Dan Dwyer, teacher to future tennis stars, dies

Dan Dwyer, whose students during a long career as a Long Island tennis pro included future stars John McEnroe, Gene and Sandy Mayer, and Mary Carillo, and who pioneered opportunities for disabled players, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack at his Oceanside home. He was 68.

As managing partner and head tennis professional at Oceanside's Point Set Indoor Racquet Club for more than three decades, Dwyer worked with a preteen McEnroe as well as the Mayer brothers, who would rise to Nos. 4 and 6 in the world rankings, and McEnroe's one-time mixed doubles partner Carillo, now one of the sport's primary TV analysts.

Dwyer was named the U.S. Tennis Association's man of the year in 1997 and inducted into the USTA Hall of Fame in 1998. Also, according to his son, Shawn of Lynbrook, "when a guy in a wheelchair came to him many moons ago and said he wanted to play, my dad just committed himself to finding a way for him to do that."

Dwyer initiated free wheelchair tennis clinics and became the first chairman of the USTA's wheelchair tennis committee. He also served as president of the USTA's Eastern Section and junior tennis foundation.

Born Oct. 11, 1941, in Bayside, Queens, Dwyer was a graduate of Holy Cross High School in Flushing and St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, and a member of both school's tennis halls of fame. With a degree in biology, he briefly taught the subject at Holy Cross before turning to his career in tennis.

Besides his son, he is survived by a daughter, Kimberly Mangieri of Lynbrook, and three grandchildren. Viewing hours at Towers Funeral parlor in Oceanside are from 7-9 Thursday and from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Friday. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Hewlett at 10 a.m. Saturday.