Amateur In 1974, Mitchell was recruited by Coach
Dick Gould of
Stanford University, where he signed his letter of intent in 1975. At Stanford University, he became a three-time
All-American, where he achieved his first All-American honors when he beat the two-sport All-American
John Lucas from the
University of Maryland in the round of 32 at the NCAA Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas. After Stanford University won the National Team Championships, Mitchell, seeded first in the singles event, beat
John Bennett of
Brigham Young University,
John Austin of
UCLA,
Ben McKown of
Trinity College,
Bruce Nichols of UCLA,
Chris Lewis of
USC, and finally,
Tony Graham of UCLA in a best-of-five set to win the NCAA Singles Championship. That single event catapulted Mitchell's ranking from 164 in the world to 63. Mitchell's greatest success as a professional came as a doubles player, winning seven tournaments in doubles between 1980 and 1985. These included the 1984
ATP Player's Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio with
Francisco Gonzalez, and, while partnering with
Kevin Curren former All-American from
University of Texas at Austin in 1986, they lost in the semifinals of the US Open Championships to
Mats Wilander and
Joakim Nyström of
Sweden in a five-set match, 7–6 in the fifth. Mitchell's highest doubles ranking as a professional was 30 in the world. == Honors ==