Borelli Inducted Into ITA Hall of Fame
11/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Nov. 13, 2010
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - TCU women's tennis coach Dave Borelli was inducted into the ITA Women's Collegiate Hall of Fame on Saturday evening in a ceremony at the Alan B. Miller Hall on the campus of William and Mary.
Borelli becomes only the third male head coach and second Division-I male head coach to be inducted into the women's hall of fame, joining former Stanford coach Frank Brennan of the 2006 class and former Division-III Mary Washington coach Ed Hegmann in this year's class.
"I feel extremely honored to be inducted into the hall of fame," Borelli said. "It's a testament to the hard work of the many players I have coached throughout the years."
Founded in 1995, the ITA Women's Collegiate Hall of Fame was created to celebrate the milestones in women's collegiate tennis, from the early struggles for recognition to the achievement of full-fledged intercollegiate competition. Established by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the hall of fame is operated by the College of William and Mary and is housed in the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on the college's campus.
The ITA Women's Collegiate Hall of Fame aspires to preserve the history and further the development of women's intercollegiate tennis through the collection of printed materials, trophies, photographs, equipment and other significant items. It honors exceptional players, coaches and contributors in women's intercollegiate tennis. The ITA Hall of Fame Committee selects inductees from the following categories: (1) outstanding collegiate players; (2) players who attended college and later had a significant impact on women's tennis; (3) outstanding collegiate coaches; and (4) individuals or corporations playing a major role in the development of women's intercollegiate tennis.
"Many distinguished athletes and coaches are already in the hall of fame," Borelli said. "To have my name among them is a tremendous honor."
Joining Borelli in this year's enshrinement class are as follows: Courtney Allen, a six-time Division-III national champion at Principia; Carrie Meyer Richardson, a two-time Division-I national champion for Marymount University; Joanne Russell, a former Wimbledon doubles champion and national champion at Trinity; and Barbara Hallquist, a two-time Division-I national champion for USC. Borelli coached Hallquist to both of her individual titles in 1977 and 1978.
Borelli was the head coach at his alma mater, USC, for 14 years (1974, 1976-88). During his run, his Trojans racked up a remarkable seven national titles, three runner-up finishes and 10 conference championships.
Under his guidance, Borelli saw five women win national collegiate singles titles and two doubles teams win collegiate championships. In total, he led 25 different players to 56 All-American honors.
After the 1981 season, Borelli was tabbed as the NCAA National Collegiate Coach of the Year when his team posted a 33-1 record and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He became the youngest coach to lead a team to the NCAA women's tennis title in 1983, when, at the age of 32, he led the Trojans to a 33-0 record.
The 1983 title was Borelli's sixth at the school, but his first since the NCAA became the governing body of women's collegiate tennis in 1982. The 1983 championship sparked a four-year run that saw Borelli mentor USC to the NCAA title match each year, claiming titles in the aforementioned 1983 and again in 1985.
Following the 1988 season, Borelli left collegiate tennis to pursue other endeavors in professional tennis and with the United State Tennis Association. In his career at USC, he posted a record of 302-45, including winning 88-straight home matches during an eight-year period.
While working outside of collegiate tennis, Borelli coached the Sacramento Capitals, a professional tennis team, and also was a tennis pro at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club and the Copper River Country Club. In 1997, Borelli was named the United States Professional Tennis Association Pro of the Year. He was later a private pro tour coach for four years before joining the USTA, where he served as the men's professional tour coach in charge of the rookie pro program.
In 2002, after four years with the USTA, Borelli made his return to women's college tennis, with a four-year stint at the helm of the Horned Frogs, what would turn out to be his first of two tenures leading the TCU women. He posted a 72-30 record with the Frogs, while helping TCU progress from a national ranking of No. 56 in 2003 to the No. 15 spot in his final season.
Borelli was named the ITA's Southwest Region Coach of the Year and Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2005. He was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2006, TCU's first year of competition in the MWC. The 2006 squad won the MWC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
He stepped down as TCU women's head coach after the 2006 season to take over the Frog men. Borelli amassed a 54-45 record, as well as two MWC regular season titles and two MWC tournament titles in four years as the men's head coach.
On July 21, Borelli decided to again take the reins of the TCU women's program, marking the beginning of his 22nd year to be involved with collegiate tennis. Overall, Borelli holds a career record of 428-120, including 374 wins as a women's head coach.
A 1974 graduate of USC, Borelli was a four-year varsity member on the Trojans' men's tennis team. He was named USC's Outstanding Scholar Athlete as a senior and was an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship recipient.
