Mary Jane Metcalf Donnalley, Class of 2016

Growing up in Denver, Mary Jane launched onto the national tennis scene, reaching a US ranking of No. 13 in Girls’ 18 singles and No. 5 in doubles with Gussy Moran in 1940, and a top 25 US women’s ranking in 1941 and ’42.

She was also an accomplished coach and an important figure in the history of American tennis. Mary Jane designed the Mary Baldwin College tennis courts and developed a powerhouse women’s team — going undefeated for nine consecutive seasons — being named the Pepsi-Cola Outstanding Collegiate Tennis program in the US in 1967.

She returned to Colorado during the summer in the mid-1960s to teach at the Denver Tennis Club, and is author of numerous tennis articles and books on tennis.