It’s not uncommon to hear about second generation student-athletes picking up where their parents left off.
However, Caitlyn Williams’ story is a bit more complex than that.
Williams’ family roots run deep in men’s and women’s tennis, especially here in Knoxville, with every member of her close family having played tennis in some capacity. Her grandfather, mother, father, brother, sister and uncle have all had successful roles in collegiate tennis over the past 35 years. In fact, her family won Tennessee Tennis Family of the Year honors in 2006.
Williams’ grandfather, Mike Depalmer Sr., coached the UT men’s tennis team from 1981-1994. Depalmer had great success while at the university, finishing with a record of 299-119 and 97-55 in SEC play. Depalmer’s team nearly won the 1990 NCAA Championship, making it the final match before falling to Stanford.
“He really enjoyed (coaching),” Williams said.
While Mike Depalmer Sr. was coaching, his son and daughter were contributing by becoming All-Americans here at UT. Williams’ uncle and mother both played on the team in the early 80s, and each had great success while playing. Her mother, an All-American in 1981, finished with a singles record of 36-18, while her uncle, Mike Depalmer Jr., finished 68-14 in singles matches, earning All-American honors in 1981 and 1982.
While the Depalmers were winning in Knoxville, Williams’ father, Bob, competed at the University of Duke. While Bob never received All-American honors, he was named All-ACC in 1987. Caitlyn’s sister, Jennifer Williams, played at the Birmingham Southern College from 2003-2006, going 8-22 in singles matches and 18-10 in doubles.
Rhyne Williams is the most recent of Caitlyn’s family to play besides Caitlyn herself. Rhyne played here at the University of Tennessee from 2010-2011. While here, Rhyne had two of the best years in the university’s history. A two-time All-American, he went on to compete for the NCAA singles championship in 2011. Although he lost, he decided to go pro one year before Caitlyn would arrive on the scene.
“It was pretty sad when he decided to leave school,” Caitlyn said. “It would have been cool if we both attended and play for the same school. But, obviously, after he got to the finals of the NCAA Tournament, he decided to turn pro. It’s big shoes to fill.”
Now, the only Williams playing is Caitlyn. Unfortunately, injuries have plagued Caitlyn often throughout her collegiate career.
“I’ve had two shoulder surgeries and one elbow surgery the past three years. I’ve also broken my tailbone … I’ve kinda had a little bit of everything,” the Knoxville native explained.
“I think we’re waiting for her to be healthy so she can play,” women’s head coach Mike Patrick added. “She’s spent a career on the sidelines…She’s an awful good player. She’s won some big matches for us while she’s been healthy.
“She’s had really high expectations, and injuries, as they do in tennis sometimes, kept her on the sidelines a lot longer than she wanted and definitely longer than we wanted. She’s put some time in, gone through those different surgeries, and hopefully this year will be a really good way for her to look back on her career,” Patrick added.
While here at the university, Williams has a career singles record of 25-21 and a career doubles record of 40-30. She’s been through a lot of memorable moments here at the University of Tennessee, one being the South Carolina match her freshman year, when the team looked to her to pick up the match victory.
“It was 3-all in the match, and it came down to my court and I won the match and clinched it for the team. It’s my favorite memory,” Williams reminisced.
Caitlyn Williams is a tennis player with a family heritage that goes back quite a ways into the UT sports history books. With the book closing on her own collegiate career, Williams looks to show everyone that her family’s legacy will never fade away.
