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Alice Tym
Biographical details
Born	November 22, 1942 (age 82); Peoria, Illinois
Playing career
1961–1964	Florida
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975–1978	Chattanooga
1979–1982	Yale
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	AIAW (1977, 1978); Ivy League (1980, 1981)
Awards
	ITA Hall of Fame; University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame

Alice Luthy Tym (born November 22, 1942), née Alice Luthy, is a former American college and amateur tennis player who was ranked No. 13 in the world in the mid-1960s. She later became a college tennis coach, tennis writer and university instructor. She as inducted into the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.

Early life and education

Tym was born in Peoria, Illinois.^[1] She attended Peoria High School and graduated as the salutatorian of her class in 1960.^[2]

College career

Tym attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she organized the Florida Gators women's tennis team, served as its captain and played No. 1 singles for the Lady Gators from 1960 to 1964.^[1] Tym graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in English, with Phi Beta Kappa honors.^[3] As a Ford Foundation fellow, Tym later earned a master's degree in geography from the University of Florida in 1966.^[3]

Playing career

After earning her first degree, Tym moved on to the international tennis circuit in 1962. At the 1964 Cincinnati Open tournament, she reached the singles final before falling to Jean Danilovich. Later that year, she paired with Hedy Rutzezeck to win the doubles title in the Canada Masters tournament.

She and her husband Bill Tym also won five events at the 1964 Western Canada Open Grass Court championships; both won their respective women's and men's singles and doubles events, and then won the mixed doubles event as a team.^[4]

Tym played on the international tennis circuit from 1962 to 1970, and played in all four Grand Slam events. She won 44 career tennis tournaments in Australia, Canada, Egypt, England, India, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco and New Zealand (South Island Championships), and was a finalist in another 20 tournaments. Her career win-loss record in singles was 196–134. Tym's world ranking peaked at No. 13 in 1969.

Coaching career

After ending her playing career, Tym established the Lady Mocs women's tennis team at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was the head coach there from 1974 to 1978.^[1] In her four seasons as head coach, the Lady Mocs varsity women's program won two Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Small College National Championships in 1977 and 1978.^[5] Tym became the head coach of the Yale Bulldogs women's tennis team at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in 1978. In four seasons coaching the Lady Bulldogs, her teams compiled an overall win–loss record of 60–14 (.811) and won Ivy League championships in 1980 and 1981.^[5]

Life after tennis

Tym returned to UT-Chattanooga in 1982 to become a faculty member in the geography department.^[5] As of 2011, she continues to teach various geography courses at UT-Chattanooga.^[6]

She has been named Coach of the Year by the United States Professional Tennis Association, has been inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women's Hall of Fame,^[5] the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame, the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame,^[7] and the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great".^[8]^[9]

She was a writer for World Tennis magazine and a member of the United States Tennis Writers Association. In 1983, the International Tennis Hall of Fame named her as its winner for th Tennis Educational Merit Award.

Tym married William A. "Bill" Tym, a 1963 All-American for the Florida Gators men's tennis team, and a fellow University of Florida alumnus.^[10]

Alice Tym continued with competitive sports in retirement. She competed in 2023 National Senior Games in the sport of Pickleball.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Ron Bush, "University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Alice Tym goes into ITA hall tonight Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine", Chattanooga Times Free Press, September 19, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Joe Bates, "Tennis trailblazer honored tonight", Peoria Journal-Star, September 18, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Alice Tym One of Four Inducted in ITA Women's Hall of Fame", GoMocs.com, September 19, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Faces in the Crowd", Sports Illustrated, September 2, 1968. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Women's Hall of Fame, Alice Luthy Tym. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
^ University of Tennessee-Chattanooga; Sociology, Anthropology & Geography, Alice L. Tym Archived 2011-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame, Inductees, Alice Luthy Tym^[usurped]. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
^ Vince Murray, "Seminoles' Wright Named All-American", Ocala Star-Banner, p. 4B, March 31, 1981. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
^ Robert Markus, "In the Wake of the News", Chicago Tribune, p. C1, December 15, 1967. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "These Two Female Pickleball Rock Stars are Playing in the 2023 National Senior Games". May 31, 2023.

Bibliography

Smith, Phillip S., From Club Court to Center Court, Western Southern Financial Masters Women's Open, Cincinnati, Ohio (2008 ed.). ISBN 978-0-9712445-7-3.