User:Mwinog2777/King
Kingdon Van Nostrand (born June 4, 1934) is an American tennis player and coach. In 2022 he became the leader in seniors tennis competition by winning a 43rd world title.[1]
Early life
[edit]Kingdon Van Nostrand was born in Bay Shore, New York, and attended Bay Shore public schools. He began playing tennis at age 3, following his older brother to tennis courts. Through age 15 he played USTA Eastern section junior tournaments.[2] In high school he played tennis and basketball, winning several Long Island tennis championships, 1949–1951. He attended New York State Teachers College, Cortland[3] (later called SUNY Cortland), where he also played tennis and basketball, and obtained a degree in elementary education.[4] After four years in the Navy he returned to Bay Shore High School[2] as a mathematics teacher from 1960–1989. He coached junior varsity high school tennis 1960–1979. During this time he had a stretch of 161 consecutive victories, and he was featured by Sports Illustrated for this feat.[5] His overall record was 223 wins and four losses.[6] While teaching and coaching, he continued to compete on a national and international level. Prior to his senior tennis career, his most notable success was making the first round at the 1970 US National, the precursor to the US Open.[2]
Senior tennis
[edit]Close to his 35th birthday, a senior (age bracketed) tennis circuit started in 1968. He soon joined this group[7] and by the early 1980s he was playing at the international level.[2] By 1991 he had won the first seven of his world titles, and was ranked No.1 in the U.S. in his age bracket, 55-and-over. The New York Times noted that "he has remained at the top of his senior division almost every year."[7] In 1995 he was described as being nearly invincible in American and international competitions, having won titles in 11 countries on five continents.[8] From 2000–2023, he had a No.1 ranking in six separate years.[9] In 2016 he was awarded the ITF Seniors Award for Outstanding Achievement. He has represented the United States internationally in the Stevens Cup, Dubler Cup and Austria Cup.[8] At the 2022 Super-Seniors World Individual Championships Van Nostrand won a three set final against Albery Lyle to win his record-breaking 43rd world title.[1]
Personal
[edit]Van Nostrand met his wife in college. He taught her tennis and she became a tennis instructor; as of 2022 they had been married 87 years.[10] They had four children, all of whom played tennis in college; two were professional, John and Molly; both were coached by Van Nostrand[11] Molly reached a Wimbledon quarterfinal in 1985, but her career was cut short because of a back injury. John died in a 1984 car accident in Mexico,[12] on his way to a tournament, hoping to qualify for Wimbledon.[7] His brother, Allan, coached the varsity team at Bay Shore. He accumulated over 400 wins during his career, including a winning streak of 175 games over nine years.[13] The Van Nostrand family was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 1991; the family included Kingdon, Allan, their wives and their eight children.[14]
He is a member of the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame, the Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame, the Long Island Sports Hall of Fame, the Eastern Tennis Association Hall of Fame, and the International Club.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "All hail the king". www.itftennis.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ a b c d "ITF - ITFWorld Spring 2016". itf.uberflip.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Marriage of Lyons / Nostrand". Newsday (Nassau Edition). 1955-01-18. p. 30. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ a b Bay Shore alumni profile pdf
- ^ Staff, S. I. "FACES IN THE CROWD". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "Kingdon Van Nostrand (1995) - SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame". SUNY Cortland Athletics. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ a b c Ketcham, Diane (1991-07-21). "ABOUT LONG ISLAND; A Family That Thrives on Athletic Competition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ a b C-Club Hall of Fame Banquet, 1995
- ^ King Van Nostran overview
- ^ Writer, Staff (2022-05-24). "Vero resident wins record 43rd world tennis title". Vero News. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Dream Tinged With Tragedy". Washington Post. 2024-03-03. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ Gruson, Lindsey (1984-04-21). "A MAN OF MANY GIFTS, AND HIS FLEETING LIFE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Allan Van Nostrand (1989) - SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame". SUNY Cortland Athletics. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ joelando (2018-02-08). "Van Nostrand Family". Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2024-03-07.