Sheila McInerney (born February 22, 1958) is an American former professional tennis player.

Biography

McInerney is originally from Rome, New York and began playing tennis at the age of eight. A former student at the Rome Free Academy, she later moved to Miami to further her tennis and attended Palmetto High School. She received a tennis scholarship to the University of Southern California (USC Trojans) in 1976. As an amateur, McInerney qualified for the main draw of the 1977 US Open and made it through to the third round, where she was beaten in three sets by

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

. In 1978 she partnered with USC teammate

Barbara Hallquist Barbara Hallquist DeGroot (born May 1, 1957) is a retired professional tennis player from the U.S. She was the first female student to receive an athletic scholarship from the University of Southern California (USC) as a result of Title IX legisl ...

to a runner-up finish in the doubles at the

U.S. Clay Court Championships The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. By the time she graduated from USC in 1980, she had achieved four All-American selections and was captain of the Trojans in her senior year. From 1980 to 1983, McInerney competed professionally and featured in the doubles main draws of the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. Now a tennis coach, McInerney led the American women's teams at the

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The Game ...

and

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

. Since 1985, she has been the long serving head coach of Arizona State Sun Devils women's tennis.

WTA career finals

Doubles: 1 runner-up

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McInerney, Sheila 1958 births Living people American female tennis players American tennis coaches USC Trojans women's tennis players Tennis people from New York (state) Arizona State Sun Devils women's tennis coaches Sportspeople from Rome, New York