Note: The following appears in the Notre Dame football gameday program.
Julie Coin, a three-time All-American on Clemson’s Final Four women’s tennis teams of 2004 and 2005, was inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor this weekend. Coin is the second women’s tennis player to be presented with the highest honor bestowed by the Clemson athletic department, as All-American Susan Hill was inducted in 2011.
The Clemson women’s tennis squads of 2004 and 2005 are still the only women’s athletics teams in school history to reach the Final Four of an NCAA Tournament in any sport.
As a sophomore in 2003-04, Coin won the Frank Howard Award, the department-wide accolade for bringing honor to Clemson. The following year, she was named IPTAY Athlete-of-the-Year, another department-wide award that takes into account athletic and academic excellence.
“Julie Coin lives up to her name…she is a jewel,” said former Clemson Head Coach Nancy Harris. “She has been a great ambassador for Clemson, her country (France) and her family.
“Julie and her teammates were part of the legacy team at Clemson, and I am happy they are all coming back to be a part of this event this weekend.
“Julie was a quiet leader who was smart as a whip. We would be on a road trip and all of a sudden she would yell from the back of the van, ‘Nance, you just missed a turn’.”
Coin graduated with a degree in mathematics in just three years and was a three-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll, including 2003-04, when she was on the Dean’s List.
Coin finished her Clemson career with a 101-20 singles record. Her 83.5 winning percentage is still second to Hill’s among players who were on the Tiger team more than one year. Coin is the only Clemson women’s tennis player to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Individual Singles Tournament twice. She also finished 90-27 in doubles play in her three years.
As a freshman in 2003, Coin was the 2003 ITA Southeast Region doubles champion and was named All-ACC. She posted a 31-6 singles record as Clemson’s No. 1 singles player. Harris knew she had a talented player from the first time she saw her at Clemson.
“I still remember the first day I practiced with her at Hoke Sloan Tennis Center,” recalled Harris. “She was attacking the ball on every shot, which is what great players do. At one point, I brought her to the net and told her she could one day be a top-60 player in the world.
“She smiled back and went right back to work. I think…