At every stage of his tennis career, Giammalva was one of the best -- junior phenom in Texas, Southwest Conference champion for the Longhorns, Davis Cup star, and highly successful coach and teacher. "

I retired about two years ago, and I am COMPLETELY retired, and I'm having so much fun I can't tell you," Giammalva said from his Houston home. "I still follow tennis closely, but I've got five grandchildren and two more on the way. That's my life these days." (Giammalva has two sons, and his daughter, Mary Jo, was a UT letterwinner in 1980-83.)

Giammalva burst onto center stage of the Texas tennis scene in 1951 when at the age of 16 he became the youngest player to win the state men's singles title. He was almost unbeatable for Coach Wilmer Allison's UT teams of the mid-1950s. He still is the only Longhorn to sweep conference singles and doubles titles three years. Giammalva did it from 1955-1957, winning the 1956 Southwest Conference doubles title with roommate and current UT head coach Dave Snyder. He reached the finals of the NCAA singles in 1957 and in doubles in 1956.

The highlight of Giammalva's playing career came at the 1956 Davis Cup. The U.S. team lost the challenge match to Australia in Adelaide, but Giammalva's narrow, four-set loss to future Hall of Famer Ken Rosewall drew praise from around the world. "Sam Giammalva was our silver lining," U.S. Davis Cup Captain Bill Talbert said. "In U.S. tennis, the most significant thing right now is Sam Giammalva."

"The Davis Cup in Australia was a big thrill. I was a real up-and-coming player then," Giammalva recalls. "But at that time there really was no way to make any money as a professional player." Giammalva opted for coaching and over the next 14 years led Rice to 10 SWC championships and two second-place showings at the NCAA Championships. He produced 15 All-Americans at Rice before leaving to serve as general manager and tennis director at the Metropolitan Club of Houston, a position he held until his retirement.

Throughout his coaching and teaching career, Giammalva had to adjust some of his techniques to keep up with the changes in technology.

"By far the biggest change in tennis has been advancements with the racquet, and that has resulted in a fundamental difference in the way the game is played," Giammalva said. "Today they really turn their hips and swing around the ball, more like a golf swing. We had to move our hips forward and through the ball.

"And tennis is like every other sport," Giammalva added. "The players are bigger and stronger. In tennis, they are all faster and all of them hit that ball so hard it is amazing."