Tarek El-Sakka: Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023

It didn't take former UL tennis coach Gary Albertine to realize he was watching something special. And the memories are still fresh in his mind 40 years later.

It was October of 1983, and the Ragin' Cajun squad was hosting the Rider's-ROLEX Tennis Classic at Cajun Courts. Through the efforts of long-time UL coach Jerry Simmons, and those of Albertine after he took over the program in January of that year, that event had over time attained status as one of the nation's premier fall collegiate events.

But because it drew a national-caliber field, no Cajun player had ever won the title, or even made the finals. El Sakka had come the closest, reaching the semifinals in 1982 before losing to eventual champion Mike Leach of Michigan.

"He was on a mission," Albertine said of El Sakka's drive to win on his home courts in his final Rider's-ROLEX appearance.

Mission accomplished. El Sakka tore his way through four rounds before beating Clemson All-American Lawson Duncan in the championship finals.

"His performance in that tournament was absolutely flawless," Albertine said. "He dismantled some of the best collegiate players in the country and then beat Duncan before a packed crowd. When he made it back to the finals, I remember how badly he wanted to win that match.

"That single event turned things around for us, both for him and for us as a team. It gave the players, our tennis community and a young coach the confidence we needed, knowing that we could compete with the best teams in the country. Watching him go from there to shatter all of the school records and win all the big matches he did in his final year was easily one of the highlights of my coaching career."

Before that last year was completed, the native of Cairo, Egypt, had become the winningest player in UL's strong tennis history. And even 39 years after he played his final collegiate match, El Sakka remains atop all of the Ragin' Cajun record listings to this day.

Because of that, El Sakka will be honored with induction into the UL Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday as part of the university's Homecoming celebration and one day before UL meets Sun Belt rival Georgia State in the annual Homecoming game. He will be inducted along with seven other former athletes, coaches and staff members in a 7:30 p.m. ceremony at Warehouse 535 in Lafayette.

El Sakka played his first two years under the late Simmons – now a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame – and his final two under Albertine when he became the only Cajun ever to record four 20-win seasons in singles. That was highlighted by his 23-7 mark in 1983 and 23-15 record in 1984, numbers that Albertine pointed out were much more impressive than even the 46 wins in his first two seasons.

"We played an independent schedule his last two years after we left the Southland Conference," Albertine said, "and he (El Sakka) was going up against players from the country's top teams. He had dominated his first two seasons against SLC competition, but those last two years our team and him at the top of the lineup were playing nationally-ranked teams in almost every match."

UL had easily won the Southland title in 1981 and 1982 before joining the independent ranks, but El Sakka's wins kept coming even against a drastically upgraded schedule. Before he was through, he compiled a 92-36 singles record – still the most in school history – and his .719 winning percentage is also the best among players with more than 50 career matches.

He also had a career 79-29 doubles record, tied for second in UL history for doubles victories, and his 171 total career wins is also a school record.

"You've got to remember that he played at the top of the lineup," Albertine said. "He was playing head-up against every school's best player in every match, and we were playing a lot of the best teams in the country so he was going up against an All-American-type player every time."

El Sakka qualified for the NCAA national tournament in three of his four years, beginning in his sophomore season in 1982. He also qualified for the NCAA doubles with teammate Boyd Bryan that year.

Because of his leadership, UL had its most successful four-year run in program history record-wise, with an 89-37 dual match mark from 1981-84. After a 13-14 team record in its first year as an independent against a brutal 1983 schedule – all 14 losses came to teams ranked in the top 40 – the Cajuns bounced back and went 28-11 in El Sakka's senior year, a win total that remains the school standard.

It wasn't just at UL that El Sakka found success. He represented his native Egypt in Davis Cup competition for nearly a decade starting in 1977 at age 15, becoming the only former Cajun to play in the world's premier team tennis event and one of the youngest-ever Davis Cup participants. He won both his singles matches against Greece and had a win against Hungary in Davis Cup competition in 1983 during his UL career. During his junior career, he took wins over two players ranked No. 1 in the world in juniors, the European Junior champion and the world's No. 89-ranked player.

Along the way, he put his alma mater on the collegiate tennis map.

"Tarek's success and his leadership had a huge impact on our recruiting," Albertine said, "enabling us to bring in some outstanding players after they saw the success he had. His success was also a huge factor in our ability to schedule matches with the best programs out there.

"He was loved by his teammates, coaches and his community. He certainly taught me a lot, and gave me the privilege to witness some of the best college tennis in the country."

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Tarek El-Sakka: Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023

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