Dedicated to her players and to her sport, Lois Blackburn Bryan (1923 – 1996) led Mary Baldwin College to 20 consecutive winning seasons, five of them undefeated. She was also instrumental in developing women’s intercollegiate competition, serving as court director of two national championships and directing the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships throughout her coaching career. In 1989, the ITA honored Blackburn as the Division III Coach of the Year.

Blackburn taught values, as well as tennis skills, and her team members were recognized with such honors as the ITA’s Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award. In 1990, upon her retirement as Associate Professor of Physical Education, Blackburn’s former students paid a tribute to the role she had played in their lives. As one student wrote, “Under your instructions, I not only became a better tennis player, but a better person, too.”