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Sujay Lama is in his eighth season as the head of the Illinois women's tennis program. When Lama came to Illinois in 1998, the women's tennis team had just come off an 8-13 season during which it posted a 4-7 mark against Big Ten teams and finished in ninth place in the conference race. The squad was ranked No. 10 in the region and No. 75 in the nation at the end of the campaign.
Since then, the 38-year-old Nepal native has seen significant improvement in his teams. In 2003-04 the Illini went 17-6, posting their best winning percentage since Illinois' first-ever team went 6-0 in 1975. Lama's 2003-04 squad also earned the highest national ranking in the history of the program, No. 16. In 2003, the Orange and Blue knocked off top-ranked Duke, 4-3, at the UI Atkins Tennis Center.
Lama's teams have reached a number of milestones during his first seven years in Champaign-Urbana. The Illini won their first-ever NCAA Tournament match in May of 2001. That same year, Jennifer McGaffigan became Illinois' first Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was Lama's third All-Big Ten player; she also was Rookie of the Year in the Midwest region. McGaffigan repeated as an all-Big Ten performer in 2002 and in 2003. Lama's players have also excelled in the classroom, as Stacy Schapiro earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1999; Michelle Webb was the recipient of the Medal in 2003; McGaffigan in 2004 and Cynthia Goulet in 2005. UI women's tennis players have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition 35 times in Lama's first seven years as coach (including six each in 2002, 2003 and 2004). Schapiro, Webb, McGaffigan, Simone Kung, Carla Rosenberg, Leila Cehajic, Tiffany Eklov, Isabel Jarosz, Cynthya Goulet and Pavlina Akritas have earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) scholar-athlete awards. Goulet also earned second team Academic All-America honors over two seasons, 2003-04 and 2004-05.
Collectively, Lama's teams have earned All-Academic status from the ITA each of his seven seasons at Illinois.
Victories along the recruiting trail over such schools as Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Arizona and Southern California have led to a jump in the talent level at Illinois that will almost certainly result in a continuation of the program's upward mobility.
Before leading the Fighting Illini, Lama served as the top assistant under then-Florida coach Andy Brandi from 1995 to 1998, helping the Gators win two NCAA titles, three SEC crowns and post three undefeated dual match seasons, including the 1998 campaign. Lama was honored for his contributions as the 1997 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in the South Region.
Prior to arriving at Florida, Lama was the Senior Staff Professional at the Van Der Meer Tennis Center in Hilton Head, S.C., where he worked with the elite player development program (for touring pros and top junior players) from 1992-95. He was also a traveling coach for several WTA professional players, including South Africa's Amanda Coetzer and Mariaan De Swardt, Naoko Sawamatsu from Japan, Grecian tennis pro Christina Papadaki and Argentine Mercedes Paz. A noted teacher and clinician, Lama has worked at tennis camps across the United States, Europe and Asia. He has earned the highest certification level with the USPTR and the USPTA, and is a USTA Certified High Performance Coach. In addition, Lama is a member of the Wilson Advisory Staff.
Recently Lama has lent his time and expertise to unique venture he calls "Project Nepal." It all started when he provided a free nine-day tennis clinic and good quality used tennis equipment for children in his home town of Kathmandu during one of his vacations. It quickly evolved into a fundraising effort to help pay for their education. Lama dreams of some day acquiring enough funding to pay for a new facility for the children and sending UI education students to Nepal for a semester to teach.
In his playing career, Lama was the top-ranked player in Nepal from 1989-91 and reached No. 50 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior world singles rankings. He represented his country in several international tournaments, including the Asian Games in Beijing, China in 1990.
Lama attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, from 1988-92 and was a two-time Volvo Collegiate All-American in singles (1991-92). He also earned Senior Player of the Year honors in the Midwest Region in 1992 and was ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division III singles. Lama dominated the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) the four years he competed at Luther.
He won the league's singles and doubles titles and took conference MVP honors all four years of his collegiate career, leading his team to four IIAC titles. Lama put together a career singles record of 104-18 and captured two Rolex Midwest Regionals (1989 and 1991) while advancing to the semifinals of the Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship in 1991. Lama also made three NCAA Tournament appearances. In the fall of 2002, Lama was inducted into the athletic hall of fame at Luther.
Lama earned his bachelor's degree in Public Communications/Political Science from Luther College in 1992, earning GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. He was the recipient of the U.S./Nepal Educational Foundation Scholarship from 1990-92. Lama has traveled in more than 50 countries and is fluent in English, German, Hindi and Nepalese. He has lived five or more years on three continents (Asia, Europe and North America).
Lama and his wife, Lynne, reside in Champaign with their five-year-old daughter, Priya.
THE LAMA FILE:PERSONAL: Birthdate: August 17, 1967 Birthplace: Kathmandu, Nepal
EDUCATION: High School: St. Joseph's H.S., North Point College: Luther College
TENNIS CAREER: High School: St. Joseph's three-year captain; three-time district and state champion College: Two-time All-American; four-time Most Valuable Player
COACHING: 1992-95: Van Der Meer Tennis Center, Senior Staff Professional 1994-98: Assistant Women's Tennis Coach, University of Florida 1998-present: Head Women's Tennis Coach, University of Illinois
The Lama Era (1998-2005): ILLINOIS Tennis on the Rise
MOVING UP IN THE RANKINGS: • From #75 to #22 nationally • From #10 to #3 in the Midwest
BEGINNING TO MAKE A MARK ON THE NATIONAL SCENE: • Upset top-ranked Duke in February, 2003 • Five NCAA Tournament appearances • Led Illini to highest national ranking ever--#16--during 2004 spring season
ESTABLISHING ILLINOIS AS A BIG TEN CONTENDER: • Six top-four Big Ten finishes (2nd three times, 3rd twice and 4th once) • Second-best Big Ten record during these last seven years (57-25)
DEVELOPING TOP-CALIBER ATHLETES: • Illinois' first regional doubles champions • Nine All-Big Ten selections
MAINTAINING ILLINOIS' PROUD ACADEMIC TRADITION: • Four Big Ten Medal of Honor winners • 39 Academic All-Big Ten student-athletes • ITA All-Academic teams all seven years • Two Academic All-American • 13 ITA Scholar-Athletes
