Norfolk State Athletics announced Peter Banas as the head coach of men’s and women’s tennis on Feb. 25, 2022.
Banas comes to NSU after spending over four years with Fordham University's women's tennis program, where he served as an assistant coach from 2017-19 and the associate head coach from 2019-21. He was also a part of the Sacred Heart University coaching staff for one year in 2016.
While at Fordham, Banas handled important recruiting duties to bring prospective student athletes to the program, including scouting national and international tournaments. In 2019, he helped the Rams bring in two four-star recruits according to TennisRecruiting.net, the highest-ranked class in the Atlantic 10.
As an assistant coach for Sacred Heart, Banas ran women's and men's team practices and performed major recruiting duties. He prepared the schedules for the fall and spring seasons and organized pro-am tennis tournaments in Fairfield County.
Before joining the staff at Sacred Heart, Banas served as head tennis professional at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy from 2015 to 2017. During his time with the academy, Banas coached and advised Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska (career-high No. 2 in WTA rankings), French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko (No. 5), Japan Open champion Christina McHale (No. 24), and Junior Wimbledon Champion Noah Rubin. He was also McEnroe's hitting partner during the latter's stint on the ATP Senior Tour.
Prior to entering the coaching realm, Banas enjoyed a decorated playing career at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Banas ranked among the top 25 of Division I players, earning All-America honors and eventually gaining points on the ATP singles and doubles tour.
Banas graduated from UL Lafayette with a bachelor's degree in sports management in 2010 and completed his MBA in 2015.
