Women's Tennis

David Purpura was named the head coach of the Bridgewater State University men’s and women’s tennis programs in the summer of 2016. Coach Purpura is a 2005 graduate of Northeastern University where he majored in both political science and journalism.

Prior to transferring to Northeastern, Dave 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, Dave played varsity tennis all four years at Middleboro High School, including two seasons under former BSU head coach Filipe Miguel. He also played three years of varsity basketball and three years of varsity soccer.

Dave became the all-time winningest coach in BSU women's tennis history in 2023. In eight years at the helm, his women's teams have produced an overall record of 69-43 (.616). The Bear captured the Little East Tournament title in 2016 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fifth time in program history.

In eight years skippering the BSU men's tennis team, Dave has guided the Bears to an overall record of 34-49 (.410). The 2024 squad captured both the Little East regular season and tournament crowns and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history.

Dave was named Little East Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in 2016 and the LEC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year in 2024.

Dave 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 at the helm 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 berths from 2008 to 2015. He was a five-time Taunton Gazette Coach of the Year and two-time Hockomock League Team Sportsmanship recipient.