MEGHANN SHAUGHNESSY, TIM GARCIA NAMED TO  USTA SOUTHWEST HALL OF FAME

Yearly award winners and two new members of our Hall of Fame class were recently selected by USTA Southwest and will be honored in mid-November at the USTA Southwest Annual Meeting and Awards/Hall of Fame Banquet.

Former professional  player Meghann Shaughnessy heads this year's Hall of Fame class, along with former University of New Mexico great, Timothy Garcia.

Shaughnessy, who grew up in Tucson before relocating to Phoenix to do the bulk of her junior training, is undeniably one of the greatest players (male or female) to ever play out of the Southwest Section.

She reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 in the world in 2001, and reached the fourth round or better in singles at every Grand Slam, and the quarterfinals or better in every doubles Grand Slam during her amazing 18-year professional career.

Shaughnessy captured six WTA Tour singles titles (lost in four WTA finals, including Scottsdale in 2001) and 17 career doubles titles (16 other finals) in a career that spanned nearly two decades (1996-2014). She played more than 1,200 professional matches in her illustrious career and played on every major stadium court in the world, with career singles wins over Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin,  Monica Seles, and Conchita Martinez. She claimed titles on hard courts, clay courts and indoor surfaces, and was one of the more versatile and talented two-way (singles/doubles) players on Tour during her career, including a career-best win in doubles at the 2004 WTA Tour Finals with partner Nadia Petrova.

Garcia's career in tennis was also one to cherish. Despite starting tennis as a teenager in Albuquerque, Garcia managed to attain a high level very quickly, became an All-American at University of New Mexico, and played on the professional tour from 1978-1981, and had three main draw singles appearances at the US Open. He reached a career high of 130 in the world in singles and No. 54 in doubles.

Garcia's collegiate results were impeccable. He won the Western Athletic Conference singles title in 1975-76 and was All-Conference every year of his career. He is still the only UNM Lobos player to ever compete in the NCAA Championships in all four years of his college career, and his collegiate highlight was reaching the 1978 NCAA singles semifinals, falling to eventual champion John McEnroe.  

After taking a stab at the pro tour, Garcia graduated from UNM Law School, and became a highly-respected attorney in New Mexico. In 2008, he was appointed to serve on the New Mexico Court of Appeals by then-governor Bill Richardson. He retired in 2018.

Garcia is also a former USTA Southwest board member and president (2016-2017), and has served on a variety of local, section and USTA National committees. He has been a USTA volunteer for several years.  

Both Shaughnessy and Garcia will be inducted on Saturday, November 16 during the Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet in Tempe, Arizona at the Hilton Garden ASU Research Park.

Twelve other award winners will also be honored at the ceremony in a variety of player, volunteer and service categories. Congrats to all!  

2019 USTA Southwest Award Winners

COMMUNITY TENNIS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Melissa Clark - Albuquerque, NM

EVENT OF THE YEAR
BYTE Rally for Border Youth - Nogales, AZ

HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris Cook, Thatcher HS - Thatcher, AZ

OUTSTANDING TOURNAMENT ENRICHMENT
David Sims - Albuquerque, NM

MEMBER ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR
Highpoint Sports & Wellness - Albuquerque, NM

ADULT PLAYER OF YEAR
Nathan Ponwith - Scottsdale, AZ

JUNIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR - MALE
Adam Sun - Glendale, AZ

JUNIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR - FEMALE
Gianna Pielet - El Paso, TX

JUNIOR SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Female
Carmen Corley - Albuquerque, NM

JUNIOR SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Male
Ethan Lee - Tucson, AZ

LEAGUE CAPTAIN OF THE YEAR
SuLan Peebles - Phoenix, AZ

PRESIDENT'S AWARD
Staciellen Mischel - White Plains, NY