One of Indiana University's most accomplished coaches is calling it a career.
Lin Loring, the all-time wins leader in women's college tennis, announced his retirement Wednesday between the fall and spring seasons. He coached at Indiana for 40 seasons, leaving behind a legacy rivaling other IU coaching greats like Doc Counsilman, Bob Knight and Jerry Yeagley.
"Coaching has been a wonderful adventure spanning 44 years of my life," Loring said in a team release. "I have been very lucky and this is very hard, but after much thoughtful reflection, I've decided it is time to say goodbye. I want to say thank you to all my wonderful players, all my IU colleagues and all my Bloomington friends. It is simply the right time to step down and I look forward to spending more time with my two teenage daughters."
Longtime associate head coach Ramiro Azcui will replace Loring as head coach. The two men worked together for 24 years.
Loring racked up 846 career wins over his 44 years as a head coach, including 804 at Indiana in his four decades in Bloomington. His Hoosier teams won 16 Big Ten titles, appears in 28 national tournaments and won the 1982 AIAW championship.
Loring is the only Division I women's tennis coach to ever reach the 800-win mark.
"Lin Loring has enjoyed one of the most exemplary careers in the storied history of IU Athletics," IU Athletic Director Fred Glass said in a release. "The championships, the record win totals, the unassailable record of academic excellence all speak for themselves, but the impact and influence he has had on the lives of his students over the course of five decades at IU is truly extraordinary. Lin is a no-doubt hall of famer who leaves behind an incredible coaching legacy. We wish Lin and his family a wonderful retirement."
No matter what the record is in collegiate women's tennis, Loring seems to own or flirt with owning it.
His 350 Big Ten dual victories is the most ever. He finished with a .716 winning percentage overall and a .774 winning percentage in Big Ten duals.
Twice he was named National Coach of the Year, and he was Big Ten Coach of the Year five times. He led 25 All-Americans, 82 All-Big Ten selections and seven Big Ten Athlete of the Year honorees. Four of his players went on to be Indiana Athletic Hall of Famers, including Heather Crowe, the first ever woman to be inducted.
Back in 2001, Loring received the Bill Orwig Medal, which recognizes a non-alumnus for their contributions to IU Athletics from the IU Alumni Association. It's one of the highest honors one can receive at IU.
Off the court, his players exemplified what it meant to be a student athlete. Loring owned a 100 percent graduation rate among those who exhausted their playing eligibility, and his teams regularly won the Herbert Cup Award, which is given to the IU team with the highest GPA each semester.
Wherever he went, Loring was successful.
But all great coaches eventually say goodbye.
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