Former Miami Women's Tennis Player To be Inducted to ITA Hall of Fame
Sept. 14, 2004
Williamsburg, Va. – Former University of Miami women’s tennis standout, Barbara Scofield Davidson, will be inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Women’s Hall of Fame at the College of William & Mary September 18th.
Davidson, who earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Miami in 1948, was ranked in the top ten in the world five times between 1947-1952. Davidson won the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships in 1947. She also reached the Wimbledon Round of 16 and was a Ladies Singles Semifinalist in 1948.
Her defining year would prove to be 1949 when she defeated Maureen Connelly in the U.S Championship, won the California State Championship and swept the Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles titles of the Championships of South America held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1950 Davidson became the No. 5 player in the world, a career high, by reaching the Singles Semifinals of the Italian Championships, as well as, winning the French Championships Mixed Doubles title and reaching the Singles Semifinal in the same year.
Davidson’s success extended through the early 1950’s. She was a French ChampionshipsLadies Doubles Finalist in 1951; an Eastern Grass Court Champion in 1952; and the winner of the 1953 Swiss Championship.
Davidson, who splits her time between Palm Beach, Fla. And Milwaukee, WI, retired from tennis in 1956 at the age of 26 to raise her children. She resumed competing in 1975 and won the Mother-Son/Father-Daughter Tournament in Forest Hills. Davidson also won the National Grass Court Championships in 1997. In 1998, she was ranked No. 2 nationally among players in their seventies. Most recently, Davidson won the Les-Grand Dames Championship in 2002, a tournament that draws many former U.S. Open and Wimbledon players.
Every two years, the ITA Women’s Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional players, coaches and contributors in women’s intercollegiate tennis. The ITA Hall of Fame Committee selects inductees from the following categories: (1) outstanding collegiate players; (2) players who attended college and later had a significant impact on women’s tennis; (3) outstanding collegiate coaches; and (4) individuals or corporations that played a major role in the development of women’s intercollegiate tennis. Millie West serves as curator for the Hall of Fame.
