Melvin Pat Patterson November 2023 about Coach Snyder

In 1952, David Snyder hitched hiked from Windfield, Kansas, to Austin. Had a tryout and got some kind of scholarship. Hitchhiked back to Kansas. Got his clothes and hitchhiked back to Austin Great student. My favorite memory is when long-time coach retired. It was summertime. I was the swim coach. Coach Snyder’s wife’s name is Nancy and Coach Snyder was coaching tennis at Arizona. I called David Snyder at his home to tell him about the opening at Texas. A woman answered the phone. I said “NANCY”. She said yes. Let me talk to David. She told me that he was at the store. So I said, “Tell him the Texas Tennis coaching job came open today. “ She said Ok and hung up. Dave called me the next day and said, “Pat, you really screwed up this time. “ I am coaching Tennis in Aspen, Colorado this summer. I rented my house to the new AD David and his wife Nancy.”

Coach Snyder said in 2012 that “When I came to UT, I knew we were going to change the culture of this team. Nobody was going to work harder than we were.”

Coach Snyder

After Allison retired and Snyder replaced him, Allison shared the most important principle of coaching he received from Penick with Snyder. “I know you can make better players, but the most important question is, will they be better men after four years?”

Jim Bayless a Longhorn tennis historian and player for Coach Snyder says:

Few athletes or coaches in any sport can match Snyder’s accomplishments throughout his stellar career spanning five decades.Hitchhiking from his native Kansas as an incoming freshman at UT in 1952, Coach Snyder went on to help his teams win three successive Southwest Conference championship titles (1954-56). As team captain, he also won the SWC doubles championship in 1956. He was ranked No. 22 in the world at one point in his career and No. 10 in the world in doubles. At one match during Snyder’s lofty tennis career, he beat Australian star Neale Fraser — a former World No. 1 tennis player.

But it was as a coach that Snyder’s impact on the sport was most stunning. After 14 seasons as head coach at the University of Arizona, Dave returned to his alma mater in 1972 as the third coach ever at UT, succeeding the retiring Wilmer Allison, to begin his spectacular 28-year run, producing more All-Americans and stars on the world stage than one can count.In 1972, Snyder was named the 3rd coach ever at the University of Texas, replacing the retiring Wilmer Allison.

At UT, Coach Snyder’s teams

1) won nine conference titles, including the first three Big 12 titles, and qualified for NCAA championship play in 22 of his 28 seasons

2)  His teams compiled an impressive number of dual-match victories—536 (represents 75% of dual-matches played)—during his time at UT. 

3) When Snyder retired, he was ranked second among tennis coaches with an all-time victory total of 697 match wins. 

4) His consistency as a head coach led to him being named the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association’s National Coach of the Year in 1985. 

5) He retired in 2000 as the winningest active NCAA Division I men’s tennis coach and ranked No. 2 on the all-time victories list with his 697career wins.

6) He was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of fame in 2001

7) Snyder is also enshrined in the University of Texas Hall of Honor

8) The Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, and the Missouri Valley Hall of Fame

9) In 2012 he was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

As a tennis player for the Longhorns, he was

• Member of the SWC championship teams from 1954 to 1956

• Team captain and SWC doubles champion in 1956

•  1985 Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association National Coach of the Year

•  Member of the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame

• Most victories of active NCAA Division I men’s tennis coaches and ranked No. 2 on the all-time list with 697 career wins.

• HOH  inductee 1988

Brochures, Media Guides, and programs are shown below.

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David Snyder- Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted 2012

David Snyder Born: December 14, 1934 (Wichita, KS)
Graduated: Winfield High School, 1952; University of Texas, 1956; University of Arizona (M.A.); Ohio State University (PhD), 1969

Today is a proud day in Winfield. The seat of Cowley County nestled on the banks of the Walnut River has been the hometown of many famous athletes, including Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees Myron Roderick, Ernest Schmidt, Fred Clark, Natasha Matson Fife, Frank Lindley, and Gerald Tucker. But today, the community celebrates the induction of another native son, legendary tennis coach David Snyder, into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Few athletes or coaches in any sport can match Snyder’s accomplishments throughout his stellar career. Not only did his career span parts of five decades, but he was also one of collegiate tennis’s most successful coaches during that period.
Snyder’s love for the game of tennis began in Winfield and he carried that love and passion for the game across the nation, becoming a legend of the sport along the way.
A two-time state singles champion in high school, Snyder continued that success in college for the University of Texas where he helped guide the Longhorns to three consecutive Southwest Conference championships (1954-1956) and a second place finish in the 1955 NCAA tournament. He was named the captain of the 1956 Texas squad and reached number twenty-two in the United States Tennis Association’s men’s singles rankings that year.
Yet for all his accomplishments as a player, it was as a teacher and coach where Snyder’s impact on the history of the sport can truly be felt.
He began his remarkable collegiate coaching career in 1959 at the University of Arizona and guided the Wildcats to a record of 161-48 in dual-matches during his fourteen seasons at the helm. Based on those results, it seemed like an obvious fit for Snyder to take over the University of Texas tennis program after the position came open in 1972.
The reunion of Snyder and his alma mater was a match made in tennis heaven. Over the next twenty-eight years as the leader of the Longhorn tennis program, Snyder won over seventy-five percent of the dual-matches including nine conference championships. His Longhorn squads also reached the NCAA tournament in twenty-two of those twenty-eight years.
In total, Snyder coached an astounding thirty-three All-Americans at Arizona and Texas and his combined win-loss record of 697-226 in dual-matches placed him among the game’s greatest of all-time.
Snyder’s success earned him several honors throughout his career. In 1962, just four seasons after he began coaching, Snyder was named the coach of the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team, a team that was led by Arthur Ashe. Snyder was also named the ITCA Coach of the Year in 1985.
He retired as the head coach of the University of Texas following the 2000 season, yet even retirement could not slow him down. Since his retirement, Snyder has also won two national age-group racquetball singles championships.
David Snyder’s life has been one for the record books. From a small Kansas town to tennis courts across the nation, he has spent his life teaching and playing the game he loves. And once again, it is a proud day in Winfield.
Coach Snyder lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Nancy. He still remains active in his retirement playing golf and tennis several days a week, along with attending many athletic events at the University of Texas.

1973 Coach Dave Snyder #11 in the nation

Horns have a 7-1 record in dual meets, but the winner of the SWC is the team that wins the most individual matches.  Consequently, Texas is 3rd in the SWC even though the Horns beat the winner of the SWC in a dual meet 4-3. The Houston Cougars join the SWC.  Dan Nelson is the most valuable player for the Longhorns.

1974 31-18   Coach Dave Snyder 3rd in conference- Team is ranked 13th nationally

Houston led the conference, with SMU second. Captain Dan Nelson was named to the SWC team and finished 10th nationally. Whaling and Nelson led the Longhorns in doubles.

Stewart Keller and Gonzalo Nunes had a good year and help the 1975 team.

1975 50-13    Coach Dave Snyder  Pending

Close, but no cigar.  Horns played their toughest schedule in a long time- USC, Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Trinity.  The Horns started the season 25-1, with Trinity the only team that dominated them.  Unfortunately, in SWC play, they finished 2nd by one point to SMU.

Trinity continues to dominate the Horns and the state of Texas.

Horns beat Georgia to finish 3rd in the National Collegiate Indoor Tennis Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, losing to Michigan in the semifinals

Team is ranked 11th 

1976 57-15   Coach Dave Snyder  

 Lost the SWC by three points to Houston.  The first SWC title tournament to determine the SWC Championship was held in Waco.  Texas won 4 of 9 singles and doubles events at the SWC tournament.

The team upset Pepperdine in NCAA tournament play. 

Stewart Keller says, “ won conference for the first time in 11 years and finished 5th nationally. Our #2 guy returned to South Africa before NCAAs, and Royal offered to fly him back on a private jet if he would play. We lost to UCLA 5-4 and came down to my doubles match at four all. Played with the #8 guy instead of the #2 guy and lost to the doubles team we had beaten at UCLA earlier in the year. UCLA loses to the eventual winner, Stanford. Curren played #3 on that team and Denton #6.

Steward Keller captures the #3 singles crown.

Graham Whaling and Gary Plock win the number two doubles championship.

Two freshmen will make the Longhorns championship-caliber team for the next 3 years- Steve Denton and Kevin Currin. Each loses only one match in the SWC.

1977 25-7     Coach Dave Snyder  SWC champion

The Tennis court is renamed the Penick-Allison courts. The team wins the SWC for the first time in 10 years.

The NCAA authorizes a single-elimination tournament for the top 16 teams to determine a National Champion. 

NCAA starts a national championship format. During the next 16 years, Coach Snyder’s teams receive a bid 10 times.

 Steve Denton is an ITA All-American in 1978 and a 1990 inductee into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame.  He holds the Guinness Book of Records with a 139 MPH serve. Reached round 8 in the NCAA championship tournament. Ended his career with an 88-22 singles record at Texas

 Gary Plock is an ITA All-American in 1977 and 1978

1978    Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Plock loses to Stanford team member John McEnroe in tournament play. Plock and Curren suffered injuries during the year and did not play against SMU. Steve Denton and Brad Nabors did a great job of holding the team together, and the Longhorns beat SMU. In NCAA tournament play, Stanford beats the Horns 7-2.

1979 17-8    Coach Dave Snyder SWC Champs.

The team makes the round of 16  in the NCAA postseason.  

Kevin Curren – National Champion and All-American in 1977, 1978, and 1979. 

1980 16-8   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Team was inexperienced with 5 freshman, 3 sophomores, and 1 junior.

Team is not ranked

1981 13-8    Coach Dave Snyder Pending

The team is ranked 17th nationally 

ITA national ranking system begins. 

Since 1981, Texas has been ranked in the top 20  13 times 

1982 17-8   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

The Longhorns got off to a good start, beating Miami, Stanford, and Harvard with Doug Crawford, Jonny Levine, and Fontana leading the way.  

The Horns are ranked 13th nationally

1983 16-11   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Texas makes the round of 16  in the postseason and is ranked 11th.  

 Jonny Levine is an ITA All-American in 1983 and 1984 and finished 2nd in the nation in singles.

1984 20-5   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Horns upset SMU and Trinity.  The team was ranked #12 in the nation. Jonny Levine was #3 in singles nationally and winner of the gold at the Pan-American games. On the team, Fontana was ranked second to Levine.  Levine made it to the 3rd round of the U.S. Open before being eliminated by Ivan Lendl.

The team is ranked 11th and makes the quarter-finals in post-season play, 

1985 26-5   Coach Dave Snyder  Pending

“Perhaps”  the toughest schedule of any Longhorn team with dual meets against #1 UCLA, # 7 Trinity, #9 Clemson,  # 14 Ca;- Irvine.

The ITCA names Snyder National Coach of the Year.

1986 18-4   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Team is ranked 7th nationally and makes the quarter finals in postseason.  

Use the arrows below to see other certificates of Longhorns in 1986,

In doubles ,  Charles Beckman and Royce Deppe are ranked 5th nationally in 1984, # 2 in 1986, and #3 in 1987. The senior’s four year record was 80-18 in dual meets. Doubles partners Deppe and Beckman in 4 years are 111-24.

1987 16-6   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

The team is ranked 15th and makes the quarterfinals in the postseason.  

1988 19-7   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

The Horns place 2nd to the Horned Frogs in the SWC  but make the quarter-finals in the postseason and finish ranked # 13 in the nation. 

Coach Snyder is inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of fame.

1989-11-12  Coach Dave Snyder Pending 3rd in the SWC

Losses to top 10 teams was a sign of mediocrity in 1989. Horns finished 3rd in the SWC.

This team had promise, but it did not materialize.  Horns started Conference play with a 5 – 8 record.  

1989-1990 22-2  Coach Dave Snyder wins the 1990 World Tennis Coach of the Year award.

Men-  Texas went undefeated in SWC play. It was their first regular season title since 1977.   These Horns had a 16-game winning streak.   Steve Bryan ranked 3rd in the nation, was SWC Player of the Year, and broke the school record for single wins in a season with 46.   The doubles team of Michael Penman and Mitch Michulka’s record was 18 wins and five losses finishing 5th in the nation

SWC Tournament Champions

Team is ranked 7th nationally and makes the quarter finals in postseason.  

TOP SONG

Steve Bryan National Champion

Steve Bryan wins the National Championship, and is an All American in 1989 and 1990. His career winning percentage is the highest winning percentage in the history of Texas Tennis at .822. 

1990- 1991 14-7   Coach Dave Snyder

Texas and TCU fought for the SWC championship. Michulka was an All-American. The team started off winning the first four tournaments and defeating fourth-ranked Tennessee. The Horns advanced to the NCAA tournament in Athens, Ga.

The Horns play 10 top tennis teams this year. Several setbacks plaque the team, but they still qualify for the NCAA tournament.

The team is ranked 21st  nationally.

1991-1992 14-10  Coach Dave Snyder’s team Finished 19th at Nationals

Horns barely made the NCAA team tennis championships. Texas won 6 of its last seven matches and placed second in the SWC. Ernesto Ponce and Ali McDonald come through in single victories over California to qualify the Horns for the NCAA playoffs. Anders Eriksson and Trey Phillips were the only nationally-ranked players on the Texas team; both lost.

The team is ranked 19th – and makes the quarter-finals in the postseason.

Front row- Mark Taylor, Otis Sadler, Anders Eriksson, Andy Mathis, Trainer Alex Faust

back row- asst. Coach Dwayne Hulquist, Graduate Asst Fred Thome, Kirk Hayaarth, Blake Rue, Trey Phillips, Ash Ayers, Brendan Sheehan, Head Coach Dave Snyder

In the NCAA tournament Texas beat New Mexico but lost to USC. Still it was a good year for the Horns. In the beginning of the season Texas had low expectations but finished #17 in the country.

1993 21-5    Coach Dave Snyder Pending #14 nationally and SWC Champs.

Eriksson, Phillips , Williams, and Draper are all nationally ranked. In doubles Eriksson and Phillips are ranked 9th nationally. SWC Regular season and tournament Champions

1993-1994 20-5  Coach Dave Snyder  Pending

Chad Clark, David Draper and Trey Phillips returned from a team that place 3rd nationally the year before. Chad finished with a 97-30 record and was an All American. Horns placed 2nd in the SWC.

SWC co-Regular season Champions

Team is ranked 7th – makes the quarter finals in postseason.  

Quarterfinals

Chad Clark  is one of only 3 Longhorns to  finish in the top 10 in singles and doubles.  He is the only Longhorn to complete this feat twice. He finishes 8th in the Nation in 1994. 

Chad Clark and Trey Phillips are ranked #4 in the nation in 1995 and 6th in 1994 in doubles.

1994-1995

1995- 1996 19-5   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

SWC Regular season Champions

Team is ranked 9th – makes the round of 16  in postseason.  

1996- 1997 19-7   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

The new Tennis stadium was named after to Coaches who committed 60 years of their combined lives to the University of Texas. See photos belowl

Team is ranked 13th – makes the round of 16  in postseason.  

1996- 1997 26-6   Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Big 12 regular season and Big 12 tournament Champions

Team is ranked 10th – makes the quarter finals in postseason.  

1997- 1998 24-5  Coach Dave Snyder  

Big 12 regular season champions

The team is ranked 5th – makes the round of 16  in the postseason.  

1998- 1999 25-5  Coach Dave Snyder Big 12 Champs

1998-1999- men’s tennis team was ranked 7th in May 1999 and won the Big 12 title by blanking Baylor 4-0.  Gwenael Gueit and Paul Martin won the Big 12 doubles match and Gueit won the singles Big 12 match.  It was the Longhorn’s second Big 12 championship.

Big 12 regular season and Big 12 tournament Champions

The NCAA tennis tournament is expanded from 16 teams to 64-teams. 

Team is ranked 9th – makes the round of 16  in postseason.  

1999- 2000 20-7 Coach Dave Snyder Pending

Team is ranked 16th – makes the round of 16  in postseason.  

Michael Blue, Nick Crowell, and Brandon Hawk earned all-conference honors in singles, while Blue and Crowell earned all-conference in doubles.

Michael Blue and Nick Crowell are ranked 10th nationally in doubles.