Oct. 24, 2003

Columbia, S.C. – University of South Carolina women’s tennis coach Arlo Elkins will be inducted as the 35th member of the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame on December 6th, 2003 at a ceremony being held at the Weston Resort on Hilton Head Island.

Elkins has guided the University of South Carolina to nine consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the 11th longest active streak in the NCAA. Even more impressive is that South Carolina has been to 10 post-season tournaments since his tenure began at USC in 1984 and that is the 19th best among all women’s tennis programs in the country. During that stretch, his Gamecock teams have won 10 first round matches in the NCAA tournament, which ranks among the top in Division I history. He has also guided the Gamecocks to top-25 finishes in 15 of the last 17 seasons. Elkins won his 300th match on February 5th, 2003 to establish himself as one of the elite coaches in the country. That plateau made him the 20th coach in Division I history to win at least 300 at one school.

Elkins has proved he can compete with top ranked teams in the country. He has combined for four wins against number one or two ranked teams in the country. In 2002, the Gamecocks recorded wins over three of the final four teams in the NCAA Division I Championships.

Four of his players have been named All-Southeastern Conference in singles while three double teams have received All-Southeastern Conference honors. Two athletes have been named GTE All-Americans while 32 single players and 12 double teams have been listed in the final NCAA Division I national rankings since 1984.

Elkins has also received many individual awards during his tenure at USC. He has been awarded USPTA Southern Division Coach of the Year; SCTA College Coach of the Year, and in 1995 became the first head coach at the University of South Carolina to win Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year. He has competed professionally in over 50 countries and was ranked among the top 200 tennis athletes in the world in 1978.

Elkins is married to his wife Tara and they have three children: Alyssa, Elliott, and Kelsey.