Julia Diaz (2021) - Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame

Julia Diaz

Induction:
2021
Class:
1995

Julia Diaz became the second Bison women’s tennis player to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and the first who focused solely on the sport of tennis. Majorie Deck ’73 was inducted in 1989, but Deck also starred in field hockey and basketball, in addition to tennis.

Diaz was a two-year captain and one of the most successful players in Bison women’s tennis history. She compiled career records of 34-11 in singles and 26-6 in doubles, and her singles mark was far and away the best in team history for a No. 1 player in the lineup at that time. Diaz’s career totals might have climbed even higher had she not missed her entire junior year due to a knee injury suffered in preseason training.

Her .779 career winning percentage is one of the best in team history and is all the more impressive considering that she played in the No. 1 position in the lineup from her freshman year on. A native of Lutherville, Md., and a graduate of McDonogh School, Diaz played on teams that compiled a 49-8 record in dual matches (43-3 in the three seasons in which she was not injured), and she helped lead the Bison to Patriot League team championships in 1992 and 1994 under Hall-of-Fame coach Rose Ewan. From early in the 1991 season until midway through the 1992 campaign, Bucknell established a school record with 25 consecutive victories, all with Diaz playing in the No. 1 singles position.

She was an All-Patriot League selection in doubles in 1993-94 and was the only Bucknell player named to the Patriot League All-Decade Team in 2001. Diaz was the co-winner of the Christy Mathewson Award along with Lisa Gibbons (soccer) and Tameka Hinton (track and field), both of whom are also enshrined in the Hall of Fame.