University of Georgia Athletics
Twins, Siblings, Teammates & Bulldogs
July 15, 2020 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The best doubles partners, like twins, seem to have a shared sixth sense. There's that often unspoken and intuitive connection that exists out on the tennis court, in which the players always seem to know what the other is thinking and where they're going with the ball during a point.
Of course, if the doubles pairing is a set of twins — the best example being the identical Mike and Bob Bryan, the former Stanford men's tennis stars that have gone on to be the greatest doubles team ever — well, that's when it usually gets really magical.
Pam Crews McDougal and identical twin sister Kim Crews Lewis didn't have a playing career like the Bryan Brothers, but in the mid-1970s they were on the Georgia women's tennis team together. And they're still doubles partners to this day, in Edmond, Okla., where they both live and compete on USTA league teams. Lewis takes the ad court, preferring the backhand side for a right-hander, and McDougal lines up in the deuce court.
"I just continue to love the competitive part of tennis," Lewis said earlier this week, adding, "We've played together enough, and also being twins, we're very comfortable being on the court. ... I find such great joy continuing to play tennis. I'm thankful to God for good health and for the ability to continue playing a game that I so love."
The former Crews twins had no exposure to tennis at all when they were young, but when they were in eighth grade the family moved from Houston to Palatine, Ill., there were some courts at the local high school right behind their house.
"We'd never seen a tennis court before," Lewis said.
Once they got a racket (wooden, of course) to go along with their mom's old one, the sisters were soon hooked.
"When we saw that tennis court, what an opportunity, it was calling both of us," McDougal said.
Lewis and McDougal sound exactly alike, and in separate interviews they gave the same answer when asked about their memories of playing for Georgia more than 40 years ago. Looking back, both were struck by the opportunities they and other women had thanks to Title IX, which was enacted in 1972. And both are amazed today by how far women's collegiate athletics have come over the last few decades.
"I just marvel at it," McDougal said. "We thought things were pretty good and I look now at how Georgia tennis is set up, how Oklahoma State tennis is set up, it's unbelievable. To think there was no such thing as a dressing room to get ready in when we played, it's a great thing now."
"Things have changed quite a bit, haven't they?" Lewis said. "It was a huge deal to be offered a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia. ... I think the experience of representing your university on a highly competitive level was incredible — one that when I step back and look at it, it's one I'm forever grateful to have had that opportunity."
McDougal lettered for Georgia in 1975-76 before deciding to transfer to Oklahoma State. Lewis had not been credited with a letter during her career, but after women's tennis head coach Jeff Wallace recently looked into the matter he was able to, last week on the twins' birthday, officially add her name to the list of the program's letter winners.
Wallace took over as head coach in 1986, so he didn't coach Lewis and McDougal, but he's recruited and coached several siblings during his long career.
"When you have one on your team for a year and then you're recruiting the sister, you just want to make sure that you do that right," he said. "You don't want to get yourself in a situation where you just expect she's coming here because her sister's here. You've got to make sure you do the right things in recruiting to let them know that she's just as important as her sister and you're each going to be your own player here."
Of course, not all twins make for the best doubles teams. Growing up in Alpharetta, Ga., Shannan McCarthy Gaudette and her identical twin, Shawn McCarthy Luke, were both highly accomplished singles players. But more often than not they played doubles with different partners.
When the McCarthy Twins, as they were so often called, got to Georgia, Wallace initially paired them together.
"I remember Jeff put us in to play doubles together against Georgia Tech in our first dual match and we were losing," Gaudette recalled recently. "We were losing 5-3 in the third and he came out and said, well, you girls are going to make Georgia history. We said, what do you mean? He said, yeah, we've never lost a dual match doubles match to Georgia Tech and you two will be the first ones. And we were like, what? [Laughs] We were like, we can't let this happen.
"We pulled it out and then figured we probably would be better off playing with someone other than our sibling. Too much pressure."
Gaudette went on to one of the best careers in program history: she played No. 1 singles all four years (1989-92), reached the finals of the 1992 NCAA singles tournament, was a seven-time All-American and her 150 career singles wins remain by far the most in Georgia's rich history.
Luke started out playing near the bottom of the lineup and each year worked her way up until she was playing No. 2 singles as a senior and became a two-time All-American. The twins both continue to teach tennis in the Atlanta area.
"I think for me at the beginning, the hardest thing was just telling them apart," Wallace said with a laugh. "Other than that, you could see that they were really close and great friends, so that went really well."
Gaudette and Luke didn't set out to come to Georgia together, as McDougal and Lewis did. Gaudette initially committed to Stanford but eventually decided that going to Georgia and playing for Wallace alongside her sister was what she wanted to do.
"I did think, gosh, I'm going to be so far away from home and away from her, so I think that did kind of pull me back to Georgia, as well," said Gaudette, who has four children, including triplets. "As it turns out, it was a great thing to go to school with your sister.
"I think we both just really felt like Georgia was the place for us. It wasn't like we had to go together but it was what we wanted to do."
For Lewis and McDougal, they were actually two-thirds of a triumvirate that wanted to come to Georgia together, After moving to Atlanta from Illinois, they along with high school teammate Debi Snelling wanted to play college tennis in Athens — and all three did.
The trio was part of the 1975 team, coached by Jane Kuykendoll, the program's first head coach (1974-77), that went 14-0. Despite all of the extraordinary success Georgia has had over the years, particularly under Wallace, who has led the Bulldogs to six national titles (two NCAA, four National Indoor), that 1975 team is the only squad to go undefeated.
"Really?! Well, well, well! That's pretty cool!" was McDougal's response when told about her piece of Georgia history.
Georgia's women's program has had two other sets of siblings play together: Christa Grey Macsay and younger sister Lori Grey Giuggio helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2000 NCAA title 20 years ago, with Giuggio, then a freshman, and partner Marissa Catlin clinching the championship over Stanford at No. 1 doubles; Kelley Hyndman Stearns and younger sister Yvette Hyndman Simmons played together in 2007-08, with Simmons earning All-American honors in 2007.
Among the numerous sets of brothers to play together on the men's tennis team are two that stand out. Manuel Diaz came to Georgia from Puerto Rico in 1972 and was a two-time All-American, and his younger brother Ricky played alongside him in 1975. After serving as coach Dan Magill's second-in-command from 1982-88, helping the Bulldogs win their first NCAA titles in 1985 and'87,
Manny Diaz took over for Magill as head coach in 1988 and has become, like Magill and Wallace, one of the greatest coaches in collegiate history, winning four NCAA team titles, including back-to-back titles in 2007-08, and two National Indoor championships.
Two of the players Diaz has coached are twins Matias and Nicolas Boeker, who were on the 2001 NCAA title team. Matias Boeker had one of the greatest careers in history, winning the NCAA team, singles and doubles titles (with partner Travis Parrott), otherwise known as tennis' "Triple Crown." Boeker then followed that up by winning the NCAA singles title again in 2002. He was inducted into the ITA Men's Hall of Fame in 2017. Nicolas Boeker also had a very good career, earning All-America honors in 2003.
Neither of Georgia's tennis programs has had any triplets, but there have been a few that played other sports. In the mid-1990s, the football team had Dustin, Mike and Miles Luckie. More recently, the swimming and diving program had the Litherlands: Jay, Kevin and Mick, who wrapped up their careers in 2018. Jay Litherland made the U.S. Olympic Team in 2016 and placed fifth in the 400 individual medley in Rio.
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Staff Writer
The best doubles partners, like twins, seem to have a shared sixth sense. There's that often unspoken and intuitive connection that exists out on the tennis court, in which the players always seem to know what the other is thinking and where they're going with the ball during a point.
Of course, if the doubles pairing is a set of twins — the best example being the identical Mike and Bob Bryan, the former Stanford men's tennis stars that have gone on to be the greatest doubles team ever — well, that's when it usually gets really magical.
Pam Crews McDougal and identical twin sister Kim Crews Lewis didn't have a playing career like the Bryan Brothers, but in the mid-1970s they were on the Georgia women's tennis team together. And they're still doubles partners to this day, in Edmond, Okla., where they both live and compete on USTA league teams. Lewis takes the ad court, preferring the backhand side for a right-hander, and McDougal lines up in the deuce court.
"I just continue to love the competitive part of tennis," Lewis said earlier this week, adding, "We've played together enough, and also being twins, we're very comfortable being on the court. ... I find such great joy continuing to play tennis. I'm thankful to God for good health and for the ability to continue playing a game that I so love."
The former Crews twins had no exposure to tennis at all when they were young, but when they were in eighth grade the family moved from Houston to Palatine, Ill., there were some courts at the local high school right behind their house.
"We'd never seen a tennis court before," Lewis said.
Once they got a racket (wooden, of course) to go along with their mom's old one, the sisters were soon hooked.
"When we saw that tennis court, what an opportunity, it was calling both of us," McDougal said.
Lewis and McDougal sound exactly alike, and in separate interviews they gave the same answer when asked about their memories of playing for Georgia more than 40 years ago. Looking back, both were struck by the opportunities they and other women had thanks to Title IX, which was enacted in 1972. And both are amazed today by how far women's collegiate athletics have come over the last few decades.
"I just marvel at it," McDougal said. "We thought things were pretty good and I look now at how Georgia tennis is set up, how Oklahoma State tennis is set up, it's unbelievable. To think there was no such thing as a dressing room to get ready in when we played, it's a great thing now."
"Things have changed quite a bit, haven't they?" Lewis said. "It was a huge deal to be offered a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia. ... I think the experience of representing your university on a highly competitive level was incredible — one that when I step back and look at it, it's one I'm forever grateful to have had that opportunity."
McDougal lettered for Georgia in 1975-76 before deciding to transfer to Oklahoma State. Lewis had not been credited with a letter during her career, but after women's tennis head coach Jeff Wallace recently looked into the matter he was able to, last week on the twins' birthday, officially add her name to the list of the program's letter winners.
Wallace took over as head coach in 1986, so he didn't coach Lewis and McDougal, but he's recruited and coached several siblings during his long career.
"When you have one on your team for a year and then you're recruiting the sister, you just want to make sure that you do that right," he said. "You don't want to get yourself in a situation where you just expect she's coming here because her sister's here. You've got to make sure you do the right things in recruiting to let them know that she's just as important as her sister and you're each going to be your own player here."
Of course, not all twins make for the best doubles teams. Growing up in Alpharetta, Ga., Shannan McCarthy Gaudette and her identical twin, Shawn McCarthy Luke, were both highly accomplished singles players. But more often than not they played doubles with different partners.
When the McCarthy Twins, as they were so often called, got to Georgia, Wallace initially paired them together.
"I remember Jeff put us in to play doubles together against Georgia Tech in our first dual match and we were losing," Gaudette recalled recently. "We were losing 5-3 in the third and he came out and said, well, you girls are going to make Georgia history. We said, what do you mean? He said, yeah, we've never lost a dual match doubles match to Georgia Tech and you two will be the first ones. And we were like, what? [Laughs] We were like, we can't let this happen.
"We pulled it out and then figured we probably would be better off playing with someone other than our sibling. Too much pressure."
Gaudette went on to one of the best careers in program history: she played No. 1 singles all four years (1989-92), reached the finals of the 1992 NCAA singles tournament, was a seven-time All-American and her 150 career singles wins remain by far the most in Georgia's rich history.
Luke started out playing near the bottom of the lineup and each year worked her way up until she was playing No. 2 singles as a senior and became a two-time All-American. The twins both continue to teach tennis in the Atlanta area.
"I think for me at the beginning, the hardest thing was just telling them apart," Wallace said with a laugh. "Other than that, you could see that they were really close and great friends, so that went really well."
Gaudette and Luke didn't set out to come to Georgia together, as McDougal and Lewis did. Gaudette initially committed to Stanford but eventually decided that going to Georgia and playing for Wallace alongside her sister was what she wanted to do.
"I did think, gosh, I'm going to be so far away from home and away from her, so I think that did kind of pull me back to Georgia, as well," said Gaudette, who has four children, including triplets. "As it turns out, it was a great thing to go to school with your sister.
"I think we both just really felt like Georgia was the place for us. It wasn't like we had to go together but it was what we wanted to do."
For Lewis and McDougal, they were actually two-thirds of a triumvirate that wanted to come to Georgia together, After moving to Atlanta from Illinois, they along with high school teammate Debi Snelling wanted to play college tennis in Athens — and all three did.
The trio was part of the 1975 team, coached by Jane Kuykendoll, the program's first head coach (1974-77), that went 14-0. Despite all of the extraordinary success Georgia has had over the years, particularly under Wallace, who has led the Bulldogs to six national titles (two NCAA, four National Indoor), that 1975 team is the only squad to go undefeated.
"Really?! Well, well, well! That's pretty cool!" was McDougal's response when told about her piece of Georgia history.
Georgia's women's program has had two other sets of siblings play together: Christa Grey Macsay and younger sister Lori Grey Giuggio helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2000 NCAA title 20 years ago, with Giuggio, then a freshman, and partner Marissa Catlin clinching the championship over Stanford at No. 1 doubles; Kelley Hyndman Stearns and younger sister Yvette Hyndman Simmons played together in 2007-08, with Simmons earning All-American honors in 2007.
Among the numerous sets of brothers to play together on the men's tennis team are two that stand out. Manuel Diaz came to Georgia from Puerto Rico in 1972 and was a two-time All-American, and his younger brother Ricky played alongside him in 1975. After serving as coach Dan Magill's second-in-command from 1982-88, helping the Bulldogs win their first NCAA titles in 1985 and'87,
Manny Diaz took over for Magill as head coach in 1988 and has become, like Magill and Wallace, one of the greatest coaches in collegiate history, winning four NCAA team titles, including back-to-back titles in 2007-08, and two National Indoor championships.
Two of the players Diaz has coached are twins Matias and Nicolas Boeker, who were on the 2001 NCAA title team. Matias Boeker had one of the greatest careers in history, winning the NCAA team, singles and doubles titles (with partner Travis Parrott), otherwise known as tennis' "Triple Crown." Boeker then followed that up by winning the NCAA singles title again in 2002. He was inducted into the ITA Men's Hall of Fame in 2017. Nicolas Boeker also had a very good career, earning All-America honors in 2003.
Neither of Georgia's tennis programs has had any triplets, but there have been a few that played other sports. In the mid-1990s, the football team had Dustin, Mike and Miles Luckie. More recently, the swimming and diving program had the Litherlands: Jay, Kevin and Mick, who wrapped up their careers in 2018. Jay Litherland made the U.S. Olympic Team in 2016 and placed fifth in the 400 individual medley in Rio.
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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