Dr. Robert Screen is entering his 43rd season at the helm of the Hampton University men’s and women’s tennis programs, a tenure that has seen him become one of the most successful and decorated coaches in the history of collegiate tennis.
Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Screen has won 1,068 matches, making him the winningest coach in NCAA Div. I tennis history. Not only does Dr. Screen hold this impressive position amongst collegiate coaches, but he is also the most successful African-American tennis coach in the history of the game.
The Pirates won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division title in 2010, as sophomore Nelio Mattos and junior Gellert Varga were named First Team All-MEAC as the Pirates advanced to the MEAC Tournament semifinals.
The Lady Pirates finished second in the MEAC Northern Division in 2010, and junior Jovanna Sangria was named First Team All-MEAC.
Dr. Screen led Hampton to MEAC Northern Division regular-season titles on both the men’s and women’s side in 2009, as both squads went 8-7 and 5-0 in conference play. Under his leadership, the Pirates advanced to the MEAC final against South Carolina State, and Mattos was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
On the women’s side, Na-Hyun Baek was named Player of the Year in the MEAC for the second straight year. Dr. Screen was also the MEAC Coach of the Year in 2008.
Before moving up to the NCAA Division I level of competition during the 1995-96 season, the Pirates dominated the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) by winning 22 consecutive conference titles and two NCAA Division II National Championships (1976 and 1989), becoming the only Historically Black College/University (HBCU) to win a national tennis title.
The Pirates finished as the No. 2 team in the country six times from 1985-1994, including their last season playing at the NCAA Division II level. Setting the bar of excellence throughout the nation, the Pirates left Division II play after competing in the NCAA Tournament Championship match in three consecutive seasons.
On top of his NCAA Division II championships, Screen has a pair of HBCU National Championships to his credit and three Virginia Collegiate Championships, having defeated the University of Virginia all three times to take that title.
Since joining the MEAC, the Pirates have won nine conference titles (seven men’s and four women’s). In 1999, Dr. Screen guided the Pirates to their first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, before falling in the first round to the University of Alabama.
In 1996, Hampton University added women’s tennis to their slate, providing an additional opportunity for Dr. Screen to display his merit as a championship coach, as he guided the Lady Pirates to the MEAC crown that very same year. He went on to add two more titles in 1998 and 2002. In his four decades of service to the university, Dr. Screen has accumulated 37 conference championships.
Dr. Screen is a 1953 graduate of Hampton University (then Hampton Institute). He later received his M.A. from New York University and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Along with his duties as the head tennis coach, Dr. Screen founded the Chair of Hampton University’s Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and served as department chair until 2010.
Dr. Screen still teaches courses at Hampton.
In 1994, he co-authored a textbook in his field with one of his former students, Dr. Norma Anderson of Howard University, titled Multi-Cultural Perspectives in Communicative Disorders that is used by many major universities and colleges throughout the country. Dr. Screen authored another textbook, HIV, Substance Abuse, and Communication Disorders in Children (2007) and a novel, The Ride to Nashville (2007).
The success of the Hampton University tennis program has led to numerous accolades in Dr. Screen’s name – not the least of which is sharing the namesake of the Nielson-Screen Tennis Complex on campus with former Hampton coach Dr. Nielson.
Dr. Screen was also inducted into the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame as part of 2009’s inaugural class, and he was inducted into the Black College Hall of Fame as a contributor in August 2011.
