Epps, who served 41 years at F&M, had served as a tireless and committed athletic director for her final 12 years, following a distinguished career as the Diplomats' tennis and squash coach.
After serving as the department's Senior Woman Administrator and Senior Associate Director of Athletics for three years, Epps was appointed as the College's Director of Athletics and Recreation on August 10, 2007. She became the first woman in the College's history to hold the position.
Epps had led F&M to become one of the top intercollegiate programs in the country. Under her leadership, 138 student-athletes were named All-Americans, 37 teams won conference championships, with 51 NCAA Tournament Berths and eight teams advancing to the Final Four. The women's lacrosse program won both the 2007 and 2009 National Championship.
The Diplomats had steadily risen in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings since her appointment as Director of Athletics and Recreation, finishing in the top-65 out of 450 Division III institutions in eight out of her 12 years at the helm and reaching as high as 47th in 2008-09.
As a coach, Epps led the tennis team to 11 conference championships in 30 years. The Diplomats also had 15 individual and seven teams selected to compete in the NCAA Division III championships. Two of Epps' tennis teams made Final Four appearances. Her 389 career victories are both a school record and Centennial Conference record.
She has been an active member of the U.S. Professional Tennis Association and has served as chair of NCAA Division III Tennis. She was on the ITA Board of Directors, and she has also served as chair of the ITA Ranking Committee. Epps was honored three times as USPTA Middle States Coach of the Year and won the ITA East Region Coach of the Year twice.
In 2006, Epps was honored by the Lancaster Tennis Patrons Association with the Dick Green Award for her community service work with the Lancaster Tennis ACES program.
Epps also served as the College's women's squash coach for 22 years. Her 1989 team was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. She was the president of the Intercollegiate Women's Squash Association for six years and was the first recipient of the College Squash Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Women squash teams ranked 25th through 32nd compete for the Epps Cup every year in the CSA Team Championships.
