Bob Lake has been the head coach for men's tennis at Appalachian State University since 2000 and has led the Mountaineers to four Southern Conference tournament semifinal appearances, one Sun Belt semifinal appearance, 14 double-digit win seasons and an overall record of 189-172-1, including a 67-67-1 mark in league competition.
During his tenure, Lake has coached 31 all-conference selections (23 SoCon, 8 SBC), 14 SoCon Player of the Week winners and 23 academic all-league honorees. In the Mountaineers' first season in the Sun Belt Conference in 2015, Lake coached four all-SBC selections, including Freshman of the Year Scott Webster.
Lake helped guide the Mountaineers to one of their best seasons in 2016, posting a 14-7 mark and a victory in the Sun Belt tournament over then-defending SBC Champion, Troy to advance to the Sun Belt semfinals.
The wins were the most since 2012 when the Apps won 15 matches, and also endured a season-long six-match win streak. With the solid campaign, Appalachian was represented by four student-athletes in Jan-Willem Kleynhans, Scott Webster, Jack Maddocks and Oliver Casey.
Under Lake's tutelage last season, five different student-athletes (Zach Bost, Webster, Maddocks, Casey, Kleynhans) posted at least 11 singles victories en route to a 71-45 mark (.612) in singles play, and three tandems in Maddocks/Casey, Kleynhans/Webster and Bost/Morris won at least 10 doubles victories to spearhead Appalchian's 38-15 (.717) record in doubles competition.
It wasn't just App State's on-court success that showed the Mountaineers they had a solid 2015-16 season, as they also earned the first annual Mountaineer Cup. The award is given to one of Appalachian’s 20 sports that embodies the athletic department’s core values of academic integrity, social responsibility, competitive excellence, and world-class experience.
Appalachian's willingness to support other student-athletes, work hard in the classroom (3.18 GPA) and in the community along with on-court achievments gave App State the prestigous award.
In 2014, Lake saw five of his players earn all-conference accolades, the most in school history. On two occassions, players coached by Lake have won the SoCon's prestigious Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award (Dimitar Dimitrov - 2007 and Alain Humblet - 2012)
In 2009, Lake's squad ended the season ranked No. 67 in the nation while his oldest son, Bobby, finished No. 125 in the ITA singles rankings.
A native of New York, Lake has resided in the High Country for over 30 years. Before coming to Boone, Lake spent time in Charleston, S.C. as the Director of Tennis at Seabrook Island Resort. While at Seabrook Island, he helped the resort earn the distinction as one of the top 50 tennis resorts in the United States.
Lake also served as the director of tennis at Boone’s Yonahlossee Raquet Club. While at Yonahlosee, Lake received the 1987 Court of the Year Design Award from Tennis Industry Magazine for design of the No. 2 court. Lake’s Yonahlossee Senior Clay Court tournment earned Tournament of the Year honors in North Carolina in 2005.
A tennis veteran with over 31 years of playing experience, Lake instructs and designs programs for top-ranked juniors. He regularly trains state, regional and national-caliber players. Also over the years, Lake’s fundraising tournaments have raised more than $100,000 for area charities.
A two-sport collegiate standout, Lake played both tennis and basketball at Orange County Community College before playing at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y.
As a player, Lake won six North Carolina State titles, two of which were father-son. In 2007, he won the father-son tournament with his son Bobby and also won a father-son crown with his youngest son, Steve, who joined the Mountaineers in 2011.
Lake resides in Boone with his wife, Jana and spends his summers in the Northeast, where he serves as a tennis instructor.
