Men's Tennis recognized as sport's winningest program
AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas men's tennis team has been recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as the winningest men's tennis program in the country. Texas' 1,316 wins makes the school one of only six Division I programs that have reached the 1,000-win milestone. "Texas has had so many great players throughout the years and this program has been led by some great tennis coaches," head coach Michael Center said. "Being recognized as the winningest program is a tribute to all of them and we hope to continue that tradition of excellence." Texas has had only four men's tennis coaches in its history including the pioneer, Dr. D.A. Penick (1912-1956) and his successor, Wilmer Allison (1957-1972), who combined to lead the Longhorns to 14 Southwest Conference (SWC) team titles. In honor of the six decades the duo contributed to The University of Texas, Penick-Allison Tennis Center was opened in the spring of 1986. Following in the footsteps of the legendary Penick and Allison was Dave Snyder, who later became a Longhorn coaching legend himself. Snyder was at the helm of the Texas men's tennis program for 28 seasons (1973-2000) and during that time guided the Longhorns to nine conference titles, including the first three Big 12 crowns (1997-99). Snyder retired as the winningest active Division I collegiate tennis coach on July 5, 2000 with 697 wins in 42 seasons as head coach at Texas and Arizona. Currently, Center is in his fifth season at Texas and has compiled a 77-30 (.720) overall record and led the Longhorns to four appearances in the NCAA Championships (2001-04), advancing to the round of 16 twice (2002-03). Since Center's arrival, he has continued to run the men's tennis program with the same class and integrity that was instilled upon it by Snyder, Allison and Penick. Georgia is second on the ITA all-time wins list with 1,084, followed by Southern California (1,080), Stanford (1,039), UCLA (1,026) and Notre Dame (1,001). Note: Records were compiled by the ITA prior to the start of the dual season and are based on information submitted by the individual schools, with some programs not having complete records. Texas began compiling its win-loss records in 1948.
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