Now entering her second season as associate head coach of VCU Women’s Tennis, Lucy Harper has proven to be an integral part of the Rams’ success. In her debut campaign, Harper helped guide the Rams to a 14-11 record, the program’s fifth A-10 Championship in seven years, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rams defeated Saint Louis (4-0), Rhode Island (4-1), Fordham (4-2), and Richmond (4-1) en route to the title before falling to North Carolina in the NCAA First Round. The Tar Heels went on to advance to the semifinals of the national tournament.
Under Harper’s and Kahfiani’s guidance, four Rams were recognized as A-10 All-Conference selections. Tania Isabel Andrade, Mariam Ibrahim, and Sofia Thorne were First Team honorees, while Yelizaveta Karlova earned Second Team accolades. Harper also mentored freshman Sofia Thorne, who earned two A-10 Rookie of the Week honors. That success was reflected in the team's overall performance as Harper helped guide the Rams to a 77% winning percentage against A-10 competition. Her leadership extended to the classroom, where seven Rams earned Scholar-Athlete recognition for maintaining GPAs of 3.5 or higher.
Before arriving in Richmond, Harper spent two successful seasons at Delaware. During her time with the Blue Hens, she helped coach them to back-to-back 20-win seasons. In 2023, Delaware had five all-CAA selections, and in 2024, they were the No. 1 overall seed in the CAA conference tournament and made the final, both of which were the first time in the program's history.
Prior to her tenure at Delaware, the Manchester, England native spent two seasons at Division II University of Charleston where she served as an assistant coach. During her first year with the University of Charleston, she helped lead the Golden Eagles to a Mountain East Conference tournament championship and a regular season co-championship. The Golden Eagles were ranked in the Top 25 for six weeks straight, peaking at No. 21.
As a student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she helped the Panthers tie their program record of wins in a season with 14. She was also named to the Horizon League honor roll all four years and named an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2019. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2021 and earned her master's degree from the University of Charleston.
