Furman Athletics Hall of Fame
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Played Tennis at Tennessee under Head Coach Mary Ellis Nicholson Richardson (Furman Athletic Hall of Fame '95)
Head Coach, Furman (Record) — 1985-2015 (461-187, .711 / 213-22 vs. SoCon, .906)
.711 Head Coach Winning Percentage (Furman/1st)
Southern Conference Regular Season Championships (19) — 1986 (17-2, 5-0 SoCon), '87 (15-13, 6-0 SoCon), '89 (11-15, 5-0 SoCon), '91 (15-10, 4-1 SoCon), '92 (16-5, 6-0 SoCon), '93 15-5, 7-0 SoCon), '94 (15-6, 7-0 SoCon), '99 (16-10, 8-1 SoCon), '00 (18-8, 9-0 SoCon), '01 (18-9, 9-0 SoCon), '02 (23-4, 9-0 SoCon), '03 (16-9, 9-0 SoCon), '04 (18-8, 10-0 SoCon), '05 (22-4, 10-0 SoCon), '06 (19-7, 9-0 SoCon), '07 (16-10, 9-0 SoCon), '08 (19-6, 9-0 SoCon), '09 (17-8, 10-0 SoCon), '14 (17-6, 9-0 SoCon)
Southern Conference Tournament Championships (16) — 1987, '89, '91, 92, '93, '94, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '04, '05, '06, '07, '08
Coached Furman To 100 Consecutive SoCon Regular Season Wins (never matched in any sport in league history)
NCAA Touranment Appearances (9) — 1999 '00, '01, '02, '04, '05, '06, '07, '08
d. LSU, 4-1 — 2002 (Furman's first NCAA Tournament win)
Southern Conference Coach of the Year (14) — 1985, ’87, ’91, ’93, ’98, ’00, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ‘14
South Carolina Tennis Association Coach of the Year — 1991, '00
Furman J. Lyles Alley Coach of the Year — 1998, '02, '06, '07
Coached ITA All-American Laura Gioia — 2009 (first All-American in program history)
Coached Furman Hall of Fame Members Monica Arguello, Megan Dunigan Klein, Laura Gioia, Mary Neill Hagood McKie, and Janey Strause-McKenna
Coached NCAA Division I Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award Winner Kathryn Javis — 1990
Coached 14 Southern Conference Players of the Year
Coached Nine Southern Conference Freshmen of the Year
Coached Five Southern Conference Sportsmanship Award Winners
Coached 12 Southern Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Players
Coached 168 All-Southern Conference Selections
Coached 33 Southern Conference Singles and 16 Southern Conference Doubles Champions — 1985-97 (before the SoCon switched to team scoring format)
Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic Named In Her Honor
South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame — 2004
ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame (along with her father, Harold T. Southern, a Furman graduate, and her mother, Mildred F. Southern) — 2012
Furman Athletic Hall of Fame — 2013
R.J. Reynolds High School Sports Hall of Fame — 2015
Southern Conference Hall of Fame — 2018
Page updated by Julie Paré (5/24/25)
