Jay Bruner is in his sixth year as head coach of the College of Charleston men's tennis team.

His five-year run has seen the Cougars rise from a two-win Southern Conference campaign his first year to their first-ever undefeated 10-0 SoCon regular season in 2010, a runner-up finish in the SoCon Tournament in 2011 and a SoCon Tournament Championship in 2012.

In 2012, Bruner led the Cougars to a SoCon tournament title and an 18-5 overall record. Bruner led the Cougars to another SoCon regular season title with a conference record of 9-1. The season saw the Cougars drop just one match at home while winning seven in the regular season, the only loss coming against No.70-ranked Georgia State. The Cougars won the SoCon tournament in impressive fashion, shutting out the three opponents they faced. The success Bruner had in coaching the Cougars in 2012 led to his being named SoCon Coach of the Year for a second time.

Along with the program's regular season title in 2010, Bruner led junior Lukas Koncilia to his first Southern Conference Player of the Year award in his second season with the Cougars. Koncilia became only the second player in school history to earn this prestigious recognition. Bruner was also honored with SoCon Coach of the Year honors for the 2009-10 campaign.

The road to the SoCon Tournament in 2010 was historic for the Cougars under Bruner's guidance. The Cougars had two significant wins over ranked opponents at home, defeating ACC opponent and No. 67-ranked Boston College and No. 74-ranked East Carolina in the same week. These wins and a 6-0 run boosted the Cougars into the Campbell/ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings at No. 60. CofC also hosted SEC opponent and No. 14-ranked Ole Miss at Patriots Point - the highest-ranked opponent to ever travel to Charleston under Bruner. With his guidance, the Cougars picked up their first-ever undefeated SoCon regular season going 10-0 with an overall record of 16-4.

In addition to Player of the Year honors, Koncilia and sophomore Mickael Trintignac were both named to the All-Southern Conference First Team in singles, while Koncilia and sophomore Tom Delme were First Team selections in doubles and Trintignac and junior Mickael Boyer were Second Team selections playing at No. 3 doubles. Boyer earned Second Team honors for singles as well.

Trintignac headlined the award winners as he was named SoCon Player of the Week a program-best three time. His four weekly career selections is the most of any Cougar in school history. The doubles pairings of Koncilia and Delme and Trintignac and Boyer were both recognized at the end of the season with ITA Carolina Regional rankings in doubles at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively. Koncilia also picked up his first regional singles ranking at No. 20, to top off his exceptional year under Bruner. 

During the 2008-09 season, Bruner led the Cougars to six wins over the team's final nine matches to finish with an 11-14 overall record. The Cougars picked up their first win over a ranked opponent of the year defeating No. 67-ranked ASU. Charleston reached the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament with wins over Chattanooga and an upset of Wofford. Two of Bruner's recruits in 2009 helped make up the SoCon All-Freshmen Team, Tom Delme and Mickael Trintignac.   

In his first season as head coach in 2007-08, the Cougars posted an 8-17 overall mark. The team started off the spring season with a national ranking and was represented for the first time at the qualification rounds of the ITA All-American Championships with Omer Abramovich earning a preseason ITA individual ranking. During the year, the Cougars dropped six matches by one-point decisions. Abramovich was named to the All-Conference First Team in singles, while Abramovich and Steven Myers were selected to the All-Conference Second Team for their doubles performance. 

Bruner began his collegiate coaching career at CofC in 2005 as the assistant coach for the men's and women's tennis programs. In the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, both teams ranked third and second, respectively, in the Southern Conference.

Bruner previously worked as the head professional at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., and as an associate professional at the Family Circle Tennis Facility on Daniel Island, S.C.

Originally from Richmond, Va., Bruner graduated from Virginia Tech in 2001 after playing four varsity seasons for the Hokies. He served as co-captain of the team his junior and senior seasons and helped lead the Hokies to their first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 1999. Bruner was a two-time recipient of the coaches award at Va. Tech and received most valuable player and most improved honors.

Bruner holds the highest level of certification from the United States Professional Tennis Registry. He is married to Lee Perrin Bruner, also of Richmond, Va., and they have two children, Freddy and Perrin, and reside on Johns Island, S.C.

THE BRUNER FILE

•      Two-Time Southern Conference Coach of the Year (2010 and 2012)

•      Three-Time Southern Conference Regular-Season Championships (2010, 2011, 2012)

•      2011 Southern Conference Tournament Runner-Up

·          2012 Southern Conference Tournament Champions

CAREER RECORD

2007-08: 8-17 (.320)

2008-09: 11-14 (.440)

2009-10: 16-4 (.800)

2010-11: 17-6 (.739)

2011-12: 18-5 (.782)

TOTALS: 70-46 (.603)