LA'IE — Dave Porter found the perfect place for his professional passion about the same time Brigham Young-Hawai'i became a paradise for college tennis. Yesterday proved it was no coincidence.

The top-ranked Seasiders women swept Dixie State to give Porter his 1,000th coaching victory. The perfectly round and remarkable number not only caused a wave in the tennis world, but was memorable enough that former Hawai'i broadcaster Neil Everett promised to put it on last night's ESPN Sports Center.

After the relatively well-attended match, Porter was recognized by BYU-Hawai'i President Steven Wheelwright for "attracting the right students" to "represent the school and church with honor."

Including everything — the 11 national championships since 1997, 50 All-Americans and harmonic convergence of a few hundred tennis players from all over the planet — Porter is 1,000-128, a winning percentage of .887. The dominance in Division II tennis, particularly on the women's side, is unmatched.

Porter makes the secret of his success sound as simple and serene as the North Shore setting where he has rolled out the tennis balls and rocketed past the competition. He looks for "footwork and heart" in players "because I can teach them the things they don't have in their game." Then he promises the adults around them a great college experience.

"I convinced enough pros in this country and around the world that I'm going to keep working with their students, I'm going to make sure they get a degree and I'm going to take care of them. They're not going to have a bad experience," explains Porter, 56. "To parents of daughters, especially, that's important. If they believe I'm going to do it and trust me as a person, then they want their child here.

"North Shore is the perfect place for a person who wants to get better at tennis and get an education. There are very few distractions outside of the beach."

But when success snowballs as it has here, clearly there is more than a promise and prayer.

"I know now how important it is to be passionate about your job," said fifth-year BYUH senior Jin Jin Liu, who is helping Porter coach this season as she rolls toward an accounting degree the way she used to roll over tennis opponents. "Sometimes you get disappointed with your players or other things, but that passion for your job will influence your players a lot."

That has been true for as long as he has been in Hawai'i, probably much longer.

"Coach Porter," still a full professor in exercise and sports science, came to BYU-Hawai'i in 1982 after playing tennis and basketball at BYU-Provo. He applied for an assistant coaching position in basketball while harboring dreams of starting a tennis program. Two years later, after helping Jay Akoi lead the Seasider volleyball team to a national runnerup finish, he convinced the administration to start tennis. He and wife Lorrie started scouring the courts at night for players.

Porter began with the men's team and got a jump-start when Dean Zimmerman, one of Canada's finest juniors, became the first great brick in what is now a rock-solid foundation.

Yue Wang soon followed, winning a national title and dominating Hawai'i tennis with his devastating game and personality before returning home where he is now, arguably, the most familiar face in Chinese tennis. Wang coaches, does television commentary, has written a book and is a regular contributor to China's tennis magazine.

It was Wang who asked Porter to help with the Chinese national team 18 years ago. The national team titles began in 1997 and show little sign of slowing.

In 2002 and '03, Porter became the first coach in NCAA history to twice sweep men's and women's national titles. Since joining NCAA Division II in 1997, the women are 301-2, with winning streaks of 103 and 130. After yesterday, the Seasiders' streak is now at 68 and this team is made up of a senior and seven underclassmen.

Their No. 1 player — in La'ie and NCAA Division II — is redshirt freshman Elwen Li from Chengdu, in the province the pandas made famous. She speaks five languages, has a 3.8 grade point average and hopes to find a cure for cancer after she gets her degree. Just another example, along with 13 academic All-Americans and assorted other brilliant baseliners, of all that is involved with being a BYUH tennis player.

Li came up to Porter in China last May and, clearly educated in BYUH tennis, inquired about the program. Porter filled her in and when he returned to his hotel an email from Li was waiting, asking if he had space for her. With six full scholarships for women, Porter did. He believes the scholarship discrepancy — the men get just 4.5 — is the most compelling reason his men's teams have not kept pace with the women.

Then again, no one has.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.