Craig Schwartz

Craig Schwartz was named Howard Talmud ’77 Head Men’s Tennis Coach in July 2022 and begins his second season at Lehigh. Schwartz brings more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience including five previous head coaching positions, three of which came at the Division I level.

In his first season at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks won 11 matches and were the No. 4 seed for the Patriot League Tournament. Matt Kleiman and Marc Blekhman earned All-Patriot League honors, while Michael Bukhalo was recognized for his academic prowess with a second straigth Academic All-Patriot League honor.

Schwartz spent the 2022 season as the associate head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. He owns a 176-131 record as a collegiate head coach that includes stints leading Appalachian State (2018-20), St. John’s (2017-18), Bucknell (2013-16), Queens College (2007-12) and Dowling College (2003-07) in addition to Lehigh.

Throughout his head coaching career, Schwartz has mentored 42 all-conference performers.

Schwartz spent the 2017-18 season as the head men’s coach at St. John’s, where he guided the Red Storm to a 14-6 record, including a 10-1 home record. He mentored three All-Big East players including Co-Player of the Year Alan Nunez Aguilera. Schwartz then returned to Appalachian State, where he previously served as a volunteer assistant with both Mountaineer tennis programs in 2016-17. He led the Mountaineers for two seasons prior to the program’s elimination in the spring of 2020.

Prior to his first stint at Appalachian State, Schwartz spent four seasons in the Patriot League at Bucknell, where he began as the interim head coach and was later promoted to head coach. During his time in Lewisburg, Schwartz spearheaded a turnaround that saw the Bison improve from three wins to 14 victories and a Patriot League semifinal appearance. Schwartz mentored Nick Bybel, the most accomplished player in Bucknell’s men’s tennis history, to a pair of Patriot League Player of the Year awards.

Before joining the Division I ranks, Schwartz enjoyed an outstanding five-year run as head men’s coach and assistant tennis director at Queens College in New York. Schwartz guided the Knights to an 86-28 record and five NCAA Tournament berths in each of the five seasons, including four consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

Schwartz was named ITA East Region Coach of the Year in 2009 and ECC Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2012. He coached two ITA All-Americans, three ECC Players of the Year and 23 All-ECC selections during his five years with the program.

The West Islip, N.Y. native began his coaching career at his alma mater, Dowling College, where he posted a 26-18 record over three seasons. Schwartz led the Golden Lions to NCAA Tournament berths in all three seasons, and was named NYCAC Coach of the Year following the 2003-04 campaign.

Schwartz played at Dowling from 1996-2000, competing at the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles positions. He was a three-time team MVP and earned NYCAC All-Conference honors. Schwartz rose to No. 17 in the Division II singles rankings as a senior and was named the ITA East Region Player of the Year.

A 2001 graduate of Dowling with a degree in business administration, Schwartz remained active on the professional circuit following his graduation, playing in numerous tennis tournaments around the world. He won back-to-back USTA National Open Indoor doubles titles in 2007 and 2008.

Schwartz is married to Meghan Dawson and the couple has three children: Caden, Zane and Ruth.