1972 Trinity University ​Men's Tennis Team​

The 1972 Trinity University Men’s Tennis team was one of the most dominant teams in collegiate tennis history. In 30 years of the program’s standing, they had never won a national championship. That all changed in ‘72 when the team finished with a record of 36-0, winning the team title in a record 36 points.​

The team knew they had something special when the University of Southern California flew out to play them. Rarely leaving their home court, much less coming all the way to Texas, this was an unprecedented move by USC that set up what the Associated Press would refer to as “The Superbowl of College Tennis”. The crowd of students for the match was so packed that rooftops became filled with spectators. The Tigers would go on to win 6-3, sending the Trojans packing. That year they would also beat the University of California at Los Angeles, something the program hadn’t done in 13 years.​

Later that year, the Trinity team went into the championships game in Athens, Georgia as heavy favorites, eventually winning the team title and dethroning USC and UCLA as champions for 13 years running. Members of the team included Dick Stockton, who won the NCAA singles title, beating teammate Brian Gottfried in the championship match. Gottfried and Paul Gerken were the runners-up in  the NCAA doubles title. Bob McKinly reached the singles quarterfinals. Other team members included John Burrmann, Howard Butt, Bill McGowan and Pancho Walthall. The team’s head coach was Clarence May, and the assistant coach was John Newman.​