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Lee Taylor Walker is set to enter his third season as head coach of the University of Memphis women's tennis program in 2009-10. Walker is very familiar with not only Memphis and the surrounding tennis community, but also with what it means to be a Memphis student-athlete, as he was a standout singles and doubles players for the men's team from 2001-2004. Walker spent three seasons as an assistant coach on the men's tennis team and spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant for the Lady Tiger team, prior to being named the head coach of the women's team in 2007. Walker led the Lady Tigers' two their best win total since the 2003-04 season, amassing 11 wins during the 2009 spring slate.
In 2010, the U of M looks to better their 2008-09 win total as they welcome back a talented group of four seniors to fold for 2009-10. The group is led by back-to-back Conference USA second team selection Ashley Murdock. Murdock is only the third back-to back all-conference selection in the program's history. The Lady Tigers will take on a loaded schedule during the 2010 spring season that includes eight teams that finished the 2009 season ranked among the top 75 teams in the nation according to collegetennisonline.com, led by defending National Champion Duke, the others include No. 15 Arkansas, No. 31 Arizona State, No. 36 Tulsa, No. 37 Ohio State, No. 49 William & Mary, No. 50 Yale and No. 75 Missouri. The Lady Tigers' schedule also includes five teams that were ranked at some point during the 2009 spring season (Boston College, South Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona and Richmond).
Walker, added another talented recruiting class for 2009-10, led by Courtney Collins, rated the No. 1 recruit in the state of Mississippi and the 49th-best recruit in the country by tennisrecruiting.net. Collins is joined by Tennessee-native Kelly Gray, ranked the 41st-best player in the Southeast region and Andrea Arques-Garcia, considered the No. 90 women's tennis player in all of Spain prior to enrolling at Memphis.
In 2008-09, Walker's second season at the helm of the Memphis women's tennis program, the Tigers went 11-13, including wins over conference foes Southern Miss and UAB.
In his first season as head coach, Walker led the Lady Tigers to a 9-13 mark. In the fall of 2008, Walker coach Murdock and Marjorie Ondeck to the semifinals of the 2008 ITA Southeast Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C. Murdock and Ondeck defeated doubles tandems from No. 13, Clemson, No. 17 North Carolina and No. 25 Tennessee on their way to the semifinals.
Walker, a native of Jackson, Tenn., played for Memphis from 2001-04, teaming with Ben Stapp in his first season in Memphis to become the highest-ranked doubles tandem in school history, ranking No. 12 in the country at the end of the fall 2001 season. Walker was also a nationally-ranked singles player at Memphis ranking as high as No. 48 in the country. He won 54 singles matches playing primarily at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles during his three-year Tiger career, and was 64-29 in doubles. He was the school's first-ever Conference USA First Team honoree and was named to the Conference USA Men's Tennis All-Decade Team.
"We are pleased to have a coach with the credentials of Lee Taylor Walker take over for Coach Peterson," said Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson. "He has proven himself both as a player and student-athle for the University of Memphis and we could not have been more pleased with his efforts as an assistant coach for the men's and women's tennis teams over the past year. I'm sure he will carry on the fine tradition that is Tiger tennis."
Off the court, Walker was named the recipient of the 2004 ITA/Arthur Ashe Sportmanship and Leadership award, which he received as part of U.S. Open Festivities. Walker, a graduate of University School in Jackson, Tenn., received the ITA award after a stellar playing career and a long list of off-the-court accomplishments. Walker helped to re-form the Fellowship of Christian Athles chapter at the University of Memphis, and coordinated visits to Streets Ministries and St. Jude Children's Hospital.
Walker currently works with Campus Outreach, a ministry on the U of M campus, as the faculty/staff representative. Campus Outreach focuses on developing students spiritual lives.
Walker came to the Tigers following one year at Clemson University. There, he was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. At Memphis, Walker was a two-time ITA Scholar Athlete. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Memphis, graduating in December of 2006 with a Master's Degree in human movement sciences.
Walker is married to former Lady Tiger soccer player Erin May Ferris. They married in May of 2007. He has one brother, Matt, who is an assistant coach for the Lady Tigers. Walker is the son of Dr. Danny Walker and Susie Walker. Walker's father was a quarterback at Vanderbilt and UT Martin.
