Former Men's Tennis Coach Passes Away
10/16/2020 2:41:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Larry Turville (1949-2020)
Former Rice head men's tennis coach Larry Turville passed away on October 10 at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer.
Turville led the Owls over 18 seasons, posting a 182-182 dual record from 1979 to 1996 and producing the program's first All-American in 21 years when Steve Campbell ended the 1992 season ranked 18th in singles. He sent four players and two doubles teams to the NCAA Championships and also coached a pair of doubles teams to Southwest Conference titles (Scott Melville and Andrew Taylor in 1986; Larry Pearl and Ken Thome in 1989).
Current Owls head coach Efe Ustundag was recruited to Rice by Turville.
"Coach Turville has a lot to do with where I am today," Ustundag recalled. "I didn't particularly have a great senior year in high school and didn't receive too many offers. Coach Turville, trusted Joe Brandi, my coach then, and gave me a chance to come to Rice and the rest is history.
"I will always be indebted to Coach Turville for making me a Rice Owl for Life"
Turville was a two-time All American at Georgia Tech and went on to co-found the first satellite tennis tour to help younger players break in against the established stars of the ATP tour. He qualified for Wimbledon, the US Open, and the French Open, before retiring from the tour and taking over the men's tennis program at Rice.
At age 35, he began playing USTA age group tennis, and won 22 National Singles Championships, and 24 National Doubles titles. He also represented the USA in 11 ITF World Team Championships, winning five World Doubles Championships, one World Singles Championship.
Turville led the Owls over 18 seasons, posting a 182-182 dual record from 1979 to 1996 and producing the program's first All-American in 21 years when Steve Campbell ended the 1992 season ranked 18th in singles. He sent four players and two doubles teams to the NCAA Championships and also coached a pair of doubles teams to Southwest Conference titles (Scott Melville and Andrew Taylor in 1986; Larry Pearl and Ken Thome in 1989).
Current Owls head coach Efe Ustundag was recruited to Rice by Turville.
"Coach Turville has a lot to do with where I am today," Ustundag recalled. "I didn't particularly have a great senior year in high school and didn't receive too many offers. Coach Turville, trusted Joe Brandi, my coach then, and gave me a chance to come to Rice and the rest is history.
"I will always be indebted to Coach Turville for making me a Rice Owl for Life"
Turville was a two-time All American at Georgia Tech and went on to co-found the first satellite tennis tour to help younger players break in against the established stars of the ATP tour. He qualified for Wimbledon, the US Open, and the French Open, before retiring from the tour and taking over the men's tennis program at Rice.
At age 35, he began playing USTA age group tennis, and won 22 National Singles Championships, and 24 National Doubles titles. He also represented the USA in 11 ITF World Team Championships, winning five World Doubles Championships, one World Singles Championship.
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