Sandra Stap Clifton (born May 1, 1956) 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 ...

coach and player. Stap grew up in

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a north shore suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into Cook County, Illinois. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens Boo ...

, and was coached by her father, Jake, an ex-baseball player who invented the tennis ball hopper. Her elder sister,

Sue Stap Susan Stap Kust (born June 3, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. A native of Deerfield, Illinois, Stap was ranked as high as 34 in the world while competing on the professional tour during the 1970s. She and her sister Sandy ...

, also played professional

. An

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

(16s) winner in 1970, Stap spent the next decade on tour and also played varsity tennis for Trinity University, where she was a three-time All-American. She won a gold medal in women's doubles gold at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...

in Mexico City, partnering her Trinity teammate Stephanie Tolleson. From 1980 to 1989, she was the women's head coach for

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, which included four successive undefeated Big Ten seasons and fifth-place finishes in the NCAA Championships in 1986 and 1987.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stap, Sandy 1956 births Living people American female tennis players Trinity Tigers women's tennis players Northwestern Wildcats coaches Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in tennis Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Tennis players at the 1975 Pan American Games Tennis players from Chicago People from Deerfield, Illinois Tennis coaches from Illinois College tennis coaches in the United States