University of Richmond Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
Emily Dunbar enters her fifth season as associate head coach for the Richmond men’s and women’s tennis programs in 2026-27.
Since joining the staff in 2022, Dunbar has helped guide both programs to sustained Atlantic 10 success, highlighted by the men’s team’s 2026 Atlantic 10 Championship title and NCAA Tournament appearance, along with continued postseason and individual ITA ranking consistency on the women’s side.
In 2025-26, Dunbar helped the Richmond men’s tennis team capture its first Atlantic 10 Championship title and NCAA Tournament berth since 2006. The Spiders posted a 17-9 overall record and won the A-10 title as the No. 5 seed, becoming the first No. 5 seed since 2012 to claim the tournament crown. Richmond won three straight matches in Orlando, defeating George Mason, No. 1 VCU and No. 3 Dayton to secure the league’s automatic bid.
The championship run included a 4-3 semifinal victory over top-seeded VCU, marking Richmond’s first win over the Rams since 1990 and snapping a 37-match losing streak in the series. The victory also halted VCU’s run of eight straight A-10 titles. Cole Brashear clinched both the semifinal win over VCU and the championship match against Dayton, while the Spiders advanced to the NCAA Championship and faced No. 13 South Carolina in the opening round.
On the women’s side, Dunbar helped Richmond continue its climb in the Atlantic 10 in 2025-26. The Spiders earned the No. 3 seed in the A-10 Championship and advanced to the semifinal round for the fourth consecutive season, finishing 11-11 overall, 3-1 in conference play and 5-2 at the Westhampton Tennis Complex.
Richmond also placed four student-athletes on the 2026 Atlantic 10 All-Conference teams, with Sofia Barbulescu and Abby Lee earning First Team honors and Lucy Webber and Beatriz Guerra collecting Second Team recognition. Barbulescu and Lara Bakhaya also highlighted the fall by winning the A-10 Conference Masters qualifying doubles tournament to earn a spot in the Conference Masters Tournament in San Diego.
In 2024-25, Dunbar helped guide the women’s team to its second straight appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship final. Richmond posted its winningest season since 2009, finishing 16-7 overall with an 11-match win streak and three All-Conference First Team honorees under her and head coach Jacob Dunbar’s leadership.
As a coach, Dunbar has played an instrumental role in player development and match preparation, contributing to both programs’ rise in the Atlantic 10 standings and consistent postseason success.
A former Spider standout herself, Dunbar was a four-time Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference honoree. She launched her Richmond career by winning the Flight A singles title at the 2017 Cissie Leary Invitational and was named A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer and Co-Most Outstanding Performer. She played all five years at the No. 1 singles spot, compiling numerous marquee wins, including a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over Liberty’s top player in 2021, and helped the Spiders reach the 2021 A-10 Championship final.
As a graduate student in 2021-22, she went 9-7 in singles and 5-2 in A-10 play while anchoring the top of the lineup. In doubles, she partnered with Sara Salemyr to go 4-2 in conference action, including tournament wins over top pairs from Duquesne and VCU.
