Full name J. Allen Morris, Jr. Wimbledon QF (1956) Retired 1971 | Country (sports) United States US Open 3R (1954, 1955) Turned pro 1953 | |
Born 4 September 1932 (age 84)
Atlanta, USA ( 1932-09-04 ) | ||
J. Allen Morris, Jr. (September 4, 1932) is a former tennis player and coach.
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Morris was the ranked the U.S. No. 16 in 1956. The same year he was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon.
In 1977 and 1978, Morris won the U.S. Senior Clay Court Championship in the singles and doubles division and was ranked in the top ten in the world. He was also head coach of the University of North Carolina men's tennis team from 1980-1993. As head coach, he led his team to ACC championships in 1990 and 1992. His record as coach was 245-123.
US Open appearances
Morris started his international tennis career at the US Open in 1953, where he lost in the first round to the strong Australian tennis player Mervyn Rose in 5 sets (from 2 sets up). In 1954 and 1955, he reached the third round, losing to Rex Hartwig and Tony Trabert and respectively. Morris lost in the first round in 1956 to Ulf Schmidt.
1956 Wimbledon appearance
J. Allen Morris, Jr. competed in the 1956 Wimbledon Tournament while still a student at Presbyterian College. In round one, Morris defeated Eric Bulmer in four sets 7-5 6-3 5-7 6-4. In round two, Morris defeated Bruce Gulley in 3 sets 6-2 6-3 6-3. In round three, Morris defeated F. Robin Kipping in 3 sets 6-4 7-5 9-7). In round four, Morris defeated Ashley Cooper in 5 rounds 1-6 12-10 8-6 3-6 6-3. In the quarterfinal round, Morris lost to Vic Seixas in 3 sets 13-11 6-0 6-3.
Awards
Morris was inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1976. In 2009, Morris was inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1978, the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985, the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993, the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame in 2002 & the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
He won state singles titles in multiple states & holds the record for the most state singles titles in North Carolina, having won the championships 7 times from 1958 to 1967 and an astounding 5 times in a row (1961-1965).
He played collegiately at Presbyterian College under the legendary coach (and coach of coaches), Jim Leighton