Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach, Robert "Bob" Bynum will be entering his third year as the Devils Head coach in the 2023-24 season.
In his debut season for the Devils, Bynum coached the men's tennis team to a 8-4 overall record and a 4-2 conference record in the 2021-22 season. He also coached his players to a second consecutive MAC Freedom tournament appearance. On the women's side, coach Bynum worked to improve the 6-7 overall record as well as the 2-5 MAC Freedom record with the women to help sure the growth of the program.
The sophomore head coach saw tremendous success in both the men's and women's team, on both a individual and team level. The 2022-23 season brought more learning experiences to the women as they collected a 1-10 overall and 0-7 in conference. On Men's side, a record of 9-5 overall and 6-1 in the MAC Freedom was recorded. The men's team also saw their first MAC Freedom Finals for the first time since 2016-17 season, as well as defeating MAC Freedom opponent, Wilkes University for the first time in 18 matches.
Bynum brings over 40 years of teaching, coaching, programming, and management experience in the sport of tennis to FDU-Florham. Bynum is certified as an Elite Professional and a Competitive Player Development Coach through the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). He is also a certified High-Performance Coach through the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
"I am extremely excited to become a member of the Devils athletic family. Having coached high school, college, and professional players, my coaching philosophy is developing trust, partnership, and accountability. I'm looking forward to drawing on my own experiences, as well as those of our FDU team members, to achieve our goals," said Bynum.
Bynum will continue to serve in many different capacities in the tennis community. He is currently the Owner/Director of Bob Bynum's Match Point Tennis. He is also the Director of the Advanced Tennis Academy for the Westfield Tennis Club in Westfield, NJ, and Director of Tennis for both the Greater Newark (NJ) Tennis & Education organization, and the Berkeley Tennis Club in Orange, NJ.
Bynum was previously the Head Boys Varsity Tennis Coach at Newark Academy, leading the team to appearances in the finals and semi-finals of the state's Tournament of Champions in his two years there. In addition he was Head Boys Coach at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ, as well as the Head Boys and Girls Varsity Tennis Coach at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, NJ.
"Bob brings over 40 years of teaching and coaching experience at all levels in the tennis community, said Noon. "We are very excited for Coach Bynum to join the Devils family and look forward to the development of our tennis programs under his leadership."
Bynum has achieved recognition over his career including the 2022 USTA Eastern George Seewagen Award for coaching excellence, the 2020 USTA Eastern Fran Osei Community Service Award, the 2017 NJ.com/Star Ledger (NJ) Coach of the Year, the 2013 Star-Ledger Middlesex County Coach of the Year, the 2008 USTA Eastern Clinician of the Year and the 1999 USPTA Eastern Pro of the Year.
Bynum expects to guide the FDU-Florham men's tennis team to their ninth straight Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) tournament appearance, and their first MAC Freedom title since 2008. On the FDU women's side, it's a third straight MAC Freedom tournament appearance and their first MAC Freedom title since the 2002 season.
