University of North Carolina Athletics
McNair To Be Enshrined In College Tennis Hall Of Fame
March 29, 2001 | Men's Tennis
March 29, 2001
ATHENS, GA - University of North Carolina tennis great Fred McNair IV will be amongst eight new members who will be inducted by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame in Athens, Ga. On May 23, 2001. David Benjamin, the executive director of the ITA headquarters in Princeton, N.J., made the announcement on Thursday.
McNair was a finalist in the 1973 NCAA doubles tournament with Tar Heel teammate Richie McKee. He was named an ITA All-America selection in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. He led the Tar Heels to a trio of Atlantic Coast Conference titles in 1970, 1972 and 1973 as well. At North Carolina McNair was coached by ITA Hall of Fame member Don Skakle who called McNair "the finest player ever to perform in the Atlantic Coast Conference." As a professional player McNair combined with Sherwood Stewart, a Lamar University graduate, to win the French Open doubles title in 1976 and the ATP Masters' World doubles crown in 1976.
"There will be a press luncheon for the inductees at noon on May 23, 2001 in the Hall of Fame Building at Athens, Ga.," says Dan Magill, retired University of Georgia coach and chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee who also serves as curator of the Hall of Fame museum. "Afterwards the inductees will be introduced between matches of the 2001 NCAA Championships." The NCAA Tournament is slated at the University of Georgia Mau 19-28.
Other player inductees this year are Watson M. Washburn of Harvard, Ramsey Earhart of Southern California, Brian David Teacher of UCLA and Brad Gilbert of Pepperdine. Coaches being inducted are Mercer Beasley of Tulane and Princeton, Tim Chivington of Foothill College and Dave Snyder of Arizona and Texas.
The induction banquet, scheduled for the evening of May 23 at the Athens Holiday Inn, is open to the general public. Tickets are $20 each. Reservations and ticket information may be obtained by phoning the Tennis Hall of Fame (706-542-8064) or writing Dan Magill, ITA Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 1472, Athens, Ga., 30603.
McNair will become the sixth Tar Heel tennis great in the ITA Hall of Fame, joining players Bitsy Grant and Vic Seixas and coaches John Kenfield, Don Skakle and Allen Morris.
