Belmar Gunderson (September 7, 1934 – May 15, 2023) was an American tennis player.
Gunderson, the daughter of an Army colonel, was born in
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost .
The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
, and lived in various other military bases during her childhood, including in post-war Germany where she began playing tennis aged 13.
A diminutive player, Gunderson served as captain of the U.S. junior
Wightman Cup side. She celebrated her 21st birthday by beating the second-seeded
Louise Brough at the
1955 U.S. National Championships, to reach the quarter-finals stage. As a doubles player she was ranked as high as two in the country, winning titles at the
Canadian Championships and
U.S. Indoor Championships.
Gunderson retired as a player in 1965 and completed a doctorate at
Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...
. From 1974 to 1976 she served as the first ever women's athletics director for the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
.
Gunderson died on May 15, 2023, at the age of 88.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunderson, Belmar
1934 births
2023 deaths
American female tennis players
Tennis people from Oklahoma
Minnesota Golden Gophers athletic directors
People from Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Texas Woman's University alumni