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TEMPE, AZ – During her time at Pomona College, Shelley Keeler Whelan left an impressive stamp on the women’s tennis program. In 1990, 1991, and 1992, Whelan dominated the doubles scene, being crowned the NCAA Division III Doubles National Champion three straight years alongside partners Caryn Cranston and Erin Hendricks. During her final season, Whelan also captured the NCAA DIII singles title and helped lead her team to the DIII team title.
Whelan was awarded the Pomona-Pitzer Major Award in 1991, an honor earned by athletes who have contributed the most to his or her intercollegiate program. Whelan is also a recipient of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Most Outstanding Student-Athlete Award and was inducted into the Pomona-Pitzer Hall of Fame in 2002.
Reflecting on her collegiate years, Whelan fondly recalls the camaraderie of her team and the lasting friendships forged through tennis. “To be honest, I remember the matches and hardware the least. My fondest memories are of the team and the friends I made playing tennis. There wasn’t a lot of money for travel in a Division III school at the time, so I have lots of really fun memories of staying at the family home of our coach or a teammate when we had to travel for games to San Diego or Northern California.”
Following college, Whelan briefly served as an assistant coach before pursuing her MBA. For the past sixteen years, Whelan and her sisters have jointly managed a multigenerational family office that invests in businesses and real estate in the Pacific Northwest. She has served as a board member of various organizations including the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, the Alliance of Angels, and the Northwest Entrepreneur Network.
Whelan’s love for the game still endures today. Competing regularly, Whelan is no stranger to success in senior tennis, winning the Women’s 40+ Indoor Singles and Doubles Gold Ball with Christine Hayes in 2019, the Mother-Daughter Indoor Doubles Gold Ball in 2023 alongside daughter Lindsey Whelan, and the Women’s 50+ Indoor Doubles Gold Ball and the Women’s 50+ Grass Court Doubles Gold Ball in 2023 alongside partner Pernilla Putnik.
The ceremony to celebrate Shelley, and the three other inductees, will take place in Williamsburg, Virginia at The College of William & Mary on Saturday, October 5th at 5:30 pm. To RSVP, click on the link below.
About the ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame –The ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, founded in 1995, was created to celebrate the milestones in women’s collegiate tennis, from the early struggles for recognition to the achievement of full-fledged intercollegiate competition. The Women’s Hall of Fame is operated by The College of William & Mary and is housed in the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on the William & Mary campus. Since 1995, over 80 players, coaches and contributors have been inducted. Players are eligible for election to the Hall of Fame 10 years after the conclusion of their collegiate career. Coaches are eligible immediately following retirement. The main criteria for election are college accomplishments and honors earned after college.
About the ITA – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. Comprised of 1,260 colleges and universities, 20,000 student-athletes, 1,700 varsity programs, 3,000 coaches, and 1,350 college tennis officials, the ITA empowers college tennis coaches at all levels to deliver vibrant tennis programs that are vital to their college communities and transformational to their student-athletes. Follow the 2023-24 college tennis season on the ITA website and ITA social channels on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
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