CONWAY, S.C. – Long-time Coastal Carolina University head men's tennis coach Chris Powers has been named a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2022 for the Staunton River High School Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28.
 
Powers is the first inductee into the school's athletic hall of fame for tennis.
 
"This is an incredible honor for me and my family. I can honestly say that I did it my way and took a less beaten path. I have always cherished and appreciated where my love for the game of tennis began, and I know it was very different than most people in the game," commented Coach Powers. "I've never had a tennis lesson, joined a country club, or worn a white collar in life, so for me to go back home to rural Virginia to receive this honor with my family there means so much."
 
A member of the boy's tennis team at Staunton River from 1986-90, Powers set the school record for the most individual wins in a season with nine in 1988 and was the No. 1 player on the team in 1990 that was the Bedford County Champions.
 
Following his high school career, Powers went on to play collegiately at Ferrum College from 1993-97, where he was a three-time team captain. In 1997, he was the President's Cup recipient, the highest athletic award at Ferrum for excellence in athletics, academics, and community service. He was also voted the senior speaker for his commencement ceremony.
 
Powers' coaching career began on the women's side, as he was an assistant coach at Alabama from 1997-98 and Virginia Tech from 1998-2000. He then came to Coastal Carolina as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's tennis teams from 2000-04, before taking over the men's program as the head coach in 2005.
 
Over his coaching career, he has helped to lead five teams to the NCAA Championships and coached an individual to the NCAA Individual Championships in 2014. He was also an assistant for the Virginia Tech women's team that made a final-four appearance in doubles play at the 1998 National Clay Championships.
 
A three-time Conference Coach of the Year and the head coach for the 2010-19 Big South Conference Men's Tennis All-Decade Team, Powers is the winningest coach in Coastal Carolina men's tennis history.

Powers served five years as a member of the ITA Carolina Regional Coaches Committee and was the Sun Belt Conference's men's tennis coaches' representative from 2019-21.

Also an American History professor at CCU, Powers was voted the 2015 Coastal Carolina Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Faculty Member of the Year.

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