samuel led the squad to the NCAA South Regional Tournament in 2006, with the men advancing to the national semifinals. Thomas Hipp and teammate Patrick Rittenauer both earned ITA singles and doubles All-American honors.

In 2005, the men advanced to the national quarterfinals. The squad posted a school-record 21-2 record, with a winning percentage of .913, as they captured their second consecutive and seventh overall SSC title. Three Buccaneers received ITA All-American honors. Sebastian Losavio and Hipp made the singles list, while Hipp joined with his partner Rittenauer in doubles.

In 2004, the men advanced to the first round of the NCAA Championship. Thomas Hipp garnered All-American honors in singles and joined up with doubles partner Gerold Wiring for All-American accolades. The men finished the season with a 21-6 overall record and a 4-1 performance in the SSC.

In 2003, the men’s team had a record-setting year with a school-best 23 wins. The team finished the year with only four losses and won their fourth SSC title, while also advancing to the NCAA national tournament for the seventh time in school history. Samir M’Bioka and Thomas Hipp both earned First-Team All-SSC honors, while Hipp was dubbed the SSC Freshman-of-the-Year and M’Bioka an ITA All-American.

In 2002, facing an injury-plagued season, the men’s team finished 11-10 overall, with M’Bioka and Losavio picking up first-team All-SSC honors in singles and doubles. M’Bioka earned his first ITA All-American honor, while Losavio was named SSC Freshman-of-the-Year.
In 2001, Samuel led the men to a 19-4 record and their seventh consecutive regional qualifier. However, the Bucs fell short of reaching their seventh consecutive appearance to the NCAA National Championship after falling to Francis Marion in the regional qualifier.

In 2000, he led the squads to the NCAA National Championship for the sixth-consecutive season. The men made it to the first round of the nationals.

In 1999, the Barry men played perhaps the toughest schedule in NCAA Division II and compiled a 20-3 dual-match record. They were ranked second all season and received a bye to the NCAA nationals where they came in second for the second year in a row.

The 1998 season was one of the most successful in Barry history, as the men were NCAA Division II national runners up. The Buccaneer men won their third consecutive Sunshine State Conference Championship.

Samuel has coached 12 men’s All-Americans during his career, totaling 19 awards: Herbert Bende, Lior Chalbianski, Thomas Hipp, Laurent Lamothe, Sebastian Losavio, Iphton Louis, Samir M’Bioka, Christian Meyer, Patrick Rittenauer, Kay Spindler, Gerold Wiring, and Christian Witt. Bende is one of only two Buccaneers in Barry history to earn All-America honors for four straight years.
Samuel assumed the head coaching position of the men’s program in 1992, leading the team to one of its best seasons.

Samuel was honored by his peers as the NCAA South Region Men’s Coach-of-the-Year for two straight seasons in 1998 and 1999 and also in 2005. He also earned a prestigious “double” as he became only the second SSC tennis conference coach to be named both men’s and women’s Coach-of-the-Year the same season in 1998 and again in 2005. He has won the SSC men’s award seven times (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2005), the most of any tennis coach in the SSC. In addition to coaching both tennis squads, Samuel is also an assistant professor of sport and exercise sciences.

A native of Miami, Samuel was ranked #10 in the state of Florida in the men’s open division during his outstanding playing career. He starred for Miami-Dade North Community College from 1981-83 and for East Tennessee State University from 1983-85.
Samuel is a graduate of Miami-Dade North, East Tennessee State, and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. His doctorate is from SIU-Carbondale.


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