Coaching Staff

 

Head Coach: Cris Popa

Telephone:  617 745-3634; 

Email:  Cristian.Popa@enc.edu
 

 

ENC Head Men's Tennis Coach Cristian Popa began playing and watching tennis as a child on the clay courts of Progresul Stadium, site of the Romanian Open Tennis Tournament, in his hometown of Bucharest, Romania.

 

Coach Popa graduated from Eastern Nazarene College with a Bachelor's of Arts in  Sociology and Psychology. He is an active member of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), is a Certified US Professional Tennis Association Coach and still participates regularly in USTA-sponsored tournaments.

During the four years Coach Popa has coached the ENC men's varsity tennis team, he has led the team to two post-season playoff births and achieved the all-time record for most wins in a regular season by an ENC men's tennis team. Under his tenure the team has earned numerous Commonwealth Coast Conference awards, including the CCC's Most Valuable Player Award and the CCC's Team Sportsmanship Award.  In the Spring of 2006, Coach Popa was recognized as the CCC Men's Tennis "Coach of the Year."

Coach Popa desires to build a dedicated tennis program and to expose his players to tennis in an array of settings. He hosts invitational and intramural tennis tournaments on-campus and has established an annual team trip to Hilton Head, SC, for early season play. He seeks to encourage his student-athletes to pursue the sport of tennis throughout their lives.

Coach Cris Popa resides in Quincy, MA, with his wife Andrea and daughters Gabrielle and Maia.