Head coach Paul Peck has led the Army women's tennis program to unprecedented success as the dominant force in the Patriot League since taking the reins in the spring of 1995. Beginning with his inaugural campaign, Peck has managed a winning record in all but his first full season at West Point.
The Black Knights captured an eighth-straight Patriot League title this April, accompanied by the program's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance. Under Peck's guidance, the Black Knights have appeared at the NCAA Tournament in 1999-2001, 2003, 2005-12, while averaging 23 wins a season over the last five years.
Peck was named Patriot League Coach of the Year for an 12th time in 2012, after guiding a young squad which featured no seniors on its roster to a 22-win season.
Army eclipsed the 15-win mark for the 15th consecutive year, and 20-win mark for the fifth straight season en route to claiming its 13th Patriot League title in 2012. The Black Knights defeated rival Navy for the second straight year in the conference title match to claim the league's NCAA Championship bid.
Peck has guided the Black Knights to 54 consecutive regular-season victories over Patriot League foes, dating back to the 2002 season. He is also the most successful coach in the history of the program with 319 career wins entering the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Peck has mentored five of the last six Patriot League Players of the Year in Niki Flach (2007), Anne Houghton (2008, 2009, 2011), and Jamila Paul (2012), while placing a multitude of others on the all-league teams. Five players from the 2012 squad earned all-star status in the Patriot League, including Paul and Rookie of the Year Natalie Allen.
In 2010, Houghton became the first Army player in program history to receive an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) regional ranking, landing at #20 in the March poll.
Under Peck's guidance, the Black Knights have established themselves as one of the top tennis programs in the Northeast. West Point has hosted the Eastern Championships since 1998. Peck serves as the organizer and director for the 25-team event, which has grown into one of the largest college tennis tournaments on the East Coast. West Point also hosted the prestigious Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Eastern Women's Regional Championships in October 2005. In addition, Army has hosted the Patriot League Championships six times.
A 1984 honors graduate of the University of Illinois, Peck enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1985 and received his commission at officer candidate school at Fort Benning, Ga. He spent three years as a platoon leader in an artillery unit in Germany. Later, Peck commanded an Alpha Battery of 5/18 FA during Operation Desert Storm, earning a Bronze Star for his accomplishments during the war. He also received the MacArthur Leadership Award as the most outstanding officer who exemplified the Army code.
After receiving a master's degree in exercise physiology from Illinois, Peck was assigned to teach in the Academy's Department of Physical Education. In 1997, he was promoted to the rank of Major before retiring from the Army.
Just as notable as his military pursuits are his accomplishments on the tennis court. After being ranked regionally in the Midwest as a junior player, Peck went on to play at the collegiate level and in many USTA tournaments as an adult. Ranked as high as eighth in the Missouri Valley, he won the Duncan Open in 1990, and twice was selected to play for the All-Army tennis team. A USPTA and USPTR certified pro, Peck boasts a stellar winning percentage of .652 (319-170) during his 18 years as head coach at West Point.
A native of Mundelein, Ill., Peck currently resides at West Point with his wife, Karen. Peck has four children, Alex, Caroline, Danny and Haley.
