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:
I’ve already written about my best singles win for AC against Howard Payne’s #1: Morgan Walker. Walker, who is a legendary tennis coach at Plano West HS, finished TIAA 1st Team All-Conference alongside me. But this story is about doubles. Roo Kevin Gordon and I frequently battled against Howard Payne #1 doubles team of Walker and his partner Shane Williford.
Shane Williford finished 1990 as 2nd Team TIAA All-Conference; it was an impressive feat for a freshman. In the years which followed, the accolades would continue. Williford would finish 1stTeam All-Conference multiple times at line #1 for Howard Payne. He would later lead the Yellow Jackets to the TIAA conference title.
The 1990 NAIA District 8 tournament took place at Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) in Abilene. I had a great run, falling to eventual NAIA District champion Steven McCrane. Williford, only a freshman at the time, bowed out early. But HSU would get to know this freshman well much later. Since 2004, Shane Williford has coached the men’s & women’s tennis programs at HSU.
Under Williford, HSU has enjoyed considerable success in the American Southwest Conference (ASC). Williford’s winning percentage over the past 20 years is an astounding .856, a run which includes 9 ASC West Women’s titles and 6 ASC West Men’s titles. His Cowboys and Cowgirls have reached the NCAA D3 tournament multiple times.
The ASC picked both the HSU men’s and women’s tennis teams to earn the conference crown in 2025. The prediction looks accurate. Both the men and women are in first place, with undefeated records. By the time of Legends 2025, it’s likely Shane Williford will have yet more conference accolades to add to his resume.
My 2025 AC Hall of Honor induction has ignited a lot of Marc memory lane tennis research and stories. The best research has yielded stories of former competitors who never left the sport and instead gave back as coaches to future players. Shane Williford, who picked up win #200 as coach of HSU tennis just last week, is another fine example.
I played in the AC alumni tennis event last fall against AC’s line #1 Trey Salyer (h/t Lisa Salyer), who also happens to be the son of my best friend in high school. Like me, Trey also has ties to Williford. In 2021, Salyer also battled Coach Williford’s Hardin-Simmons Cowboys at line #1 doubles. The Hardin-Simmons #1 doubles team included Davyn Williford, the son of Coach Shane Williford.
The Salyers are planning on attending Legends 2025 on the weekend of July 25-27. Come on out, and you’re bound to hear a whole bunch of AC line #1 tennis stories from either Trey or me. Those stories might just include competition against the family of the longest serving D3 tennis coach in the state of Texas. Coach Shane Williford.
