Georgia Tech Men's Tennis Programs and Guides
Collection
Identifier: UP008
This collection brings together the published programs and media guides published by Georgia Tech on the men's tennis program at the Institute. The earliest volume also includes guides to the Tech women's tennis program.
(1 document case; about 11 bound and unbound volumes)
None.
Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Head of Archives and Special Collections.
0.4 Linear Feet
Each of these annual publications, which are primarily intended as media guides and/or recruiting brochures, contains photos and profiles of the current team and coaches; reviews of the previous season and outlooks for the upcoming season; schedules for the coming season; a section on Tech tennis history; information on the Tech tennis facilities; media information; and background on Georgia Tech itself. The guides for 1985 through 1989 also include this information for the women's tennis team at Tech; after that date, a separate publication was published for the women's team.
Within the date range of this collection, several volumes are missing, including 1994, 1995, 1997-1998, and 1998-1999.
Georgia Tech's first men's tennis team played in 1908, when individuals competed in several tournaments. One of the early coaches was J. R. Crenshaw, Professor of Modern Languages at Tech, who continued to coach the team until 1929. In the 1920s, the team won two Southern Conference championships, in 1922 and 1926.
Another long-term coach, Earle Bortell, took over the tennis team in 1934 and remained in the position until 1961. In his 28-year career, Bortell led the team to a 228-102-2 record. During his tenure, the team won two Southeastern Conference team championships and, in 1960, Tech won the SEC title. Following Bortell was Jack Rodgers, who posted a 117-84-3 record during his 12 years as tennis coach.
Three coaches guided the team from 1974 through 1998: Walter Johnson (1974-1982), Gary Groslimond (1983-1987), and Jean Desdunes (1988-1998). A high point of this period of Tech tennis was reached in the late 1980s, when both Bryan Shelton and Kenny Thorne starred on the team. Both players were named All-Americans in 1988. Desdunes led the team to the NCAA Region II quarterfinals in 1997-1998, and he achieved an overall record of 139-133 during his 11 years as coach. Desdunes was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1994.
Both former players Shelton and Thorne returned to coach Tech tennis teams. Thorne was hired as men's tennis coach in 1999, and is still in this position at the time of writing (February 2012). Shelton has coached the women's team since 2001. During the 2000s, the men's team has appeared at eight NCAA regional tournaments. As of 2011, Thorne had posted a 159-124 record.
A print copy of this finding aid is available in the Georgia Tech Archives reading room.
This is a collection that has been created by the Georgia Tech Archives from the publications produced by Tech relating to the men's tennis program. The immediate provenance of the publications is unknown, although they were likely to have been deposited in the Library and Archives by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association's Sports Information Office. Accession number 2012.016.
(1 document case; about 11 bound and unbound volumes)
The publications in this collection have been cataloged and assigned the call number GV990 .G462x. Many of these publications are also found in the Georgia Tech Library, but the Archives has the most complete collection.
Christine de Catanzaro processed these records in February 2012.
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, Library, Georgia Institute of Technology Repository