Lapidus to be Inducted in Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame

DURHAM, N.C. - Former Duke men's tennis head coach and current Associate Director of Athletic Development Jay Lapidus will be one of 10 individuals inducted into the Collegiate Men's Tennis Hall of Fame on May 26 in Athens, Ga.

"I am honored to be selected for the Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame," said Lapidus. "I have been fortunate to be around the sport at the college and professional level for the past 30 years. As a player and coach I have surrounded myself with a lot of great people who have helped me be successful and am excited to join nine other members in the 2010 hall of fame class."

Lapidus will be inducted as a player and coach in 2010. He will be joined by players Mahesh Bhupathi (Ole Miss), Daniel Courcol (Mississippi State), Zan Guerry (Rice), Rodney Harmon (Tennessee & Sourthern Methodist) and former Princeton teammate Leif Shiras. Other coaches to be inducted are Kent DeMars (South Carolina), Craig Tiley (Illinois) and Steve Wilkinson (Gustavus Adolphus College). Also being inducted is contributor Gordon Smith of Georgia.

During his 18 seasons as head coach of the Blue Devils, Lapidus guided the team to an overall record of 373-127 and was the winningest coach in school history. He ranks third in the ACC in career victories (373) and his winning percentage (.746) is fourth best in league history. He helped Duke to 11 ACC championships, was named the ACC Coach of the Year six times and posted a career record of 133-20 in league play. He guided the Blue Devils to 17 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1992-2008 with a career record of 32-16 and six quarterfinal appearances. He was named the ITA Region II Coach of the Year in 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2006 and produced 27 ITA All-America honorees and 54 All-ACC selections.

Prior to his arrival at Duke, only the 1982 team won an ACC Championship. Duke showed its dominance from 1996-2004 when it put together an unprecedented 58-match winning streak in ACC regular season play. The streak included seven consecutive perfect 8-0 seasons against conference foes. The Blue Devils captured the ACC crown five times during that span by finishing off the competition in the ACC Tournament. Overall, Lapidus put together nine different squads that did not suffer a loss in ACC play. In his 18 seasons only one time did Duke suffer more than three losses in conference play and finish lower than third in the final ACC standings.

Under the tutelage of Lapidus, several Duke tennis players excelled both on and off the court. In his tenure with the Blue Devils, 14 players earned All-America recognition for a total of 27 honors. Two players garnered ACC Player of the Year accolades, Jason Rubell and Phillip King, while 11 players were named ACC Tournament MVP. King was also named the ITA National Rookie of the Year in 2001 and is Duke's only four-time All-America. Three players were named the ACC Rookie of the Year and there have been 56 All-ACC selections. Doug Root is one of just eight players in ACC history to earn all-conference recognition in four straight seasons.

Besides being outstanding tennis players, the Duke men's tennis program has always represented the university well as the Blue Devils have earned several sportsmanship awards. In 2006, Jonathan Stokke earned the ITA National Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award along with the USTA Sportsmanship Award. Current Duke head coach Ramsey Smith also received the USTA Sportsmanship Award in 2000 and was a two-time ITA Region II Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award winner.

Off the courts, the Blue Devils excelled in the classroom. Under Lapidus, Duke had a 100 percent graduation rate in 18 seasons. Not only were players graduating but they also achieved good grades with 123 selections to the ACC Honor Roll in 18 seasons. In that period of time, Lapidus had four or more players chosen to the honor roll every season with eight selections seven times and nine on the list twice.

In his collegiate playing days, Lapidus was the nation's top-ranked collegiate tennis player during his junior year at Princeton in 1980. He earned collegiate All-America honors in 1978, 1979 and 1980 and was also ranked No. 1 nationally in 21-and-under singles by the U.S. Tennis Association in 1980. Upon graduation in 1981, Lapidus played professionally on the Grand Prix tennis circuit from 1981 through 1987 and was ranked as high as No. 29 in the world in singles in 1983.

As a professional tennis player, Lapidus reached the round of 32 at the U.S. Open in 1984, the round of 16 at the Australian Open in 1985 and the round of 32 at Wimbledon in 1986. He was also a finalist at the Swedish Open, the Swiss Championships and the South Orange Grand Prix Tournament. Following his pro career, Lapidus worked as an assistant coach at South Carolina for two seasons before moving to Durham to coach the Blue Devils.

A native of Princeton, N.J., Lapidus was the national interscholastic singles champion for the Lawrenceville School in 1977 and won four state prep titles. He was inducted to the Mercer County (N.J.) Tennis Hall of Fame on February 23, 2008. Lapidus is married to the former Pia Tamayo and the couple has one son, Jason, born in March of 1997.

Lapidus to be Inducted in Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame

Players Mentioned

Jonathan Stokke

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Lapidus to be Inducted in Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame

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