Gary Plock Tennis 1978
Sponsored by MBFC. Contact John Carsey at jcarsey@mbfc.com
Gary’s Oral history segment is at the link below
Gary Plock As a Junior Tennis player
Gary won the 1974 Sugar Bowl International Championships in New Orleans, was selected as a member of the US Junior Davis Cup three times, and was the US Junior Southern Champion and Kentucky High School State Singles Champion for four straight years.
Gary Plock is an inductee into the tennis Hall-of-Fame in Kentucky and the Longhorn Hall of Honor. A two-time NCAA All-American at the University of Texas in Austin, his .723 (73-28) career singles winning percentage is ranked 11th best in UT tennis history.
The big-serving lefty played No.1 during his entire college career for the Horns. As a senior, the SWC Championship duo of Plock and Curren knocked off Stanford’s tandem of John McEnroe and Bill Maze to reach the NCAA Championships doubles finals.
In 1974, Longhorn tennis player Bill Fisher helped convince Plock to sign a letter of intent with Texas.
Gary’s doubles partner in his freshman year was Graham Whaling.
Gary led the Horns to an 11th-place finish at the 1975 and 1976 NCAA Championships.
In 1977, Gary Plock, Kevin Curren (Wimbledon finalist in 1985), and Steve Denton (1981-82 Australian Open Finalist) led the Horns to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
Plock and Curren advanced to the quarterfinals round this year and won the U.S. Amateur Indoor Doubles Championship.
In 1978, Gary and his doubles partner Kevin Curren defeated Stanford’s great Johnny McEnroe and Bill Maze to reach the finals of the NCAA championship.
After Texas
Plock played the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour in Nice, France, Monte Carlo, and other European cities for a while, but he eventually chose a new blueprint, new goals, and new horizons that focused on studies, teaching, and sports business.
Gary established the ITS – GARY PLOCK TENNIS ACADEMY at GlenOaks Country Club in Louisville and started a tennis podcast show called Chip and Gary.
Goals set- Gary has spent most of his life assisting institutions, sports clubs, and schools as a consultant, including the International Tennis School. He enjoys designing programs that instill pride and enhance the mental and physical therapeutic qualities of playing tennis.
College Tennis is a sport that celebrates individuals winning for the team. Gary Plock did that and more. He is part of Longhorn sports history. Building the Longhorn Brand, Shaping the present, and inspiring the future of our great university.
Below are two of his teammates who excelled professionally as finalists in two major tennis tournaments. HORNS UP
