Harrison Added to WTEN Staff
8/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU women's tennis head coach Lee Taylor Walker has added Catherine Harrison to his staff as a volunteer assistant coach as announced on Friday afternoon.
Harrison joins the Horned Frogs after an illustrious four-year career at UCLA where she was a four-time All-American across singles and doubles, the 2015 Pac-12 Singles Champion and helped the Bruins to the 2014 NCAA Championship.
During her four years at UCLA, Harrison picked up 116 wins in singles and 103 wins in doubles while also posting victories over ranked opponents on 56 occasions. Harrison earned her first singles All-America honor this past season while also garnering her third straight doubles honor.
As well as helping her team to the NCAA Championship, Harrison also earned an individual national title by claiming the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Doubles Championship with partner Kyle McPhillips during her junior year. The duo went on to have the No. 1 ranking for the first half of the spring season during 2015.
An All-Pac-12 selection, Harrison has also found success on the ITF Pro Circuit, as she has claimed two doubles titles. The Germantown, Tenn., native won the $10K event in Austin in 2014 with former TCU volunteer assistant coach Mary Weatherholt, before reclaimed the same title this past summer with Pepperdine graduate Lorraine Guillermo. Harrison has a career-high singles ranking of No. 851 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 694.
Ranked as the No. 10 recruit in the class of 2012 according to TennisRecruiting.net, Harrison was ranked a career-high No. 104 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. Harrison participated in three of the four Junior Grand Slams, seeing action at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. She advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles with Samantha Crawford at the 2011 U.S. Open and was the Southern Sectionals 18s Singles Champion in 2010. As a junior player, Harrison also trained under Walker and assistant coach Ben Stapp when they were at Memphis.
Harrison graduated with a degree in anthropology in the spring of 2016 from UCLA.
Quotes
Head Coach Lee Taylor Walker on Harrison
"It seems like yesterday I was coaching Catherine in Memphis back when she was 14. Hard to believe that was eight years ago. Having her come on board as volunteer assistant this year has made me realize how fast time goes by, and how important it is to appreciate every moment and the relationships built in the coaching profession. Catherine has championship experience at the conference and national level. It's going to be helpful to learn about some of the culture and characteristics of a Pac-12 singles champion, a national doubles champion and a NCAA team champion. She's also a rising star on the ITF and WTA circuits and with that comes someone who operates at a high level of professionalism and work capacity, and you can never have enough of that within a top collegiate program. Lastly, she's got a great personality, is fun to be around and I look forward to her lightening the mood of the office and practice courts. It's a privilege to have her join the Frog Family because she has come at a special time in TCU tennis history."
Assistant Coach Ben Stapp on Harrison
"Lee and I have known Catherine for most of her life. She has a world of experience behind her and is going to fill an exciting role as a coach for the TCU women's tennis team this year. I am really stoked to have her on board."
Catherine Harrison
"I'm so incredibly excited to be here at TCU. I've known Lee and Ben since juniors, and am so thrilled to have the opportunity to learn under them and help out with the team this year."
