St. Paul's School

Our Program

The St. Paul's School girls varsity tennis team seeks players who exemplify our goal of having a team composed of athletes who train and compete with intention, demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship and support their teammates in a healthy tennis community.

Each spring, we hold open tryouts to determine the rosters and ladders of the varsity and junior varsity teams. During the eight-week season, we practice four days a week and compete two days a week. Most matches are against schools in the Lakes Region League, and we also play Phillips Exeter, Northfield Mount Hermon, Groton, Andover, Tabor and others. A typical competition has six singles matches and three double matches. The coaches are already looking forward to the spring 2026 season after a strong 2025 campaign in which the team was undefeated in the Lakes Region League for the fourth year in a row.

As coaches, we work to ensure that both the team and individual players are successful, and we strive to ensure match play for all members of the team during the season to build experience and confidence.
If you are interested in playing tennis at St. Paul's School, please fill out our questionnaire.

Coaching

Head Coach Kate Dunlop and Director of Tennis Dave Taylor work together with the girls varsity tennis team.

Coach Dunlop is the associate director of advancement communications and editor of the Alumni Horae, the School's print magazine. She joined SPS in 2019 after 12 years at Colby-Sawyer College, where she was the senior director of college communications, editor of the college magazine and an adjunct professor in the humanities department. She began her career at the Boston-based Young Authors Foundation, where she was editor of Teen Ink magazine and the on-site director of the foundation's summer writing programs in London and New York City.

Coach Dunlop has been coaching SPS tennis since 2022, taking over as head coach in 2023. She believes that tennis players should be lifelong students of this ever-evolving sport — there is always more to learn — and as such enjoys attending USPTA and USTA conferences and coaching clinics to improve her own game as well as her knowledge base as a coach.

Coach Dunlop holds a B.A. from Colby College and an M.F.A. from Lesley University.

Facilities

St. Paul's School has 12 outdoor hard courts located just a short walk from the Athletic and Fitness Center and three year-round indoor courts that are accessible to students any time their schedules allow via their ID swipe cards. The indoor Stovell Tennis Courts are part of the Athletic and Fitness Center and feature locker rooms and a viewing gallery; a ball machine and tennis balls are available for use.

The Athletic and Fitness Center includes a fully equipped cardiovascular room and a state-of-the-art weight training room to support off-court training. Three full-time athletic trainers are on hand to help students stay fit and return to play.

Become Big Red. The color will suit you.

Sportsmanship, respect and kindness are at the core of our coaching and playing, whether at the club, junior varsity or varsity team level. On the field, court and ice, students step into leadership roles, taking as their role models the coaches who also serve as their classroom teachers and house advisers. Our 95,000-square-foot Athletic and Fitness Center serves the entire St. Paul's community, helping all students prioritize their physical well being — no matter their athletic interests or skill level.


Still have questions about the SPS tennis program? Send us an email: girlstennis@sps.edu