The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Fendick-McCain named Women's Tennis head coach
07.12.2005 | Women's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas -- Patty Fendick-McCain, a former NCAA tennis champion, professional standout and the 2004 Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Coach of the Year at the University of Washington, has been named Women's Tennis head coach at The University of Texas. The announcement was made Tuesday by UT Women's Athletics Director Chris Plonsky.
Fendick-McCain's appointment is immediate. She replaces long-time coach Jeff Moore who resigned his UT coaching position after 23 years on June 22 to assist in the UT Athletics fund-raising area as an assistant to Plonsky.
Fendick-McCain, 40, comes to UT after a distinguished eight years as Washington's women's head coach (1997-2005); this followed her outstanding pro and collegiate tennis career at Stanford University which saw her earn two NCAA singles titles and be named the National Player of the Year in 1987.
In her first collegiate coaching position, Fendick-McCain led Washington to eight straight NCAA Championship appearances, including quarterfinal (final eight) showings in 2001 and 2004 and round of 16 finishes three times. Playing in the highly-competitive Pac-10 Conference, Washington also tied for second in the league twice (2001, 2003). Her UW student-athletes gained 12 All-America honors and 19 Pac-10 All-Academic honors, while all eight of her Husky teams were singled out for ITA All-Academic Team awards. Prior to Fendick-McCain's arrival at UW, the program had made only one NCAA tourney showing and had not had an All-American performer.
Her 2004 Washington squad went 21-6 and finished the year ranked No. 9 nationally as she claimed National Coach of the Year honors. This past season, the Huskies were 15-9 and advanced to the NCAA Championship second round. Three of her UW teams finished the year ranked by the ITA in the top 11 nationally: in 2003 (6th), 2004 (9th) and 2001 (11th).
"I am extremely excited to be coming to The University of Texas and being part of the Longhorn tradition," noted Fendick-McCain. "This is an incredible new challenge for me and signals a new life chapter for my family. The legacy that Jeff Moore has left, and the standard of excellence that he and the UT program set in the classroom and on the court, is something I am looking forward to continuing. There is a tradition of excellence in academics and athletics at Texas. I look forward to the opportunity to work in this great Longhorns athletic program and welcome the opportunity that living in Austin presents for our family.
"That said, it was a very difficult decision to leave Washington and to leave the program we've worked very hard to build. I appreciate my time at UW, and am thankful that I had the opportunity to start my coaching career there and work with so many tremendous colleagues and student-athletes," Fendick-McCain concluded.
"We are thrilled to welcome Patty Fendick-McCain into our Longhorns athletic family," noted Plonsky. "In Patty, you have one of those great stories about a tremendous student-athlete who comes full circle. She was given an opportunity at Washington by (former AD) Barbara Hedges to be head coach of a program which had not had much national success. By 2005, in one of the most challenging conferences in collegiate tennis, Patty not only brought UW's program to national prominence, but also established herself as one of the finest teachers, motivators and role models for young women that we have in the coaching profession today. To succeed as she has in a high-profile coaching job while raising a very young family demonstrates that Patty can do a lot of things at a high level of excellence."
Known as afeisty and energetic player, Fendick-McCain won her first of two NCAA singles championships in Austin as a junior in 1986.
"We had opened our Penick-Allison Tennis Center that year and hosted the NCAAs. The good karma for her in Austin began then," Plonsky said."Every step of the way in her career, Patty has done an outstanding job. She is a champion and thinks like a champion. That is what we ask of our student-athletes and our coaches."
Fendick-McCain led UW to an overall dual-meet record of 124-66 in her tenure. She was selected as Northwest Region Coach of the Year in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003.
Prior to her UW position, Fendick-McCain had starred in collegiate and professional tennis. A graduate of Stanford, she was a four-year standout from 1983-87, earning the NCAA Division I singles championship as a junior and senior in 1986 and 1987 while leading Stanford to NCAA team championships in 1984, 1986 and 1987. She also was a 1985 NCAA singles semifinalist and a 1987 doubles finalist.
Fendick-McCain also set the NCAA record for consecutive victories at the number one singles position (57) during her Stanford career. That record stood from 1987 until 2001. She won her first NCAA singles title in Austin, as UT was host of the NCAA National Championships at the then-brand new Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
Fendick-McCain was recipient of three prestigious awards as a senior in 1987: the Honda Broderick Cup as National Women's Tennis Player of the Year; Tennis Magazine's College Player of the Year; and the Arthur Ashe Award for Sportsmanship. She also was singled out as the MVP of the NCAA's "All-Decade Team" for the 1980s and also was Stanford's "Player of the Decade" for the 1980s. Fendick-McCain was inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame in 2003.
She turned professional full time in 1987 and starred on the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Tour. Before stepping away from the WTA Tour in 1995, she ranked as high as fourth in doubles and 19th in singles, winning 26 doubles titles and three singles championships in the process.
In her pro doubles career, Fendick-McCain had nine Grand Slam semifinal and final appearances. Highlights of her professional doubles career included appearances in the finals of the Australian Open (1989, 1990, 1994) and in the finals of the 1988 U.S. Open. In singles, she advanced to the round of 16 or better seven times, including a quarterfinal appearance at the 1990 Australian Open.
A two-time member of the U.S. Federation Cup Team and U.S. Wightman Cup Team (1988, 1990), she also earned five Virginia Slims Championships in doubles in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1994. In 1988, she earned Tennis Magazine's Professional Rookie of the Year honor, and in 1992 was named World Team Tennis Rookie of the Year.
Fendick-McCain currently serves on the USTA (United State Tennis Association) Executive Committee and Collegiate Committee. She still actively competes at a high level, having reached the finals of the U.S. Open Master's mixed doubles competition in both 2000 and 2001.
The Sacramento, Calif., native earned a bachelor's in psychology from Stanford in 1987 and is completing her thesis for a master's in education at St. Mary's (Calif.).
She is married to Scott McCain, a former ATP Tour player who currently coaches on the men's professional tour. The couple has two young daughters, Keegan, 4, and Hayley, 2 1/2.
The Patty Fendick-McCain File
Full Name: Patricia Fendick-McCain
Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.
College: Stanford University '87
Collegiate Career Coaching Record (all years at Washington): 124-66 (.653) - 8 years
University of Washington Coaching Honors
- Led UW to the NCAA Tournament eight straight years (1998-2005)
- Guided UW to its first three NCAA Tournament wins in 2001
- Led 2001 and 2002 squads to NCAA Championship quarterfinals for first time in school history
- 2004 ITA National Coach of the Year
- 2003 and 2001 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
- 2001 Northwest Region Coach of the Year
- Coached the first 12 All-Americans in UW women's tennis history
- Led Huskies to highest final ranking of No. 6 in the 2003 ITA poll
Playing Highlights & Honors
- Inducted into Stanford's Hall of Fame in 2003
- Will be inducted into the USTA Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame on July 28, 2005
- Played professionally on the WTA tour from 1987 to 1995
- Achieved a WTA ranking of No. 4 in doubles and No. 19 in singles
- Won 26 doubles titles and three singles championships
- A Grand Slam doubles semifinalist, finalist or champion nine times; Australian Open champion with Mary Joe Fernandez
- Advanced to the round of 16 at a Grand Slam event in singles six times
- Finalist at the U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Masters in 2000 & 2001
- Won NCAA singles championship in 1986 and 1987 as a junior and senior at Stanford
- Played No. 1 singles for Stanford, NCAA team champions in 1984, '86 & '87
- MVP of the NCAA's All-Decade Team for the 1980s
- Stanford's Player of the Decade for the 1980s
- 1987 Honda-Broderick Award winner as Collegiate Women's Tennis Player of the Year
- Tennis Magazine's College Player of the Year in 1987
- 1987 Arthur Ashe Award for Sportsmanship
- Her 57 consecutive wins in singles were the NCAA record from 1987 until 2001
