TULSA, Okla. – Nine new members will be inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame Wednesday night in ceremonies held at the Doubletree hotel in downtown Tulsa.
The Class of 2008 consists of seven players, one coach and one contributor. The players slated for this year’s class are: Steve Denton of Texas, David DiLucia of Notre Dame, Donald Johnson of North Carolina, Patrick McEnroe of Stanford, Jim Pugh of UCLA, Robbie Weiss of Pepperdine and Chris Woodruff of Tennessee. Coach Jerry Noyce of Minnesota will also be inducted and Tom Jacobs is being inducted for his longtime contributions while at the NCAA.
Players are eligible for election to the ITA Hall of Fame 15 years after their last collegiate match and coaches are eligible following retirement. The main criteria for election are college accomplishments as well as honors earned after college. College tennis legend Dan Magill serves as curator for the ITA Hall of Fame, which is housed at the University of Georgia. The ITA Men’s Hall of Fame, which includes over 1,800 rare photos, inducted its first class in 1983 and has inducted more than 170 players, coaches and contributors since then. Members include the late Arthur Ashe (UCLA), Jimmy Connors (UCLA), John McEnroe (Stanford) and Stan Smith (Southern California).
More on the inductees:
Denton was an ITA All-American in 1978 while at Texas and went on to a professional career that saw him reach back-to-back Australian Open singles finals in 1981-82, capture the U.S. Open doubles title in ’82 and climb to as high as No. 12 in the ATP singles rankings. He is currently the head men’s coach at Texas A&M.
DiLucia earned ITA All-America honors three times while at Notre Dame (1990-92). During the ’92 season he led the Irish to the NCAA team final while also reaching the NCAA singles final. He is currently a national coach for the USTA.
Johnson was the Most Valuable Player on North Carolina’s ’90 ACC champion squad and went on to a long and highly successful pro career in doubles. He reached No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings and captured the Wimbledon crown in 2000.
McEnroe earned ITA All-America honors three straight years for Stanford from 1986-88 and helped the Cardinal to two NCAA team titles. His successful pro career included French Open and ATP Masters Cup doubles titles in ’89. Since 2001 he has been the captain for the U.S. Davis Cup squad, leading it to the title in 2007.
Pugh earned ITA All-America honors in ’84 while helping the Bruins to the NCAA title. He enjoyed a professional career that saw him win three Grand Slam doubles titles (and five mixed titles). He went 6-0 in doubles during the Davis Cup career for the United States and was part of the ’90 team that captured the title.
Weiss captured the ’88 NCAA singles title and was named ITA National Player of the Year. Weiss, who is the head women’s coach at Cornell, earned ITA All-America honors twice during his career with the Waves.
Woodruff captured the ’93 NCAA singles titles and was named ITA National Player of the Year that same season. He earned ITA All-America honors both seasons with the Vols and went on to a professional career that saw him reach as high as No. 29 in the ATP singles rankings, reach the 2000 Australian Open quarterfinals and play for the U.S. Davis Cup team. He is currently the assistant men’s coach at Tennessee.
Noyce served as head coach at Minnesota for 16 years from 1973-88. He led the Golden Gophers to three Big Ten titles and was named Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year in ’86.
Jacobs played a valuable role in significant and historic changes in NCAA Tennis Championship format during his tenure at the NCAA. Under Jacobs, leadership regional championships were added in ’96, the championship field was expanded to 64 teams in ’99 and combined men’s and women’s championships debuted in ’06. A graduate from the University of Kansas, Jacobs left the NCAA this past fall and is currently Associate Commissioner for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
The ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame is located at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and inducts members every other fall.
