BATON ROUGE — Former LSU tennis All-American Kay McDaniel has been named to the list of 2005 inductees into the United States Tennis Association Tennessee Hall of Fame.
She is one of eight who will be honored in a banquet Feb. 5 at the Nashville Marriott in Nashville, Tenn.
McDaniel, who played for LSU from 1975-79, racked up 92 wins in a Tigers’ uniform, a number that places her 12th on the list of all-time winningest players in LSU women’s tennis history. She is also third on the list of match wins in a single season with 43 in 1977-78.
McDaniel became the first LSU women’s tennis All-America selection along with Ebie Taylor in 1978, a year that saw the Lady Tigers go 19-5 and earn the title of Louisiana AIAW Champion.
“My time at LSU was instrumental in preparing me for the professional tour,” McDaniel said. “It was my dream as an 11-year-old to be a professional athlete. After being All-American and getting to the finals of the National Collegiate Tournament, it was time to move to the big leagues. I was blessed to play on the tour during the most dynamic time in the history of women’s tennis.”
McDaniel toured the professional courts from 1980-86. In that span she competed in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open six times, the French Open three times and also once in the Tournament of Champions. She won a professional singles title in Atlanta, Ga., in 1985, a doubles title in Las Vegas, Nev., in 1984, and was once ranked at No. 30 in the world in singles play in 1983 and at No. 20 in doubles play in 1986. Also in 1986, she received the Concord British Airways Award for the “Fastest Serve in Women’s Tennis.”
In her career, she has competed against legendary players such as Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.
McDaniel currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Health and Exercise Science at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. She also writes a weekly column for the Chattanooga Times-Free Press on topics ranging from tennis to religion.
She authored a book titled “Serving the Master,” which credits God for giving her the strength that has helped her to live with two incurable diseases, Systematic Lupus and Addison’s disease. She is very involved in her community and travels often to give Christian and motivational speeches to audiences across the country.
“It’s a great honor to receive such a prestigious award, especially coming from my adopted home state of Tennessee,” McDaniel commented. “Tennis has given me so much. I was able to travel the world smacking a tennis ball, and it doesn’t get any better than that.”