Whitlinger to be Inducted into Hall of Fame
August 11, 2010
Indianapolis, Ind. — John Whitlinger of Stanford, Calif., (formerly of Neenah, Wis.) will be inducted into the 2010 USTA/Midwest Section Hall of Fame on December 4 in Indianapolis, Ind.
The 2010 USTA/Midwest Section Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis during the USTA/Midwest Section’s 117th Annual Meeting.
John Whitlinger has served as the Stanford University Head Men’s Tennis coach for the past six years. Whitlinger has led Stanford to a 93-52 career record and five NCAA tournament appearances. He was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2006. Prior to his current position, Whitlinger was an associate coach at Stanford for 18 years. Whitlinger received the inaugural National ITA Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 1997.
Whitlinger has received the following honors: induction into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in 1999; member of Stanford’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and induction into the Fox River Valley Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998. Also, the extended Whitlinger family was named the 1986 USTA Tennis Family of the Year.
Whitlinger competed on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour for six years. He was ranked in the Top 50 in singles, and ranked in Top 40 in doubles. Whitlinger was a member of U.S. Junior Davis Cup Teams from 1970-1974. He played for the Indiana Loves of the World Team Tennis League.
During his collegiate career, Whitlinger led Stanford to its first two NCAA Championships in 1973 and 1974. He won the NCAA Singles Championship in 1974 and NCAA Doubles Championship with Jim Delaney in 1974. Whitlinger was named All-American in 1974 and 1975.
The USTA/Midwest Section Hall of Fame was established in 1984. It was relocated to the USTA/Midwest Section headquarters office in Indianapolis in 2006 after residing at the Markin Racquet Center on the campus of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich. With the 2010 inductee class, the Midwest Hall of Fame is comprised of 65 distinguished individuals.
Currently, the USTA/Midwest Section exceeds 79,000 individual members and 1,000 member organizations. It is the second largest section of the United States Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis in the U.S. The USTA/Midwest Section is comprised of 14 Districts in the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin as well as designated counties in West Virginia and Kentucky. The USTA/Midwest Section offers recreational and competitive tennis for individuals of all ages and abilities. For more information, visit the USTA/Midwest Section at www.midwest.usta.com.