University of Georgia Athletics
Road to the NCAAs: Past Tennis Championships In Athens
May 15, 2007 | General
ATHENS, Ga. -- From May 17-28, the best collegiate tennis teams and student-athletes from across the country will be in Athens to showcase their talents at the University of Georgia’s tennis facilities in search of a national title. The following is a look at previous years a national champion in tennis has been crowned in Athens.
| Men's Tennis Championships in Athens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Champion | Singles Champion | Doubles Champion | Attendance |
| 1977 | Stanford | Matt Mitchell (Stanford) | Manson/Lewis (USC) | 16,069 |
| 1978 | Stanford | John McEnroe (Stanford) | Austin/Nichols (UCLA) | 15,175 |
| 1979 | UCLA | Kevin Curren (Texas) | Iskersky/McKown (Trinity, Texas) | 15,655 |
| 1980 | Stanford | Robert Van't Hof (USC) | Purcell/Harmon (Tennessee) | 12,098 |
| 1981 | Stanford | Tim Mayotte (Stanford) | Pate/Richter (TCU) | 14,240 |
| 1982 | UCLA | Mike Leach (Michigan) | Doohan/Serrat (Arkansas) | 12,924 |
| 1983 | Stanford | Greg Holmes (Utah) | Miller/Malmqvist (Georgia) | 9,927 |
| 1984 | UCLA | Mikael Pernfors (Georgia) | Jones/Jones (Pepperdine) | 12,408 |
| 1985 | Georgia | Mikael Pernfors (Georgia) | K. Jones/DiLaura (Pepperdine) | 16,102 |
| 1986 | Stanford | Dan Goldie (Stanford) | Leach/Pawsat (USC) | 10,981 |
| 1987 | Georgia | Andrew Burrow (Miami, Fla.) | Leach/Melville (UCLA) | 12,816 |
| 1988 | Stanford | Robby Weiss (Pepperdine) | Galbraith/Garrow (UCLA) | 12,944 |
| 1989 | Stanford | Donni Leaycraft (LSU) | Amend/Black (USC) | 14,304 |
| 1991 | USC | Jared Palmer (Stanford) | Lucena/Pedersen (California) | 30,208 |
| 1992 | Stanford | Alex O'Brien (Stanford) | Cicitis/O'Brien (Stanford) | 28,156 |
| 1993 | USC | Chris Woodruff (Tennessee) | Blair/Merklein (Florida) | 34,184 |
| 1995 | Stanford | Sargis Sargisian (Arizona St.) | Bhupahti/Hamadeh (Mississippi) | 14,395 |
| 1996 | Stanford | Cecil Mamiit (USC) | Gimelstob/Muskatirovic (UCLA) | 8,230 |
| 1998 | Stanford | Bob Bryan (Stanford) | Bryan/Bryan (Stanford) | 15,899 |
| 1999 | Georgia | Jeff Morrison (Florida) | Hippensteel/Wolters (Stanford) | 5,874 |
| 2000 | Stanford | Alex Kim (Stanford) | Franklin/Oliver (Illinois) | 11,089 |
| 2001 | Georgia | Matias Boeker (Georgia) | Boeker/Parrot (Georgia) | 21,855 |
| 2003 | Illinois | Amer Delic (Illinois) | Ram/Wilson (Illinois) | 7,010 |
Though this year will mark the first time Georgia has been the site of both Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tennis Championships, Athens is not new to championship tennis.
The Dan Magill Tennis Complex has played host to the Men’s NCAA Tennis Championships a total of 23 times and the Women’s NCAA Tennis Championships three times, most recently 2003 for the men and 2005 for the women.
In fact, the first year the NCAA crowned a men’s tennis champion in tournament format (1977), Georgia served as the host site, with Stanford taking the 5-4 decision over Trinity (Texas). The complex remained the host for 13 straight years through 1989, highlighted with eight titles by the Stanford Cardinal, three by the UCLA Bruins and two by the hometown Georgia Bulldogs.
The Championships returned to Athens 10 more times, including two of Georgia’s national title years in 1991 and 2001. In fact, all of Georgia’s titles in men’s tennis have been won in Athens. The last time Georgia hosted the men’s championship was 2003, in which Illinois claimed the title over Vanderbilt, 4-1.
Eventual professional star John McEnroe won his NCAA singles title in Athens in 1978, and a Georgia competitor was crowned on his homecourt three times. Mikael Pernfors won both of his championships in Athens (1984, 1985), and Matias Boeker won the first of his two at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in 2001.
Georgia doubles pairs Allen Miller and Ola Malmqvist and Boeker and Travis Parrot also won NCAA Titles in Athens in 1983 and 2001, respectively.
| Women's Tennis Championships in Athens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Champion | Singles Champion | Doubles Champion | Attendance |
| 1994 | Georgia | Angela Lettiere (Georgia) | Jensen/Koves (Kansas) | 5,613 |
| 2004 | Stanford | Amber Liu (Stanford) | Bercek/Fisher (UCLA) | 3,634 |
| 2005 | Stanford | Zuzana Zemenova (Baylor) | Barnes/Burdette (Stanford) | 3,277 |
The women’s championship has been held in Athens three times since tournament format was implemented in 1982.
The first of those was in 1994, in which the hometown Bulldogs captured their first title in program history with a 5-4 win over Stanford. Stanford won both of the others in 2004 and 2005, with finals victories over UCLA and Texas, respectively.
One of Georgia’s two singles champions earned her honor in Athens. Angela Lettiere, who also played in the Rolex National Indoor Championships and Riviera All-American Championships the same season, came out as the 1994 NCAA Champion.
History of the Dan Magill Tennis Complex
When it comes to facilities the University of Georgia tennis programs are second to none. Many visiting coaches have tabbed the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the UGA campus as “the best in the nation.”
One of the largest on-campus tennis facilities in the country, the complex boasts a capacity of 6,000, including 4,500 at Henry Feild Stadium, 1,200 at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts and 300 at the McWhorter Courts. Temporary bleaches also have been added behind the lower courts at Henry Feild Stadium for the 2007 tournament.
The first tennis courts on campus were located east of the Arch alongside Broad Street in the early 1900s. In the 1930s and 1940s, there were six red clay courts in front of LeConte Hall, where the Journalism-Psychology complex is today. Since then, there have been several projects that have helped make this facility one of the best in the land.
The Bulldogs moved to their present location in the spring of 1958 when six rubico (dirt) courts were constructed. Then in 1968, Georgia converted to hard surface with Grass-tex. In 1977, the current Henry Feild Stadium was built, named after the Bulldogs’ No. 1 player in 1964-68. Feild died in an automobile accident in January of 1968.
Alumnus Lindsey Hopkins, Jr., donated money to the program to have the indoor tennis courts built in 1980 in his namesake, and in 1984 the Joe Heldmann Pavilion was constructed along with the Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.
The mid-court grandstand was added in 1986 followed by tournament headquarters in 1987. Also in 1987 a locker room and press room were added, and a year later an electronic scoreboard was introduced.
In 1991, lighting was installed at Henry Feild Stadium, largely due to the generosity of Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger, an Athens native. The new press box was completed in 1992.
At the 1993 Men’s NCAA Tennis Championships, the entire facility was named the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for the legendary Georgia coach. Regarded as one of the most influential men in the history of collegiate tennis, Magill served as the Georgia head tennis coach for 34 years and led the Bulldogs to two National Championships (1985 and 1987).
Just more than a decade later in 2004, a $7.5 million project that had begun in the summer of 2002 was completed. The men’s and women’s clubhouses, which include an upscale locker room, a study/players lounge, coaches offices, a reception area and a team meeting room, were built. The men’s facility is in the space where the previous clubhouse occupied, and the women’s clubhouse is between the courts at Henry Feild Stadium and the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility.
That project also included a second-level upper pavilion, which accommodates tables and serving area behind VIP seats, renovations to the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility and 12 new courts.
These state-of-the-art facilities have preserved and enhanced the original character of the Dan Magill Tennis Complex the host of this year’s NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships.
