William Lenoir (December 6, 1942 – March 28, 2007) was an American

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player. As a collegiate athlete at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, Lenoir was a three-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n, garnering the honors from 1962–64. In 1962, he earned the No. 13 ranking, a spot in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

singles semifinals as well as the top ranking in the Southwest. He followed his 1962 season with a trip to the NCAA singles quarterfinals and won the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

singles and doubles titles in 1963. Lenoir repeated as the WAC singles and doubles titlist again in 1964. Along with his talents on the courts, Lenoir earned WAC Scholar-Athlete awards from 1962–63. Lenoir is a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame. In 1963 he won the Western States Championships defeating

Marty Riessen Marty Riessen (born December 4, 1941) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player active from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP rankings in September 1974, though was rank ...

in a long five set final. In 1965, Lenoir beat

Herb Fitzgibbon Herbert Fitzgibbon (born July 14, 1942) is a former tennis player who was nationally ranked in the 1960s and 1970s. Fitzgibbon played four years of high school tennis for Garden City High School and never lost a match. He played collegiate ten ...

in the final at the

Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Open (also known as the Cincinnati Masters) is an annual professional tennis event held in Cincinnati, United States. Due to previous sponsorship, it has also been known as: the Thriftway ATP Championships, the Great American I ...

to win the singles title. He had also reached the 1961 singles finals in Cincinnati, before falling to

Allen Fox Allen E. Fox (born June 25, 1939) is an American former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as U.S. No. 4 in 1962, and was in the top ten in the U.S. five times between 1961 ...

. On March 28, 2007, Lenoir died after a long battle with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

.
Local tennis pro Lenoir, 64, dies

References

External links

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Article at www.cstv.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenoir, Billy American male tennis players Arizona Wildcats men's tennis players 1942 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen