Francis Marion University athletic officials have announced that
former Patriot athletic coach Tom C. Davidson and
former women's tennis players Mary Hirst and
Lee Whitwell, both two-time national champions,
will be the newest inductees into the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame on
Feb. 16, 2002.
Although separated by one year in school, Hirst and
Whitwell became synonymous with each other, as they teamed
on the tennis court to win back-to-back NCAA Division II women's
doubles national championships in 1993 and 1994. The first
year, they entered the national tournament as unknowns, and the
following year as unlikely repeat champions. It was only the third
time in Division II history a doubles team had successfully
defended its title. The individual singles and doubles
championships were discontinued in 1995, thus not allowing the duo
a chance to "three-peat."
Whitwell, a native of Gibraltar, earned a B.A.
degree in English and Spanish in December 1996. She is currently
the assistant women's tennis coach at Alliant International
University (formerly United States International University) in San
Diego.
In addition to lettering for four years (1993-96) on the FMU
women's tennis team, she also played on the 1993 and 1995 Patriot
volleyball teams. On the tennis court, she was a three-time
All-American. She was an All-Peach Belt Conference selection three
times, and was named the Peach Belt's "Player of the Year" for
women's tennis in 1993 as a freshman. She was named the FMU
team MVP in 1993, 1995, and 1996.
Her four-year record in singles competition was 67-24 and 63-20
in doubles. She helped guide Francis Marion to a four-year
mark of 50-29 and two NCAA national tournament appearances.
As a senior, she compiled a 13-6 singles record (No. 11 national
ranking) and a 13-5 doubles mark (No. 20) leading FMU to a
school-record 14 wins (six defeats), a spot in the Division II
South Region championship match, and a final national team ranking
of No. 13.
As a freshman with an 18-2 singles record, she also played in
the NCAA Division II singles championships in Industry, Calif.
Whitwell and Hirst also teamed to place second at the 1994 fall
Rolex National Small College Championships, and sixth at the 1993
fall ITA/Rolex NCAA Division II National Tournament, both held in
Edmond, Okla.
