Bradley Tyer Jones
Contributing writer
The Sewanee 1993 Women’s Tennis team made their way back up the mountain this past weekend to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Conchie Shackelford, with over 600 wins on her belt, led this team to a high national ranking at #6. The team had an 18-7 record, and defeated Division 1 teams: Tennessee Tech and North Alabama. The team also defeated Smith College in the round of 16, and beat Emory 5-4 to eventually reach their place at 6th in the nation. Four of these women went on to become All-Americans. This included doubles partners Kristen Crane and Linnie Wheeless who went on to win an ITA Doubles National Championship, as well as Becky May and Cameron Tyer, who was a Two-NCAA national semifinalist, seven-time all American, and National Senior Player of the year.
Although this team received the spotlight this past weekend, Conchie continues to coach successful teams and strengthen her overall record. I asked Cameron Tyer about her experience reuniting with her team yet again. She responded by saying how fun it was to see everyone again, and that “It was impressive to hear about the efforts that the trailblazers made that allowed the athletics experience that we enjoyed”.
The “trailblazers” that Cameron mentioned were also celebrated this weekend– Sewanee’s first female athletes that led the path for other female athletes. This 1993 team remains close with Conchie to this day and enjoyed this reunion which further reminded them of their success and close relationships.
Images courtesy of Bradley Tyer Jones (C’25).