CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Citadel tennis program recognizes the 65th anniversary of the historic 1961 team in 2026, a squad which captured the program's lone Southern Conference championship and added a South Carolina collegiate team title across a landmark campaign for the Bulldogs.
The 1961 Citadel tennis team captured the first Southern Conference championship in program history.
The championship campaign had significant expectations entering the season. A February 1961 preview described the Bulldogs as a team that promised to be 'one of the best The Citadel has ever fielded.' Under then-head coach Don Bunch, the Bulldogs featured a veteran group led by Benny Varn, Walter Anderson and Thurmond Bishop along with Stuart Levi, Rod Carlyle and Jack Scott, who had moved up from the 1960 freshman team.
Don Bunch served as head coach of The Citadel's 1961 Southern Conference championship team.
Varn entered the season as one of the Bulldogs' leading players after winning The Citadel Round-Robin and finishing the previous year ranked third state-wide within men's singles. Bishop also brought an impressive conference record into the season, having gone unbeaten in league bouts during his Citadel career to that point.
Benny Varn entered the 1961 campaign as one of the Bulldogs' leading players.
The Citadel secured the Southern Conference championship after winning five of six singles matches and accumulating 31 points during the conference tournament in Charleston.
Varn led the Bulldogs from the No. 1 singles position, defeating George Washington's Jim Whitehead in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Levi, Carlyle, Anderson and Scott also earned singles victories for The Citadel during the championship competition.
Team captain Walter Anderson helped lead the Bulldogs to their first Southern Conference championship.
For current head coach Chuck Kriese, recognizing the 1961 team is about more than celebrating its accomplishments on the court.
"The history and heritage of great people and great teams at The Citadel are very precious and important to celebrate," Kriese said. "Those great men on the 1961 team have carried their love of tennis, along with their love of The Citadel, throughout their entire lives. It is a great thing to see them recognized with this celebration."
The Southern Conference championship was one of two major team titles earned by the Bulldogs that season.
The Citadel also dethroned Presbyterian, which had controlled the South Carolina collegiate tennis tournament for 27 years, by edging the defending champion, 23-22, in the two-day state competition at Clemson.
Benny Varn and Stuart Levi helped lead The Citadel to the 1961 South Carolina collegiate tennis championship.
Varn captured the state singles championship with a straight-set victory over Presbyterian's Tony Wilson. Levi provided another important result by rallying from an opening-set loss to defeat Presbyterian's Tom Elliott, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The team championship came down to the No. 2 doubles match. Anderson and Carlyle recovered after dropping the opening set to defeat Presbyterian's Ed Caviness and Elliott, 6-8, 6-1, 6-3, securing the deciding point for the Bulldogs.
The accomplishments of the 1961 team remain among the most significant in The Citadel tennis history. By capturing the program's first-ever Southern Conference championship, the Bulldogs earned a place in the college's history that continues to be celebrated 65 years later.
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