North Carolina Central University Men's Tennis

Lawson enters his 17th season at NCCU in 2016-17 (1990-91 to 1995-96 and 2006-07 to Present). Lawson -- the current president of the MEAC Men's Tennis Coaches' Association and certified tennis professional by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) -- led the NCCU men's tennis team to its most successful season in the program's NCAA Division I era in 2014-2015. The Eagles started the year by winning the 2014 HBCU National Championship in Jonesboro, Georgia in the fall semester. NCCU went on to post an 11-10 record in spring dual matches, setting a single-season wins record (DI era). Lawson guided the Eagles to their first-ever postseason appearance in the MEAC Tournament and NCCU advanced to the semifinals after upsetting the top seed from the Northern Division in the opening round. Lawson mentored the 2015 MEAC Player of the Year (Daniil Gerasimov), 2015 MEAC Rookie of the Year (Kert Kilumets) and a 2015 Capital One Academic All-America honoree (Tamina Kienka).  Lawson, who became an ITA Ranking Committee member for the Men's Carolinas Region in 2016-17, coached another All-MEAC honoree the year prior along with two MEAC Rookie of the Week selections in Gabriel Cucalon.  In 1995, Lawson guided NCCU's men's team to its first division championship in more than 10 years, while finishing second place overall in the CIAA which had not been accomplished since the mid 1970s. Later that year, he was elected President of the CIAA tennis coaches association. A native of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, Lawson has assumed the roles of Instructor, Head Tennis Professional, Director of Tennis and from 1990-1996 served as Head Coach of Men's Tennis at North Carolina Central University. As a student-athlete, Lawson competed in both basketball and tennis during his collegiate career. Following college, Lawson remained competitive at the amateur ranks, amassing State, Sectional and National rankings in both singles and doubles. Lawson graduated from North Carolina Central University in 1987, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. A true 'Eagle,' he earned a master's degree in Bio-Chemistry from NCCU in 1994 after completing a Research Fellowship at Duke University.  He and his wife, T. Michelle, are the parents of two sons, Tory and Curtis Jr. Mission: To build and sustain a championship caliber program while preparing our student-athletes to be successful in the game of life. Quite simply we strive for "Excellence without Excuse.