Weiss Inducted Into ITA Hall of Fame
5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Oklahoma—Robbie Weiss, Pepperdine’s only men’s tennis player to win an NCAA Division I singles title, was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame, May 21st, at the Doubletree hotel in downtown Tulsa. Weiss joined seven players, one coach and one contributor: Steve Denton of Texas, David DiLucia of Notre Dame, Donald Johnson of North Carolina, Patrick McEnroe of Stanford, Jim Pugh of UCLA and Chris Woodruff of Tennessee. Coach Jerry Noyce of Minnesota was also inducted and Tom Jacobs was inducted for his longtime contributions while at the NCAA. Weiss captured the 1988 NCAA singles title and was named ITA National Player of the Year. Weiss, who is the head women’s tennis coach at Cornell, earned ITA All-America honors twice during his career with Waves. The newly inducted Hall of Fame honoree talked about his time at Pepperdine. “The most memorable athletic event for me was winning the National Indoor Team Championships in Louisville, in 1986,” said Weiss. “We beat USC at 2:30 a.m. It came down to the last doubles match in a tie breaker. We won the finals and became No. 1 in the country.” Weiss said that his singles win at the NCAA Championships propelled his professional career. “Winning the singles championship gave me an automatic bid to the U.S. Open and a wild-card entry to a lot of other big events. It also led to sponsorships and endorsements.” When asked about the difference in college tennis today versus when he played, Weiss said that the athletes today hit the ball a lot harder and seem to be more athletic. Big serves are more commonplace in today’s college tennis. Weiss left Pepperdine to pursue a professional tennis career and returned at the age of 30 to complete his degree requirements. “I think I took the school and the area for granted when I was younger. When I came back I realized that it was the greatest school in the country for location and academics.” The former Wave standout offered advice to those athletes in the 2008 tournament and all upcoming tennis players. “Believe in yourself and enjoy your college days right now. Try not to put so much pressure on yourself and just live in the moment.”
