USTA Missouri Valley Welcomes the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees

Her collegiate playing accolades include being named Freshman of the Year, Player of the Year and an All-Conference selection at St. Ambrose. She was named team captain of her team at St. Ambrose. George transferred to the University of Iowa after her sophomore year, graduating in 1983. She was also previously inducted into the USTA Iowa Hall of Fame and the City High School Hall of Fame for her outstanding career.

After playing the game of tennis, George focused her attention on growing the game and volunteering. She stayed at home and started working as the Director of Tennis for the City of Iowa City, starting an award winning NJTL chapter with Donna Farley. She moved on to Co-Director of the University of Iowa Recreational Services Tennis program. A few years later, she settled at the North Dodge Athletic Club as the Director of Tennis. During this time she served as the Head Girls Tennis Coach at City High School. She was named Iowa Coach of the Year on three occasions and coached multiple state championship teams and individuals. Her coaching and teaching success lead to her taking a job as the Associate Head Women’s Tennis Coach at Syracuse University from 2007-2019.

On top of her coaching and teaching responsibilities, George was a devoted volunteer for the USTA. She was the president of USTA Iowa from 1998-2002 before moving on to the USTA Missouri Valley Executive Committee. She served in multiple roles from 2002-2014, including one term as the USTA Missouri Valley president from 2009-2010. She also served on the USTA National Collegiate Committee from 2004-2008, including one term as the chair of the committee from 2006-2008.

Alex Lee

Lee has had an illustrious tennis career as a player, a coach and a volunteer. He currently serves as USTA Missouri Valley president after spending nearly 20 years in various roles on the Executive Committee. He earned his PTR Professional certification in 2001 and his USPTA Elite Professional certification in 2019. Lee currently serves as the head men’s tennis coach at Friends University in WIchita where he has coached since 2015. 

As a player, Lee is a life member of the American Tennis Association (ATA). He won National ATA Doubles Championships in 2011 and 2016 with his playing partner Doug Fleming. In 2016 he won the ATA National 60 Singles title. He also got his USTA Missouri Valley ranking as high as 5th in the 35 & Over division in the 1990s.

Arguably his proudest achievements, though, come from his volunteer and charitable work.He founded two nonprofit tennis organizations in 2009: the McAdams Community Tennis Foundation in Wichita and the Lee Sports Foundation in Pine Bluff, Ark. He is currently the executive director at McAdams. He runs the Lee Foundation with his family, occasionally traveling to Arkansas to help run workshops in the summer months. Both organizations work to introduce tennis to disadvantaged youth in their areas. 

Please join us to celebrate our three new inductees and all award winners at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, December 2. Registration will open on October 1.