Mississippi State's Daniel Courcol To Be Inducted Into Collegiate Tennis Hall Of Fame May 26
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Former Mississippi State men's tennis standout Daniel Courcol will be inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in Athens, Ga., May 26, during induction ceremonies surrounding the 2010 NCAA Tennis Championships.
A native of Paris, France, Courcol was a three-year letterwinner (1991-93) for the Bulldog tennis squad. He earned all-America honors four times during his career - twice in singles (1992-93) and twice in doubles (1991, '93) - and also received all-Southeastern Conference laurels multiple times.
A member of three State teams that reached the NCAA round of 16, Courcol helped led the Bulldogs to the SEC title in 1993 while manning the #1 position on the squad in both singles and doubles.
On the individual level, Courcol was simply outstanding. The only player in Mississippi State history to hold the nation's #1 ranking in both singles and doubles, he is also the only player in college tennis history to win four Collegiate Grand Slam titles in one season. In 1992-93, Courcol claimed the singles crown of both the ITA National Clay Court and All-American Hardcourt Championships. He also teamed with fellow all-American Laurent Miquelard to claim the All-American Championships' doubles title and the ITA National Indoor doubles crown the same season. He ended the 1992 season ranked ninth nationally in singles. In 1993, he finished fifth in the country in singles and fourth in doubles.
In addition to his all-American laurels, Courcol was also named the 1993 ITA National Senior Player of the Year and was the winner of the Dan Magill Award that same year, an honor named for the legendary University of Georgia tennis coach and adminstrator.
Courcol amassed career records of 86-28 in singles and 47-30 in doubles, and remains in the top 10 of almost every MSU men's tennis statistical category.
Following his collegiate career, Courcol played professionally on the ATP Tour. He reached the top 170 in the world in singles in 1996.
Holding a marketing degree from State (1993), Courcol now resides in Paris and is the Customer and Quality Service Director for Fnac.com, a European retailing company of nearly 20,000 employees comparable to Amazon.com in the United States.
He and his wife, Bella, have two children - daughter Mathilde (5) and son Thomas (5 mos.).
The ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame is housed at the University of Georgia's Henry Field stadium in Athens. Legendary Georgia men's coach and Hall of Fame member Dan Magill serves as curator and chairman of the Hall. The ITA Men's Hall of Fame, which includes over 1,800 rare photos, inducted its first class in 1983, and has inducted more than 170 players, coaches and contributors since then. Players are eligible for election to the Hall of Fame 15 years after their last collegiate match and coaches are eligible one year following retirement. The main criteria for election are college accomplishments as well as honors earned after college.
Courcol joins legendary Bulldog tennis coach R.T. "Tom" Sawyer in the ITA Hall of Fame. Sawyer, inducted in 1991, coached State's men from 1949-68, leading the Bulldogs to a 216-36 overall record, two SEC championships, four NCAA appearances and two top 3 national finishes. He was 1967 SEC Coach of the Year.