Hall of Fame Class of 2020: Elaine Lewis Van Vliet

When Elaine Lewis Van Vliet learned to play tennis on the public courts in Aberdeen it was the beginning of a lifetime journey in the sport that included junior tournaments, team tennis at Pinecrest High School, Sandhills Community College and Methodist University, and USTA tournament competition that continues to this day.

Under the tutelage of 2013 Hall of Fame inductee and Coach Ruth Bondurant, beginning in 1974, Van Vliet compiled a two-year record of 15-4. She was named the Spartans' Most Valuable Player both as a freshman and a sophomore. In 1976 she graduated from Sandhills with an Associates in Arts Degree.

Van Vliet was recruited by Methodist and became a member of the 1976-77 team that finished fifth in the nation in NCAA Division III. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree there and graduated with honors. She then received a Teaching Fellowship from East Carolina University, leading to a Master of Arts in Education Degree in 1979.

Employed in the medical field for much of her work career, tennis has continued to be important in a life that includes her husband Alan Van Vliet and their two daughters.

"Tennis is a lifetime sport, and I'm truly grateful for still being able to play," she says. "After all you don't stop playing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop playing."

C. Bergmann