News and Events

The latest book by Lehigh Valley Campus Library Head Dennis Phillips examines the careers of women tennis champions who made significant contributions to the sport both on and off the court. "Women Tennis Stars: Biographies and Records of Champions, 1800s to Today" (McFarland & Company, 2009), covers such legends as Suzanne Lenglen, Helen Wills Moody, Maureen Connolly, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Venus and Serena Williams, and many others.

The book features photos, statistics and records of each player, as well as results of all Grand Slam, Fed Cup, Olympic Games,Wightman Cup, and Hopman Cup competitions. Phillips, a member of the United States Tennis Writers’ Association, will donate his book royalties to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in memory of Carol Newsom, tennis photographer, who lost her fight against breast cancer in 2003. Says Phillips, "Ms. Newsom was the first woman to be permitted a place in photographer’s row on Centre Court at Wimbledon." Many of her photographs appear in Phillips' book. For more information, see www.womentennisstars.info.

"Women Tennis Stars" is Phillips' third book on tennis. "Teaching, Coaching, and Learning Tennis: An Annotated Bibliography" (Scarecrow Press, 1989), identifies tennis literature of interest to researchers, teaching professionals, physical education teachers, coaches, players, and students of the game. "The Tennis Sourcebook," (Scarecrow Press, 1995) contains several subject bibliographies, a biography section, information on audiovisual materials, and a comprehensive list of international tennis organizations. In 2005, Phillips wrote "Golfing Communities in the Southeast: Places to Live and Play in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas," (McFarland & Company, 2005). While doing research for his books, Phillips has travelled to Australia, Europe, Puerto Rico, Canada and extensively throughout the USA.   

Phillips has a master’s degree in library and information science from the University at Albany-SUNY. Before joining the faculty at Penn State in 1985, he coached the varsity tennis teams at Muhlenberg College and Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Phillips recently resigned as head coach of the tennis team and adjunct professor of kinesiology at Penn State Lehigh Valley to devote his time to the upcoming library move to a new campus location in the Lehigh Valley.


Editor's contact: Catherine Grigor, manager  of Public Relations and Marketing, University Libraries, cqg3@psu.edu, 814-863-4240.