Marie Gagnard

Sport: Tennis

Induction Year: 2019

University: Louisiana Christian

Induction Year: 2019

Alexandria native Marie Gagnard, the first Louisiana product to become a professional tennis umpire, is the 2019 winner of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

A graduate of Alexandria’s Bolton High School and Pineville’s Louisiana College, Gagnard was the first ever tennis scholarship recipient at LC. She is a member of the Wildcat Athletic Association Hall of Fame and has been a professional tennis official for nearly four decades.

Gagnard, a Lafayette resident, became the first Louisiana official to work a Grand Slam final in 2010, as a line judge during the U.S. Open women’s final.

Her involvement at the U.S. national championship is nearing 30 years in spite of the fact until 2012, she was not a full-time official, unlike most of her colleagues. She has worked one U.S. men’s singles final (2012) and six U.S. women’s singles finals, along with several doubles and mixed doubles finals.

Notably, she worked the fiery Naomi Osaka/Serena Williams championship match at the 2018 Open.

She was the first Louisiana resident to officiate at the Davis Cup (2006) world men’s national team competition and the Federation Cup (2007), the women’s equivalent.

Gagnard worked the Davis Cup in 2018, 2012, and 2009 and got her start in that prestigious international event with a 2006 match between the United States and Chile. She has also worked three Fed Cup matches, two in 2007 and one in 2008.

Gagnard was part of two state championship tennis teams at different competitive levels in 2009 – 7.5 and 8.5.

Seventeen people have previously been presented the Dixon Award since its inception in 2005..