I don’t write about myself that much. But this year I’m making some exceptions. The AC “A” Board announced that I’ll be inducted into the Austin College Hall of Honor in the summer of 2025. My sport is tennis, and Legends Weekend 2025 is igniting a bunch of Marc tennis stories. Here’s one:
Billy Finch. And 1989.
Billy Finch could play some tennis. A two-time district champion out of Kerrville Tivy High School, Finch was also a Top 50 player in Texas. In 1988, Finch was #1 on the AC tennis team. That year, he earned 1st Team All-Conference and won the AC Carroll Pickett MVP award as a freshman.
But sophomore Billy had even bigger goals when freshman Marc showed up in Sherman in 1989.
Tennis was my thing in high school. I was a Top 100 player in Texas who guided my A&M Consolidated Tigers to the State Tournament in 1986. There, we fell to the State Champions from Austin Westlake. I lost to a Westlake Chapparal named Tim Nabers (more on him later).
AC was attractive because I could continue my tennis thing in college. After arriving, Billy Finch tracked me down and said, “let’s hit the court.” Finch was excited to have a new teammate who might help get AC a TIAA conference title as a TEAM. And I was excited to learn that I would have one helluva doubles partner in Billy Finch.
Billy and I won a lot in 1989. I went 13-5 in singles at line #2, earning 2nd Team TIAA All-Conference. Billy Finch was even better at line #1, earning 1st Team TIAA All-Conference once again. When the conference tournament rolled around in May, Billy and I were the two singles entrants for AC. And we knew that a TIAA conference title as a TEAM was a real possibility.
In 1989, TIAA conference titles for teams were determined by a point system, with more points awarded for wins in later rounds. Were Billy and I to go deep in the tournament, our point totals in singles (combined with some key doubles wins) might be enough to come out on top. But one guy stood in our way: Bo Burton, the two-time defending TIAA Champion from McMurry.
I had a solid tournament run. After winning my first two matches, I met #1 seed Burton in the quarterfinals. Burton was too much, beating me 6-4, 6-3. But on the other side of the draw, Billy won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches to reach the finals against Burton. Before that last match, Billy and I did the math. Upset Burton, and our Austin College Kangaroos would be TIAA Conference champions.
Finch almost pulled it off. After dropping a tight first set, Billy stormed back to take the second. But that was as close as he got. Bo Burton won the TIAA title for the third year in a row, beating Billy 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. Burton’s victory allowed Tarleton State to just sneak past Austin College by four points (76 to 72) for the TIAA crown. We settled for second.
Billy Finch rightly won the Carroll Pickett MVP award again in 1989. I was looking forward to his return in 1990, but Billy had tennis dreams bigger than little Austin College. He transferred to Baylor to play tennis for the Southwest Conference Bears. His hometown newspaper wrote about the transfer in an article titled “Former Tivy, Austin College standout will play for Baylor:”
“In his two years as a Kangaroo, Finch compiled a 33-7 singles record. He [was] named AC’s outstanding player for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Now that he is older, Finch is still making waves. But this time positive ones as he gets set to continue his college career at Baylor.”
Finch made the tennis team at Baylor. However, his days of NAIA D2 stardom at AC were replaced with more modest goals at NCAA D1 Baylor. For two years, Finch supported his Baylor Bear teammates on the tennis court. One of his Baylor teammates was Tim Nabers, the outstanding Westlake Chap who beat me at the 1986 State Tournament.
1990 AC tennis without Billy Finch was still special. I’ve already written a lot about that season and the accolades earned. Having my name etched just below Billy’s on the AC MVP plaque is just one of those accolades. There’s not a single match I would change in 1990.
1989 though is different. If I could change any AC tennis match during my time in Sherman, it would be that 1989 TIAA final. Billy Finch was so close. Just one measly set, and Finch would have won an individual title. And our combined tournament runs would have been just enough to bring home a TIAA team title for Austin College.
Marc’s got good digging skills. But try as I might, I just can’t find Billy Finch. If any Roos are aware of his whereabouts, let me know. Tennis is the sport of a lifetime. So, there’s every reason after 36 years for me to track him down and say “Billy, let’s hit the court.” Like we did back in 1989.
