John Black is entering his 17th year as head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Grand Valley State. He has led the Laker men to six consecutive NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances from 2005-2009, and has led the women’s team to 17 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament from 2002-2017.
Through his 17 years as head coach of the Lakers, Black has recorded an all-time record of 246-157 with the men and 356-116 with the women. In his time at GVSU, Black has had a total of 49 players selected as ITA Scholar-Athlete Award recipients (30 women, 19 men). He has also had 45 male student-athletes and 57 women student-athletes named to GLIAC All-Conference teams, including the 2008 Women’s Player of the Year.
During the 2017-18 season, Black's women's team claimed the GLIAC Regular season and the GLIAC Tournament titles with an 13-0 record. This was the first time the 2010-11 season that the Lakers was crowned the Regular season and Tournament champions. The Lakers finished the season with an 21-1 record against Division II teams and 18-1 against in-region opponents.
From 2006-2014, Black’s women’s teams finished in the Top 3 in the GLIAC Tournament, including four consecutive second-place finishes and the first GLIAC Tournament title in 2010. From 2004-2009, the Laker men recorded four consecutive finishes in the top-three of the GLIAC, including a second place finish during the 2007 season.
The Laker men earned their first NCAA postseason win in 2015 with a 5-1 upset over fourth-seeded Northwood in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. It was also the second time since at least the 2002-03 season that GVSU beat the Timberwolves, with Grand Valley State upsetting the 22nd-ranked GLIAC champions 5-4 in the regular season.
In 2010, Black guided the Laker women to the first undefeated season in program history, a 30-0 record and GLIAC regular season and tournament title before the team fell in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 to Hawaii-Pacific.
In 2008, the Grand Valley State men advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to #4 Drury. GVSU also earned its first national ranking in school history, as it was ranked #42 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released on April 2.
The women’s team went 14-12 and finished fifth in the GLIAC Tournament in 2003-04, while the men’s team improved to 15-9 and sixth in the conference with a record of 3-4.
In his first year in 2002-03, the women’s team finished 18-4 and 9-2 in the conference, placing third in the GLIAC Tournament, while the men’s team went 5-16 and 1-7 in the conference.
Black earned the GLIAC Women’s Coach of the Year award in 2006 after leading the Lakers to a fourth-place finish in the GLIAC Tournament. The Lakers finished that year 20-9 and in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2005, Black led the Grand Valley State men’s team to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time in school history. They would finish the year 16-9 overall, 5-2 in GLIAC play that year.
Originally from Bordentown, New Jersey, Black coached the girls’ varsity tennis team at Northern Burlington County Regional High School in 1999. He was selected as the Burlington Count Girls Tennis Coach of the Year for guiding his team to a 14-7 record. The following year, Black coached the boys’ team to an 18-5 record.
Black began his playing career at Mercer County Community College. He was named to the All-Region First Team in 1993 and 1993, and he participated in the national championships in 1993. Black then attended The College of New Jersey, where he played from 1993-1995. He earned First Team All-Conference honors during his final two seasons. During his career at TCNJ, he finished with a 42-3 singles record, combining for an overall record of 67-7.
He has been a highly ranked player in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) throughout his career. As a junior tennis player, he was ranked as high as No. 7 in the state of New Jersey. Previously, he had been ranked No. 1 in the father/son doubles in the Middle States Section. As an adult player, he has been ranked in the top-5 in men’s open singles in the Middle States Section.
In 1997, Black graduated from The College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree of arts in English. He is certified by the USTPA, and is also currently working as a Tennis Pro at Premier Athletic & Tennis Club in Grandville, Mich.
