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Matthew Townes

Matt Townes enters his fifth season at the helm of the men's and women's tennis programs at his alma mater, Morgan State.

Townes, who was named Morgan State Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year (2017, 18), capped off a historic 2018 season by guiding the Lady Bears to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship. It would be the program's second MEAC title. Morgan State would advance to the first round of the NCAA Women's Tennis championships against host and No. 1 ranked North Carolina. 

Townes, who would earn his first MEAC Tournament Outstanding Coach award, would produce the MEAC's Player of the Year and All-MEAC first-team selection in Danielle Thompson. Thompson would also garner All-MEAC Tournament Team and MEAC Outstanding Performer honors. She would be joined on the all-tournament team by her teammates Alexus Gill, Peggy Rooke, Oriane Yehouenou and Asmara Faluke. 

On the men's side, Townes would be named 2018 MEAC Coach of the Year, while guiding the Bears to their seventh consecutive northern division crown and fourth in as many years under his direction. The Bears, who would reach the MEAC title match, would also secure their fourth consecutive No. 1 seed under Townes heading into the MEAC Championships. 

Arjun Ramakrishnan would earn all-conference honors, while Shrey Gupta and Nihit Rawal earned spots on the All-MEAC tournament Team.

Prior to returning to Morgan State for the 2014-15 campaign, Townes held collegiate coaching stints as an assistant at Morgan State under then head coach Sean Holcomb Jones, before heading to nearby Johns Hopkins for the 2011-12 season. 

While at Johns Hopkins, Townes helped the men's team to a 19-4 mark, including 9-0 in conference play, as the Blue Jays captured their fifth straight Centennial Conference title and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. 

He previously worked as a TAG Program Director at Green Spring Racquet Club, coaching and developing highly competitive junior players in the area. Townes also served as the Director of Tennis at the Next Level Tennis Academy in Baltimore.

Townes also held stints as the head coach of the girl's tennis team at Oldfields School in Baltimore and spent one year as the District Tennis Coordinator for the USTA/Washington Tennis Association.

Townes, who was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Bishopville, S.C., captained the Morgan State tennis team and graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology. 
 
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