WCCO Sports Reporter and Anchor Mike Max recently spent time talking with legendary Gustavus men’s tennis coach Steve Wilkinson. Max and Wilkinson talked about Wilkinson’s career, his new book Let Love Serve, and his battle with cancer. The story aired on Sunday, Dec. 14 on WCCO-TV’s Sunday evening show Rosen’s Sports Sunday. You can watch the story in its entirety on the WCCO website.
Wilkinson served as the head men’s tennis coach at Gustavus from 1971-2009 and retired from the school as the winningest coach in the history of men’s collegiate tennis with 923 victories.
Wilkinson’s squads won two NCAA Division III titles (1980 and 1982) as well as 35 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles. In addition, his players claimed six national doubles titles, and four national singles titles. He coached 46 players to 87 ITA All-America honors (including current ATP tour player Eric Butorac), 103 players to 226 All-Conference honors, and five CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Wilkinson has also played a key role in the fundraising and construction of the Gustavus Adolphus College’s tennis facilities, which are considered to be among the finest in the nation.
The former coach has been involved in numerous national tennis organizations, having served on the executive committees of the USPTA, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and the USTA. He was inducted into the U.S. Professional Tennis Association’s Hall of Fame in 2013, the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame in 1974, the Northern Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1983 and the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame in 1999.
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