BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University Director of Athletics, Dr. Marybeth Lamb, announced today that David Purpura has been named as the Bears' new head coach for the men's and women's tennis programs.

"I am very excited to have Coach Purpura on the staff to lead the men's and women's tennis teams, said Lamb.

"His tennis expertise coupled with his ability to recruit and develop outstanding players and student leaders will no doubt help the two programs contend for their respective Little East championships in the years to come," Lamb added.

Coach Purpura is a 2005 graduate of Northeastern University where he majored in both political science and journalism. Prior to transferring to Northeastern, David attended UMass Dartmouth and competed on the Corsairs' Little East Conference champion men's tennis team as a freshman in 2001.

A native of Middleboro, Massachusetts, David played varsity tennis all four years at Middleboro High School, including two years under former BSU head coach Filipe Miguel. He also played three years of varsity basketball and three years of varsity soccer.

David is currently a social studies teacher at Taunton High School, a position he has held since 2005. He was the girls varsity tennis coach for ten seasons beginning in 2005, and also served nine seasons on the boys soccer coaching staff including four as the head coach.

In his ten seasons as the head coach of the girls tennis team at Taunton, Coach Purpura posted a career record of 123-83 (.597)  and guided his squads to eight straight postseason births from 2008 to 2015. He was a five-time Taunton Gazette Coach of the Year and two-time Hockomock League Team Sportsmanship recipient.