CLEVELAND, Miss. - Delta State University head men's and women's tennis coach Asa Atkinson was inducted into the Mississippi Tennis Hall of Fame, as member of the 2015 induction class, this past Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, at the Country Club of Jackson. Atkinson was joined by Robert Russell (Gulfport) as the two members of this year's class.

Atkinson was inducted into the Mississippi Tennis Hall of Fame by Tennis Foundation of Mississippi President John Cox, a life-long Cleveland resident and former Atkinson pupil. Jeffrey Farris, a four-time All-Gulf South Conference selection under coach Atkinson at Delta State, was also in attendance.

"Coach Atkinson has done so much for the game and for Delta State," Farris said. "Personally, he gave me the chance to play collegiate tennis at DSU and I am forever grateful. Speaking for my fellow DSU tennis alums, coach Atkinson is most deserving of this honor and we're proud for him and our program."    

ABOUT ATKINSON
A native of Shaw, Atkinson first started playing tennis at the age of 20 because he wanted to see if he could beat his brother, who was on the high school tennis team.  Apparently, he was a quick study because a year later, he played seven matches for MSU and Coach Tom Sawyer.  The only lesson he ever had was a one hour lesson on the backhand from Bobby Brien, also a Hall of Fame member.  Since then, his tennis has been self-taught through conventions and watching and studying professional players. 

After graduating from Mississippi State, he returned to the Delta and completed a Master's degree in guidance and counseling at Delta State.  He and his brother Sharp were contacted by a school superintendent from California, who was looking for tennis coaches, so both of them moved to the West coast.  Asa stayed there for eight years before moving back to Shaw.  He was the guidance counselor at Shaw High School for 22 years before he retired in 1996. 

In 1974, he became a USPTA Certified Professional, and he began a 32-year relationship with the Cleveland Country Club.  For a time, he was the only tennis pro in the Mississippi Delta.  He travelled all over the Delta teaching tennis in small towns and country clubs, even going as far as Batesville, while running the tennis program at the Cleveland Country Club and performing his duties at Shaw High School. 

In 1989, Atkinson became the women's tennis coach at DSU, and a few years later, he took over the men's team as well, and has been doing both for twenty-seven years.  By 2001, he was elected the USPTA Southern Division Coach of the Year; in 2009, he was named Gulf South Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the year; and in 2013, he was inducted into the Cleveland Country Club Hall of Fame. He has coached two female and one male All-Americans and has 10-12 former players and students serving as tennis professionals around the United States and the world.  In fact, there are four USTPA tennis professionals in his immediate family.   Asa says that his only regret is that he did not start playing tennis earlier in life. 

Atkinson has been a driving force in the growth of tennis in the Mississippi Delta for almost 50 years as a player, teacher, and coach.  Asa and his wife Nancy have two children, Asa II and Betsy, and five grandchildren.