Induction Year: 2013

 

Cathy Beene has played competitive tennis on all levels and has dedicated her efforts to the betterment of tennis through teaching and collegiate administration.  A native of Kingsville, Beene was a member of the Junior Wightman Cup Team from 1967-1969 and was ranked #1 in Texas 18 and under in 1969 while playing her tennis career in Harlingen, Texas.  At Lamar University, Beene won the USTA-AIAW National Tennis Doubles Championship in 1973 and was voted All-America. 

 

Beene turned professional in 1973 and went on to play the Avon Professional Circuit from 1977-78. She also coached the Texas Jr. Wightman Cup Team from 1974-1979. Beene has taught at three different tennis clubs in Texas and has coached tennis at four universities:  the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Arlington and Georgia Southern University.  She has coached five All-America athletes and was the Coach of the Year in the Southwest Conference in 1990 and the Southern Conference in 1998. Beene has worked as an athletic administrator for over twenty years investing her time and efforts in the development of student athletes. Beene was the chair of the NCAA Tennis Committee from from 1993-1997 and in 2011-12 while serving two different terms on the committee.  Beene is also a member of the Lamar University Athletic Hall of Honor (1993) and the Rio Grande Valley Hall of Fame (2012).