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.Ron Bush,
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Alice Tym goes into ITA hall tonight
", ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'', September 19, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2011. She attended Peoria High School and graduated as the

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...

of her class in 1960.

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. Tym graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in English, with

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honors.Alice Tym One of Four Inducted in ITA Women's Hall of Fame
, GoMocs.com, September 19, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2011. As a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

fellow, Tym later earned a master's degree in geography from the University of Florida in 1966.

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. 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 . 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. In her four seasons as head coach, the Lady Mocs varsity women's program won two

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships (see AIAW Cham ...

(AIAW) Small College National Championships in 1977 and 1978.Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Women's Hall of Fame
Alice Luthy Tym
Retrieved January 18, 2016. 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 The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

championships in 1980 and 1981.

Life after tennis

Tym returned to UT-Chattanooga in 1982 to become a faculty member in the geography department. As of 2011, she continues to teach various geography courses at UT-Chattanooga. 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, the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame, the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame, and the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great". 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 The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

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

References

Bibliography

Smith, Phillip S., ''From Club Court to Center Court'', Western Southern Financial Masters Women's Open, Cincinnati, Ohio (2008 ed.). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Tym, Alice 1942 births Living people American female tennis players Florida Gators women's tennis players Sportspeople from Peoria, Illinois Tennis players from Illinois Yale Bulldogs coaches College tennis coaches in the United States Tennis coaches from Illinois 20th-century American sportswomen