Cecilia Fernandez-Parker (born June 28, 1963) is an American former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Biography

Fernandez grew up in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

, one of four daughters of Ecuadorian civil engineer Carlos and Los Angeles born Dolores. The four sisters are two sets of twins who all went on to play tennis at a high level, with Cecilia and her twin sister Elisa being the youngest. Anna-Maria and Anna Lucia are the eldest twins. While at

Bishop Montgomery High School Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the S ...

in 1977, both sets of twins played each other in a CIF 4A doubles final, while the team was also coached by their mother. In the early 1980s, Fernandez played college tennis for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

. During this time she represented the United States in the Junior Federation Cup and won a singles gold medal at the

University Games A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...

in Edmonton. A four-time

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, Fernandez was a member of USC's NCAA Division I Championship winning teams in 1983 and 1985. Fernandez competed on the professional tour after leaving USC. She made the second round of the

1986 French Open The 1986 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 26 May until 8 June. It was the 90th staging of the French Open, and the first Gran ...

, beating fellow Los Angeles based player

Tina Mochizuki Tina Karwasky (born November 24, 1952) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Born Tina Watanabe, she is of Japanese descent. She competed during her career under her married name Tina Mochizuki. Biography Karwasky, who g ...

in the first round, before losing to Bulgarian

Katerina Maleeva Katerina Georgieva Maleeva ( bg, Катерина Георгиева Малеева; born 7 May 1969) is a former top 10 Bulgarian tennis player. She won eleven singles and two doubles WTA Tour titles. Her best position in the WTA rankings was ...

. Retiring from the tour in 1988, Fernandez now coaches at the Jack Kramer Tennis Club in

Rolling Hills Estates, California Rolling Hills Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. On the northern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, facing Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates is mostly residential. Incorporated in 1957, Rolling Hills Estates has ...

. She is married to Dale Parker and has three children, a son and two daughters.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez-Parker, Cecilia 1963 births Living people American female tennis players USC Trojans women's tennis players Tennis people from California American twins Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Universiade medalists in tennis American people of Ecuadorian descent Sportspeople of Ecuadorian descent FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade