May 24, 2007
ATHENS, Ga. -- In a ceremony held Wednesday during the NCAA Tennis Championships, former Northwestern Wildcat Todd Martin was inducted into the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. Martin helped lead the Wildcats to a Big Ten Championship in 1990 while earning first-team All-America honors. Martin was an accomplished professional, reaching two Grand Slam finals and helping the U.S. to a Davis Cup title in 1995.
Head coach Paul Torricelli presented Martin at his induction.
"I am thrilled to see Todd's induction into the ITA Hall of Fame," Torricelli said. "It is such a well-deserved honor and he is joining the greatest names in college tennis."
"Any college coach who is successful plays the role, first and foremost, as a brother and almost a surrogate father," Martin said. "I probably needed that support more than most college freshmen at the time."
Martin becomes the fifth player or coach to represent Northwestern in the Hall of Fame. Coaches Paul Bennett and Clare Riessen were inducted in 1984 and 1992, respectively. Former players Martin Riessen and Clark Graebner were inducted in 1989 and 1991, respectively.
"It was a tremendous honor to have competed in college tennis and it is an honor to receive this recognition," Martin said.
Although he spent only two seasons at Northwestern, Martin was one of the most dominant players to ever play for the Wildcats. During his time at NU, he qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both singles and doubles, while earning first-team All-America honors.
The 1990 Big Ten Player of the Year, Martin twice earned all-conference honors (1989 and 1990) and was the Big Ten Singles champion in 1990. He helped lead the Wildcats to a Big Ten Championship in 1990 and their first berth in the elite 16-team NCAA Tournament.
"Todd's time at NU remains a highlight for all of us and he has been an outstanding representative of the university and the game of tennis," Torricelli said. "His career on the tour and Davis Cup were thrills to watch and true sources of pride."
"This honor is not only a testament to Paul (Torricelli) and Northwestern Athletics, but to my teammates," Martin said. "I was the beneficiary of a group of guys with a common team goal."
As a professional, Martin emerged as one of the world's top players during the 1990's.
In 1994, he advanced to the finals of the Australian Open and was a Wimbledon and U.S. Open semifinalist. He also won the Stella Artois Grass Court Championships in London. Along the way, he defeated some of the world's top players, including Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras.
Martin became the IBM/ATP fourth-ranked player in the world in 1999. He was the runner-up in the U.S. Open, falling to Andre Agassi, and made the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Martin is joined in this year's class by former Michigan standout MaliVai Washington. The two became forever linked in tennis history when Washington beat Martin in their memorable 1996 Wimbledon semifinal match, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 10-8.
Seven years earlier, Martin and Washington were among the nation's top players for Big Ten schools Northwestern and Michigan. Washington earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors in 1989 and Martin followed in 1990.
As a freshman at Northwestern in April of 1988, Martin downed the then-top-ranked Washington in a three-set match at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. They also accounted for back-to-back ITA National Indoor singles titles, Washington in '89 and Martin in '90.
"I am excited about the group I'm being inducted with," Martin said. "Mal (Washington) and I have been good friends. As fate would have it, he hosted me on my recruiting trip to Michigan before I made the decision to attend Northwestern."
The ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame, located in Athens, Ga., houses over 1,800 rare photos and inducted its first class in 1983. More than 160 players, coaches and contributors have been inducted since then, including the late Arthur Ashe (UCLA), Jimmy Connors (UCLA), John McEnroe (Stanford) and Stan Smith (Southern California).