PAUL LOCKWOOD

CLASS OF 2009
 

   

When Paul Lockwood was seven years old, he volunteered to be a ball boy during an annual Memorial Day tennis tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he had the opportunity to work Chuck McKinley’s match.  (McKinley is a 1986 USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame Inductee.)  Shortly after that match, Lockwood went to his parents and asked to play tennis.  The rest, as they say, is history.

From age seven on, Lockwood played tennis. His career includes a number 4 National Singles ranking in Boys 12s (1965) and a number 1 ranking in Boys 12s doubles (1965).  His growth in the sport earned him a place on the University of Oklahoma Men’s Tennis Team where he was a three-time Big Eight Singles Champion (1974-76) as well as the Big Eight Doubles Champion in 1976.  His record as a player for Oklahoma was 68-29.  In his time as a player, he helped the Sooners capture two conference titles and was also elected captain of the team in his final campaign.

After college, Lockwood became the assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma under the legendary Jerry Keen before moving on to be head coach at the University of Tulsa.  Following a year with the Golden Hurricane, Lockwood traveled the United States as a touring professional for two years, participating in the 1979 US Open Qualifying tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York.  He earned a world ranking in both singles and doubles.

But then the "opportunity of a lifetime" came along and Lockwood returned to the University of Oklahoma, only this time as its new head coach.  It was the job he had always dreamed of and he stayed for 22 years.

In that time, he amassed 325 wins, the second-most in Oklahoma history and one conference championship (1992).  He was also a two-time Big Eight Coach of the Year and his teams earned ITA All-American honors for nine years.  Paul has been inducted into the Missouri Valley Tennis Hall of Fame.  He and his wife Debra have two daughters, Lauren and Allison.