Former Women’s Tennis Coach Elaine Hatton Passes Away
4/2/2025 1:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Former Michigan State women's tennis head coach Elaine Hatton recently passed away at the age of 92.
As the Spartans' second head coach in program history, Coach Hatton led the Green & White from 1973-77, posting the highest winning percentage of any Spartans women's tennis coach at .818. In her five seasons guiding MSU, Hatton amassed a 45-10-1 record.
Hatton led the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1973 and 1974, while finishing no lower than third in the conference in her five years at the helm of MSU, finishing second in 1975 and 1976, and third in 1977. MSU went undefeated in all matches in 1973, only tying once, posting a 7-0-1 record, which is the second-highest winning percentage in school history, only trailing the 1972 undefeated season going 7-1. Hatton and the Spartans only lost once in both in 1974, going 7-1, and 1975 with a 9-1 record.
During her time leading MSU, Hatton coached six individual Ben Ten titles, which make up two-thirds of the Spartan titles, in addition to four doubles championships, which are the only four Big Ten doubles titles in school history.
Hatton led Michigan State to the 1974 Big Ten title.
Hatton coached Sue Selke, who won three consecutive individual Big Ten No. 1 singles championships from 1973-75. Selke completed a stellar 30-2-1 record during her four-year MSU career and was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Additionally, under Hatton's leadership, Cathy Stephenson won the 1973 crown at No. 3 singles, while Allison Scruggs won the 1974 title at No. 4 singles, and Marjorie Kruger captured the crown at No. 5 singles in 1976.
Stephenson and Scruggs teamed up at No. 2 doubles to win the 1973 Big Ten championship. In 1974, Coach Hatton coached a pair of Big Ten doubles title winnings in Scruggs and Diane Suterko at No. 2 doubles, and Kathy Jo Bock and Becky Dickieson at No. 3 doubles. In 1976, Selke and Debbie Mascarin won the No. 1 doubles championship.
Although Title IX legislation was passed in 1972, provisions affording female student-athletes the same opportunities as males were still years away from being fully implemented. There were no athletic scholarships available to female athletes, but Hatton made the best with what she had.
Elaine Hatton was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Richard Hatton. The couple were married for 64 years.
Services for Elaine Hatton will be held on June 6, 2025 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in East Lansing, Michigan.
