Tapio Martti’s impact on Averett University and its tennis program is one that is still felt to this day following his graduation. Martti is recognized by his peers as one of the founding members of Averett’s strong international student reach and decades of tennis dominance. His path to the Averett Athletic’s Hall of Fame is one of humble beginnings and high warrant. 

“It is a special recognition and something that was certainly a great feeling,” said Martti, who will be inducted on Oct. 19 during homecoming weekend. “To have that honor and receive that call and to realize that it has come to fruition that I am being recognized for the athletic achievements at school during my time.”

Martti’s accomplishments on the tennis court speak for themselves and his ticket into the hall of fame has been a long awaited and welcomed experience for the Oulu, Finland, native who now resides in Greensboro, North Carolina. On the court, Martti is recognized as arguably one of the greatest tennis players in school history, amassing an astonishing 92-16 all-time collegiate career record and being named the first tennis All-American in school history.

“Those honors were really remarkable achievements and realizing that it had not been accomplished in tennis and the only other All-American was Pekka (Kaartinen) in soccer prior to that,” Martti added. “That’s something that will always stay with me, having the honor and opportunity to put Averett on the map and being the first player from Averett to have that honor bestowed on me and having done it twice was very special.”

Upon his graduation in the spring of 1987, Martti was a two-time ITA All-American, winning the prestigious award as a sophomore in 1985 and again as a senior in 1987. His semifinal run in the 1987 NCAA Division III tennis championship, where he knocked off the No. 2 seeded Ron Ward out of the University of California Santa Cruz in the second round, is one of the greatest single season performances in school history.

Addionally, Martti’s record season in 1987 helped pave the path to the first men’s tennis conference championship in school history. Following that championship run, Averett would go on to establish itself as both a regional and conference powerhouse, winning nine conference championships over the next 20 seasons and earning 15 ITA All-American awards, much of which can be accredited to the play and national recognition that Martti brought to the institution during his four years at Averett. 

“I feel very proud having played No. 1 for four years and having the program continuously escalate and improve year after year when I was over there and ultimately get to a point in 1987 when we won the conference championship,” Martti said. “To be part of a team that really helped to put Averett on a national, regional and conference tennis map as a powerhouse was very special and obviously started creating a path of other Finnish students and tennis players and even other student-athletes to come to Averett under the recognition that the program was growing and getting stronger and was validating itself in the conference as a powerhouse.”

However, prior to his arrival at Averett, collegiate tennis was a pipe dream for Martti. While serving in the Finnish army and competing in a tennis tournament, Martti was approached by a friend who happened to be a mutual friend of Averett Athletics Hall of Famer and legendary coach and Director of Athletics Vesa Hiltunen, who asked Martti if he was interested in playing tennis in the United States. Following that conversation, Hiltunen reached out to Martti and the dream became a reality.

“I’m really happy that Coach Hiltunen and I were able to connect,” Martti said. “What attracted me to Averett was the size of the school and it was going to be what I call a language friendly approach, coming into an academic environment when English was not my first language and I was certainly not speaking the language the way that I do now after all of these years.”

Martti arrived at Averett in the fall of 1984 and his skill set quickly made him a force on the court. With the ability to hit all strokes, run the baseline and play up against the net, Martti helped to bring the modern tennis game to both Averett and Danville. His game would be showcased in his first collegiate match when he upset the 10th ranked John Bennett-Webber of Hampden-Sydney College 7-5 in the clinching third set. 

“I did not feel like I had any weaknesses to my game,” Martti added. “I had a solid all-around game from all parts of the court and a mental strength that allowed me to endure and fight. Even in the matches I was down in the hole, I never gave up. “When I beat John Bennett-Webber, I think coach absolutely freaked out when that happened. That was my very first tennis match and it’s a memory of its own because not really speaking the language, I went out on the court and I let the racquet do the talking.”

Following his graduation from Averett with a degree in business and marketing, Martti spent time living in Danville working primarily in the textile and paper industries before moving to nearby Greensboro where he has lived for the past 19 years. Today, Martti works for Karl Mayer Textile Company as the sales and business development manager for North America and speaks very highly about his time at Averett, citing that he will never forget both his first and last days on the campus. 

“I was 10 days out of the military when I came to Averett in 1984,” he said. “It was quite a transition from a very harsh life to sort of a dream— a dream come true to come start studies in the U.S. It’s been an incredible ride and I consider myself very fortunate that I ended up staying over here and have the opportunity to live in the United States. I consider myself very lucky and proud to be associated with Averett and what it is doing today and how it has grown athletically and gained more reputation. It is a school that I am very proud to represent.”