CMC75 Moments: McKee Sweeps NCAA Singles, Doubles Titles for 1993 Men's Tennis

As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.

Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
Ryan McKee Sweeps NCAA Titles for 1993 Men's Tennis 

As the postseason began for the 1993 Men's Tennis program, the Stags already had multiple NCAA Champions in singles and doubles, but nobody had ever done both. That changed when senior Ryan McKee won the singles championship in 1993, and then added the doubles title later the same day with junior Tim Cooley.

It was actually McKee's second straight NCAA doubles championship with two different partners, after also winning in 1992 with Chris Noyes, as well as the third in a five-year span for the program after Lance Au and Frank Hinman won in 1988. McKee also became the fourth Stag singles champion, and the first since Donovan Jones won in the CMS national title year of 1981.

McKee also guided the Stags to a 24-2 dual match record and a third-place team finish at nationals, capping off a career which saw him earn All-America honors all four years in both singles and doubles, while leading CMS to four straight SCIAC titles and four straight NCAA Division III Semifinals appearances. McKee, Cooley, Tran Nguyen and Chris Sadayasu earned All-America honors in 1993, and Cooley and Nguyen would repeat as All-Americans in 1994 while leading CMS to a runner-up finish at nationals.

Ryan McKee:

In 1993, our Stags tennis team was a tight-knit group that was united in both working toward a team title and having a lot of fun along the way. Our primary obstacle to a team title was Kalamazoo College, the host of the 1993 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships. Losing to Kalamazoo in the NCAA team semifinals, in what was a home match for them in front of a raucous crowd, was very disappointing for all of us. But what a great season it was and we had a lot to be proud of. 

A few days later, I advanced to the singles and doubles finals. It was a grueling week of tennis to that point, having played all four team matches and the maximum amount of singles and doubles matches.  My memory of the singles final was feeling throughout the match how important it was to my opponent and me. This would be the final opportunity to win a singles title and the sense of urgency was palpable, as was the fatigue. It was an incredible feeling when I closed out the match with a win, made even better when my teammates celebrated with me on court. I was able to accomplish this goal with their help all year and with the excellent coaching of Hank Krieger and Diego Jaramillo. 

An hour later, Tim Cooley and I took the court for the doubles final. The feeling throughout this match was different - it felt inevitable that Tim and I would win the title. Tim was an excellent doubles player and we complemented each other very well. Sharing that win with Tim was a joy. While either of us would have traded our wins for a team title, it was great to celebrate this with Tim and cement our place among the many Stags greats.

1993 Men's Tennis Roster
Head Coach: Hank Krieger
Assistant Coach: Diego Jaramillo
Matt Bennitt (So., CMC)
Chris Blair (Jr., HMC)
Sandor Boulter (Fr., CMC)
Justin Claeys (Jr., CMC)
Tim Cooley (Jr., CMC)
Sean Dempsey (So., CMC)
Pat Gallagher (Sr., CMC)
Carl Hutchins (Fr., CMC)
Fred Huynh (Jr., CMC)
Keith Kimbell (So., CMC)
Jon Kramer (Fr., CMC)
Dave Krekel (Jr., HMC)
Greger Larson (Fr., CMC)
Mike Manning (So., CMC)
Ryan McKee (Sr., CMC)
Justin Murphy (So., CMC)
Tran Nguyen (So., CMC)
Ilan Sabar (Fr., HMC)
Chris Sadayasu (So., CMC)
Steve Screen (Sr., CMC)
Alton Shader (So., CMC)
Charles Tseng (Fr., CMC)
Francisco Varelo (Sr., CMC)
Mike Yung (So., CMC)
Ivan Zinn (Fr., CMC)