The tennis programs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga have a storied championship tradition.  The women have won six national titles and six Southern Conference titles, while the men have an individual NCAA Champion and 12 SoCon team trophies.  

One of the architects of the Mocs success in the 1970s is 2018 UTC Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Tym.  After an All-American career at the University of Florida, Tym went on to win 10 international titles as a playing professional in the 1960's.

As his playing career was winding down, he was recruited to Chattanooga by another prominent tennis figure in the Scenic City, Alex Guerry.  He was offered the head professional position at Manker-Patten and took over the tennis programs for UTC in 1970.

"After I came off the tour, I went to Nassau with my doubles partner and was going to take a teaching position at one of the hotels," stated Tym, who now lives in Nashville.  "That is when I ran into Alex Guerry who had come over for a fishing trip."

"We started talking about my plans and he invited me up to Chattanooga.  UTC did not have a fully-funded men's program and no women's team at that time, but Alex had a way of getting things done.  That weekend started an amazing time in my life and was the beginning of my coaching career."

After meeting with the University administration, including Athletics Director Harold Wilkes, Guerry had secured commitments to increase the funding for tennis while adding Tym as the head professional just down the street at Manker-Patten. 

Tym credits Guerry as the driving force behind the construction of the on-campus courts at UTC, along with the DeSales Harrison Racquet Center, which had a big impact on the growth of UTC tennis. 

As the program expanded, so did its success.  Tym coached NCAA Division II All-Americans Haroon Ismail (1975-76), Rob Castori (1975), Park Lockrow (1976) and Paul Press (1977) on the men's side.  At the same time, the women's program started in 1975 and saw tremendous success at the AIAW level. 
 

When the Mocs made the jump to the Southern Conference, they joined a league with strong programs like Furman and ETSU.  Despite the increase in competition, the men won the conference eight years in a row from 1978-85. 

The women's team was equally as strong, winning the AIAW Small College National Championship in 1977, 1978 and 1979.  They were led by a number of All-Americans: including Billie Abney, Phyllis Blackwell, Elizabeth Sharp, Susan Carson, Julie Dunn, Kathy Kolankiewicz, Sue Tuberville, Linda Baron and Dana Rapport. 

Tym took over coaching the women for the 1979 season and put together one of the most dominant seasons in any sport in school history.  The Mocs scored a perfect 90 points at the championships in Denver, Colo., for the third-straight national title.    

"The women had won the previous two years before I took over in 1979, so our goal was to win the AIAW without the loss of a match," stated Tym.  "We had six singles winners and three doubles winners in Denver.  It was a great accomplishment."
 
"The synergy that started there was really good," said Tym when asked about his part in the history of UTC tennis.  "Alex got the ball rolling by being able to fully fund the men.  When the women started, it got even better and just built up through the '80s." 

Tym's impact on tennis goes well beyond his time in Chattanooga.  He eventually moved on to be the head coach at Vanderbilt (1987-96) and has served as President of the United States Professional Tennis Association.  He was one of the first members to receive the distinguished Master Professional Classification, honored with the USPTA Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 2007. 

Tym is also in the USTA Southern Tennis Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame and the University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame.

Tym and the rest of the 2018 UTC Athletics Hall of Fame Class is being inducted on Friday, Feb. 16, at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.  The entire group will also be honored at halftime of the men's basketball game against Wofford on Saturday, Feb. 17.