Long-time coach and player Allan Van Nostrand of Bay Shore, N.Y., a member of the famous multi-decorated Van Nostrand tennis family, passed away August 13 at age 81.
Van Nostrand earned fame as a two-sport athlete at SUNY Cortland. Competing in both basketball and tennis, Van Nostrand won the prestigious Rider College Invitational singles title for Cortland in the early 1950s, the equivalent of the NCAA small college championship. He graduated from Cortland with a degree in education, spent two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and won the All-Service Doubles Championship in Guam and the Far Eastern Doubles Championship in Japan, in 1954. While Allan’s younger brother, King, made his mark in national and international competitive tennis, Allan achieved his greatest success as a teacher and coach. In 1955, he began teaching American History at Bay Shore High School and earned distinction as one of the nation’s winningest high school varsity coaches. His teams achieved regional and national acclaim, capturing 10 county championships, 16 league titles, and more than 400 career victories—including a streak of 173 consecutive wins during a nine-year span that stood for years as a national record. In 1985, Allan was voted New York State Tennis Coach of the Year.
Allan earned Eastern and USTA rankings in men’s 35 doubles with his brother, King, including No. 3 nationally in 1970. Allan and his wife Mary also directed the tennis program at Southward Ho Country Club for 50 years, where he coached several Eastern juniors who later competed professionally. Allan Van Nostrand is survived by his wife, Mary, and his children Susan, Lynn, Amy and Allan Jr.