Records indicate that the Drury men’s tennis program dates back to the early 1930’s. However, it was not until the program joined the NAIA did its players start making a significant mark on the collegiate tennis scene. Possibly the earliest teams of note came in the late 1960’s. Led by Drury’s first tennis Hall of Fame inductee, Steve Grace (Class of 1997), the Panthers were the dominant force in the Missouri Collegiate Athletic Union (MCAU) and made regular trips to the NAIA National Tennis Championships during that time. While the Panther tennis program enjoyed its share of success throughout its years as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, it entered a new level of play when it joined the NCAA-II in 1994-95. It was also at that time that a new head coach by the name of Amine Boustani was given the reigns of the program. Under his direction the program reached new heights. The men’s tennis program continues to be a national power, having qualified for the past 16 straight NCAA-II national tennis championships.
Coach Boustani would quickly deflect any credit by stating that great players make great teams. Today, Stefan Borg, one of the “greatest” players to grace a tennis court as a member of the Drury men’s tennis team is enshrined. Along with the aforementioned Steve Grace, Jalal Chafai (Class of 2005) and Matias Oddone (Class of 2010) today Stefan Borg joins this elite trio. He becomes only the fourth player in the long history of the Drury men’s tennis program to be inducted into the Drury Sports Hall of Fame. And it is with good reason that he is being inducted in his first year of eligibility.
Stefan Borg, a native of Sweden, was part of the powerful Drury men’s tennis teams of 2005-08. During that four-year period the Panthers had a team record of 94-10; won the Heartland Conference championship in 2005 and three consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Stefan, nor his Panther teams, lost a conference match in those four years and he followed Matias Oddone’s lead by being named the GLVC Conference Player-of-the-Year his junior and senior seasons. His first two years at Drury Borg paired with Oddone, who was the national player of the year in 2006, and that duo led the Panthers to the NCAA-II quarterfinal round in 2005 and 2006. His junior and senior seasons, as the Panthers’ top player, Stefan fashioned a 43-5 singles record and led the Panthers to the NCAA-II “Sweet 16” in 2007 and to the Final Four in 2008. Stefan earned All-America honors his junior and senior campaigns and was consistently ranked in the top five in the national singles rankings during that two-year period. On numerous occasions he was the top-ranked singles player in the NCAA-II. He was the best in the nation.
In October of 2007 Stefan, who was the #1-ranked singles player in the nation at the time, attempted to become only the third player in Drury history to win the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) singles championship. Previous Drury ITA national champions were the aforementioned Jalal Chafai and Matias Oddone. Stefan fell just short of that title, losing in the championship match. However, his singles college career concluded most fittingly with a straight set win in the semifinals of the 2008 NCAA-II national championships. While Stefan was one of the best singles players in the nation for several years, he was also an outstanding doubles player who teamed up with several players over his career to fashion a 67-22 career mark.
After his graduation from Drury on May 16, 2009, with a major in Exercise and Sport Science, Stefan continued to play professionally. He had brief stints as a member of the Springfield Lasers in the World Team Tennis league and then took his considerable talents to venues throughout the world. But it is for his outstanding accomplishments as a collegiate player and his contributions in maintaining the highest level of team success, and his individual accomplishments as a member of the Drury men’s tennis program from 2005-2008, that today, November 30, 2013 Stefan Borg is enshrined in the Drury Sports Hall of Fame, as a member of the Class of 2013.
