Rob Barr is in his sixth season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Hamilton College. In 2015-16 Barr guided the Hamilton women to a team-record 15 wins, the team's first national ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and a final Northeast Region ranking of 17th. Claire Keyte '17 and Samantha Weeks '19 set another program record for most doubles victories in a season with 16.
The men have won 40 dual matches and the women have posted 58 victories since Barr took over the programs in 2011. He recruited and coached Hamilton's all-time leader in singles wins on the women's side.
In 2014-15 Barr helped the men's team to nine wins for the third straight season and the women won 13 matches. The women finished that season ranked 19th in the ITA Division III Northeast Region.
In 2013-14 Barr led the women to what was then a team record with 14 victories and they ended the season ranked 15th in the Northeast. The men were honored with the ITA National Team Sportsmanship Award for the month of April.
The men recorded their highest total of dual match victories in 17 years and ended up at No. 18 in the final ITA Northeast Region rankings of 2012-13 under Barr. He coached the women to eight straight victories -- a run that started in September and ended in March -- for their longest win streak since 2004.
Barr also encourages his student-athletes to work hard in the classroom. Six tennis players were on the 2016 NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team and a dozen earned scholar-athlete honors from the ITA. Both teams received an ITA Team All-Academic Award in 2015 and 2016.
Barr was the interim head men's tennis coach at Middlebury College in 2010-11. He guided Middlebury to a dual match record of 18-4, including 6-1 in the NESCAC. The Panthers were semifinalists at the 2011 NESCAC championship and went on to win two matches at the NCAA Division III championship before they fell to Emory University in the quarterfinals. Barr coached the 2011 NESCAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year and three all-conference selections. Two of his players earned all-America honors in 2011. Barr was an assistant coach at Middlebury in 2010 when the men captured the NCAA title. He coached several all-Americans, including the ITA championship doubles duo of Andrew Thomson and Andrew Lee.
Barr coached at four Division I institutions before he arrived at Middlebury. He served as a men's assistant at Rice University and the University of New Orleans, and he was the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Barr has coached a number of professional tennis players, including Thailand Davis Cup members Danai Udomchoke and Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana. He has coached players at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, and other tour events around the world.
Barr earned his degree and played collegiate tennis at Southern Arkansas University where he led the team to a top 10 Division II ranking in 1984. He continues to play competitively at the sectional and national level.
