Kitty Harrison (tennis)

Katherine Gordon Harrison (born 1934) is an American former college tennis coach who was the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels women's tennis team from 1976 to 1998. She attended the University of Texas at Austin at a time when the school did not field a women's team. She studied classics as a postgraduate at Texas and North Carolina before becoming a professional tennis instructor. She was the all-time winningest Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) women's tennis coach at the time of her retirement.

Not to be confused with Catherine Harrison (tennis).
Kitty Harrison
Harrison c. 1980
Full nameKatherine Gordon Harrison
ResidenceChapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Born1934 (age 88–89)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
CollegeTexas (BA, MA)
Coaching career
North Carolina (1976–1998)

Early life and education

Harrison grew up in Austin, Texas.[1] Her father, Dr. Thomas P. Harrison, went to college at the University of North Carolina.[2][3] She took up tennis at age seven or eight and received instruction from University of Texas classics professor and longtime men's tennis coach D.A. Penick.[2][4] She played high school tennis for Austin High School and competed in local and state junior tournaments.[5][6] After a year of attending Sweet Briar College in Virginia, she transferred to the University of Texas,[6] where she joined groups such as Kappa Kappa Gamma, the Mortar Board, the Orange Jackets, and Phi Beta Kappa.[1][2] There was no intercollegiate women's tennis program at Texas at the time, so she played on a club team.[7] She majored in history and philosophy, graduating with honors in 1956.[2][8]

After college, Harrison worked as a secretary in cities across the country.[6] She eventually returned to the University of Texas to earn a master's degree in classics.[6] In 1970, she enrolled in a classics PhD program at the University of North Carolina, but she left in the summer of 1974 after seeing how few teaching positions were open in the field.[4][6] She became certified as a tennis instructor after training at Dennis Van der Meer's tennis academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and began working as an assistant instructor at the Hollow Rock Racquet & Swim Club in Durham, North Carolina.[6]

Coaching career

Harrison began coaching the women's tennis program at the University of North Carolina in 1976–77, succeeding longtime coach Frances Hogan.[6][9] This was initially a part-time job, and she continued to work at the tennis club in Durham, until she was hired full time for the 1979–80 season.[7] Under Harrison, North Carolina won the first four ACC Championships, from 1977 to 1980, and finished runner-up four other times.[10] Eight times, they finished the season ranked within the top 25 nationally, and she had only four losing seasons.[2][10] Notable players for Harrison include Kathy Barton; Cinda Gurney, the 1993 NCAA Women's Singles Championships runner-up; and Alisha Portnoy.[10] She retired after the 1997–98 season, succeeded by Kansas coach Roland Thornqvist.[11] Sportswriter Mary Garber described her as "quiet and soft-spoken, but with a passion for tennis".[2]

Legacy

At the time of her retirement, Harrison was the winningest women's tennis coach in ACC history by dual match wins (with a record of about 360 wins, 225 losses).[lower-alpha 1] This record was eventually broken by fellow North Carolina coach Brian Kalbas in 2017.[12] She was inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.[10]

The Kitty Harrison Invitational is an annual preseason women's college tournament held at the University of North Carolina since 2004.[14] Also named after Harrison is the North Carolina women's tennis team's most valuable player award.[12]

Notes
  1. Contemporary sources say 362 wins, 226 losses,[2][10] while later sources say 351 wins, 224 losses.[12][13]

References
  1. "Two Austin Girls Named Mortar Board Officers". Austin American-Statesman. May 18, 1955. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Garber, Mary (April 26, 1998). "Stepping Down". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Freshman Students Bound for Sweet Briar". The Austin American. August 26, 1952. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Northington, Tom (October 16, 1977). "Tennis". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Hilley, Lewis (April 8, 1951). "1950 Austin High Net Squad Is Strongest in Recent Years". The Austin American. p. 44. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  6. Biles, Dede (August 27, 1976). "Harrison, Hunter new coaches for women's tennis, field hockey". The Daily Tar Heel. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Hamer, Jim (February 11, 1980). "Netters Rather Be In Asheville". The Asheville Times. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Manuel, John C. (February 26, 1992). "Cinda-lating Gurney ignites spark for women's tennis". The Daily Tar Heel. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Collins, Dan (September 17, 1976). "Heels' Harrison Knows Her Netters Are Good". The Chapel Hill News. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Former UNC Women's Tennis Coach Kitty Harrison Named to N.C. Hall of Fame". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Athletics. January 14, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  11. Jeffries, Anthony (June 28, 1998). "North Carolina a natural choice for Tigers' Hill". The Chapel Hill News. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Kitty to Kalbas: Passing the Torch". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Athletics. April 20, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  13. "Kitty Harrison Invitational Returns This Weekend". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Athletics. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  14. "UNC Women's Tennis Hosts Kitty Harrison Invitational". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Athletics. November 3, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
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