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University of Massachusets Athletics
Hyams Rewrites Record Books
May 17, 2004 | Tennis
May 17, 2004
By Kyle Harris
The Maroon & White
When the women's tennis team finished up its season with a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, it was easy to see that head coach Judy Dixon was a little disappointed. However, if you ask her about her team and the year as a whole, she will invariably speak of one player in particular, who had a tremendous impact upon the season. That player is senior captain Susan Hyams.
"I cannot say enough good things about Susan," said Dixon. "Her work on and off the court is very impressive. She leads by example and tries to set a high standard for her teammates. Her run through our record books shows what she can do on the court and her commitment to academic excellence shows her character off the court. She is also a very tough player, having only missed one practice during her entire career due to a bee sting, and has never once visited the training room."
After completing another stellar season Hyams finds herself as the all-time winningest player in UMass history, with 120 overall career victories. She holds second place for career doubles wins with 62, and is tied for second place in careers singles wins with 58. During her senior year, including the fall and spring seasons, Hyams went a combined 26-11, posting a winning percentage over .700.
Hyams' dominance has been proven throughout her career. She has never posted a losing singles record, playing anywhere from the No. 4 to No. 6 positions. She has also never posted a losing doubles record, despite playing a large portion of doubles during her first two years at the No. 1 position with Helena Horak. For her career, she has posted a record of 120-70, good for a winning percentage of .632. "I was so surprised when I found out I was on the all-time winning lists," said Hyams. "I was not looking for it or trying to be on it, constantly checking to see where I stood. I just kept doing what I could to help the team keep winning. It has really been terrific, and I am so happy everything has worked out the way it did."
Hyams is no stranger to receiving individual accolades either. In late March of her freshman season, she was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. She was also awarded the team's UMass Award in both her freshman and sophomore years, an honor which is given to the player who best represents the highest qualities of a student-athletee
One of the most surprising things about Hyams' success is the fact that as a freshman, she was not even sure about how much she would play.
"When I first came to UMass, I was just focused on improving my play," said Hyams. "I did not have very high expectations, I just wanted to get better and hopefully earn on spot on the traveling squad. I was probably the least experienced on the team in terms of tournament play. All I could do was just keep working hard and hope that things fell into place. I just wanted to somehow be an asset to the team and just do what I could to help the team keep winning."
Despite her on-court prowess, it is clear to see that athletic success is not enough to satisfy Hyams. As a sport management major, she has maintained a career grade point average of 3.84, the highest on this year's team, while being named to the 2004 Academic All-Atlantic 10 Conference squad. In addition, Hyams has earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll during each year of her career. As if her work in the classroom was not enough to occupy her, she also represents the tennis team on the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), as well as the Faculty Student Athletic Council.
When Hyams chose to come to UMass, her main reason was because of the apparel marketing program. Unfortunately, shortly before her freshman year, the major was cut due to the budget crisis.
"That was pretty upsetting at the time," said Hyams. "I was not sure if I wanted to come to UMass or not, and almost decided to switch schools. When I did come here, I was told about the sport management major. I was very skeptical at first, but now I think the cancellation of apparel marketing was a blessing in disguise. I really love sport management and I am so glad I found it. Once again, I just kept working hard and it paid off."
One of the reasons that Hyams was selected as a captain of the squad goes beyond her success on the court or in academia. Susan has by far the most collegiate tennis experience of anyone on the team, and has gone through three completely different kinds of seasons. As a freshman in 2001 she was a member of an Atlantic 10 Championship team. The following year, Hyams saw the team finish with a losing record at 10-17. As a junior, the team found more post-season success, as the Minutewomen advanced to the Atlantic 10 tournament finals, only to come up short against Temple in the championship match. Coach Dixon believes that these experiences play a large role in the success of Hyams as an individual as well as what she brings to the team as a captain.
"Susan's experience is invaluable to the team," said Dixon. "She has been on four very different teams with very different results. As a captain, she can tell the other girls, 'I haveve been there, I know what it takes to win a championship.' She can also relate the experiences of being on the other end of that spectrum, and relate what it is like to be on a squad that was not so successful."
This story was originally published in The Maroon & White.
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