Murray State University Athletics
Purcell To Be Inducted Into Southern Tennis HOF
11/18/2015 2:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis
USTA Southern announced Murray State men's tennis head coach Mel Purcell has been named as a 2016 inductee into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame.
Purcell won two Kentucky high school doubles titles with his older brother, Del Purcell. He also won a Kentucky high school championship as a senior at Murray High.
He then went on to play tennis at the University of Memphis where he won the Metro Conference singles and doubles titles as a freshman. Purcell then went on to transfer to Tennessee. As a Vol, he captured two Southeastern Conference titles. In 1980, he won the NCAA doubles title with partner Rodney Harmon. Purcell was named All-America that same year.
After leaving Tennessee, Purcell made an impact on the ATP World Tour in 1980, finishing as a finalist in Indianapolis, semifinalist at the Japan Open and quarterfinalist in Atlanta and Maui. He reached his highest singles world ranking of No. 21 twice, in 1980 and 1982, and finished No. 28 or higher in four straight end-of-year rankings.
The next season would be another successful one for Purcell as he took the Atlanta, Tampa and Tel Aviv titles. He advanced to the French Open round of 16 twice while also being the doubles runner-up and singles semifinalist in Denver that same year. Purcell also reached four other ATP singles finals: 1982 Boston and Los Angeles, and 1983 Monte Carlo and Vienna.
Purcell was able to take doubles titles with four different partners over the course of his career. He was victorious in doubles in Vienna twice (Smith in 1983 and Tim Wilkison in 1987), WCT/Delray Beach (Eliot Teltscher) and Munich (Chip Hopper). Purcell reached four other doubles finals.
During his career, Purcell played against some of the greats, and won. He defeated former No. 1 players Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stan Smith, Ilie Nastase and Guillermo Vilas.
Purcell is currently the head coach of the men's tennis program at Murray State. He guided the program to back-to-back OVC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2002. His father Bennie Purcell was a Racer basketball legend as he was the first men's basketball player to score 1,000 points and the first to have his jersey number retired by the program.
Purcell's induction is scheduled to be inducted into the hall at the USTA Southern Annual Meeting in January.
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Purcell won two Kentucky high school doubles titles with his older brother, Del Purcell. He also won a Kentucky high school championship as a senior at Murray High.
He then went on to play tennis at the University of Memphis where he won the Metro Conference singles and doubles titles as a freshman. Purcell then went on to transfer to Tennessee. As a Vol, he captured two Southeastern Conference titles. In 1980, he won the NCAA doubles title with partner Rodney Harmon. Purcell was named All-America that same year.
After leaving Tennessee, Purcell made an impact on the ATP World Tour in 1980, finishing as a finalist in Indianapolis, semifinalist at the Japan Open and quarterfinalist in Atlanta and Maui. He reached his highest singles world ranking of No. 21 twice, in 1980 and 1982, and finished No. 28 or higher in four straight end-of-year rankings.
The next season would be another successful one for Purcell as he took the Atlanta, Tampa and Tel Aviv titles. He advanced to the French Open round of 16 twice while also being the doubles runner-up and singles semifinalist in Denver that same year. Purcell also reached four other ATP singles finals: 1982 Boston and Los Angeles, and 1983 Monte Carlo and Vienna.
Purcell was able to take doubles titles with four different partners over the course of his career. He was victorious in doubles in Vienna twice (Smith in 1983 and Tim Wilkison in 1987), WCT/Delray Beach (Eliot Teltscher) and Munich (Chip Hopper). Purcell reached four other doubles finals.
During his career, Purcell played against some of the greats, and won. He defeated former No. 1 players Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stan Smith, Ilie Nastase and Guillermo Vilas.
Purcell is currently the head coach of the men's tennis program at Murray State. He guided the program to back-to-back OVC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2002. His father Bennie Purcell was a Racer basketball legend as he was the first men's basketball player to score 1,000 points and the first to have his jersey number retired by the program.
Purcell's induction is scheduled to be inducted into the hall at the USTA Southern Annual Meeting in January.
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