The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Tennis' Fendick-McCain honored by NCAA
05.04.2006 | Women's Tennis
INDIANAPOLIS -- University of Texas women's tennis head coach Patty Fendick-McCain, former Stanford University All-America and National Player of the Year tennis standout, was named NCAA Division I Tennis Most Outstanding Student-Athlete for her accomplishments as a collegian, as announced Thursday. The honor, which was bestowed as part of the NCAA's 25th Anniversary of Women's Championships, takes into account outstanding performances over the past 25 years.
Fendick-McCain competed in tennis at Stanford from 1983-87. She claimed the NCAA Division I singles championship as a junior and senior (1986, 1987) while leading Stanford to three NCAA team championships (in 1984, '86, '87). Fendick-McCain also was a 1985 NCAA singles semifinalist and a 1987 NCAA doubles finalist. She set the NCAA record for consecutive victories at the No. 1 singles position (57) during her Stanford career, a record which stood from 1987 until 2001.
In 1987 as a Stanford senior, Fendick-McCain was the recipient of three prestigious awards: 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 Most Valuable Player of the NCAA's "All-Decade Team" for the 1980's and also was Stanford's "Player of the Decade" for the 1980's. Fendick-McCain was inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame in 2003.
"This is a tremendous honor, and I appreciate the recognition from the NCAA," noted McCain, who played for the Cardinal under her maiden name of Patty Fendick and went on to a successful pro career after college. "There have been lots of great players in the first 25 years of NCAA women's competition, so this award is greatly appreciated. I had a tremendous experience playing at Stanford and received so many opportunities by playing there. I was in the initial wave of female student-athletes who benefited from the Title IX legislation and the movement toward equal opportunities for women in collegiate competition. Right now, I am thinking about how many doors opened for women, and for me personally, from Title IX and the emphasis that the NCAA has played on women's athletics. We are all very grateful for that."
The Sacramento, California, native earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Stanford in 1987 and is completing her thesis for a master's degree in education at St. Mary's College in California.
An NCAA panel selected the most outstanding student-athlete in the sport of tennis. The panel consisted of current and former coaches, athletics administrators, sports information directors, and coaches association members, who used historical data and championship results to make their decision.
In 1981, the NCAA began sponsoring women's championships, which opened the door to increased athletic and academic opportunities for female athletes. Today, the NCAA sponsors 44 women's championships in 20 sports, providing more than 150,000 women with an opportunity to compete for national titles each year.
Fendick-McCain is completing her first year as UT women's tennis coach. She came to Texas this past summer from the University of Washington where she coached for eight years. To date, her Longhorn squad is ranked No. 18 and stands 17-10 entering NCAA Championship regional play. Texas is coming off a second-place finish at last weekend's Big 12 Championship, where the Longhorns fell to No. 5 Baylor (4-0) in the finals.
In NCAA first round regional action, Texas meets Arkansas (10-1) at TCU Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth on Friday, May 12 at 3 p.m. CDT. Regional host TCU will face off against Rice in the nightcap ( 6 p.m. CDT). The winners of the two first-round matches will meet in the NCAA regional final slated for Saturday, May 13 at 6 p.m. in Fort Worth. The regional champion advances to the NCAA Tennis Championships (round of 16) which begins on Thursday, May 18 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
