Ray Senkowski (February 18, 1941 - December 24, 1995) was an American tennis player. He grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan, and at age 17 won the 1958 national scholastic tennis championship in Charlottesville, Virginia, defeating Frank Froehling. At the tournament now known as the

Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the olde ...

, he reached the semifinals in 1959, defeating Reg Bennett of Great Britain in the Round of 16 and

Rudy Hernando Rudy Hernando (born June 10, 1939) is an American former professional tennis player. A Detroit native, Hernando notably reached the singles fourth round of the 1959 U.S. National Championships. At the tournament now known as the Cincinnati Maste ...

in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 1 seed

Whitney Reed Whitney Reed (August 20, 1932 – January 9, 2015) was a former U.S. No. 1 tennis player from the United States who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Reed was ranked No. 1 amateur in the United States in 1961 and was ranked in the U.S. amateur ...

. Also in 1959, he defeated top-seeded

Ian Vermaak Ian Vermaak (born 28 March 1933) is a former tennis player competing for South Africa. As the No. 4 seed he finished runner-up to Nicola Pietrangeli in the singles final of the Amateur French Championships of Roland-Garros in 1959, after having ...

at the Western Open. Senkowski was recruited by coach Bill Murphy and enrolled at the University of Michigan where he won the 1961 Big Ten Conference singles and doubles championships (with Wayne Peacock) and was a three-time All-American (1961-1963). He lost 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 to Allen Fox of UCLA in the singles finals of the 1961 NCAA Tennis Championships at Iowa State University. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senkowski, Ray 1941 births 1995 deaths American male tennis players Michigan Wolverines men's tennis players Tennis people from Michigan