June 6, 2005

Marvin Henderson '41 won the United States Tennis Association doubles championship with his partner Jerry Joyce back in 1993 when he was not yet 75. This year he found sweet success on the courts again as he won the USTA 85s indoor national championship in singles play at the ripe young age of 84--his first singles championship.

Henderson, a longtime Georgetown resident, played tennis at Georgetown High School in the 1930s before enrolling at Southwestern. He remembers being one of the first tennis players in the area to don tennis shorts instead of the long white pants traditionally worn by men playing the sport. Henderson joined the Navy after graduation and served in both World War II and Korea. Upon retirement from active duty, he enlisted in the Naval Reserves and continued serving in that capacity until 1960.

Henderson began competing in tennis tournaments around the country in the 1960s. His wife Ouida, whom he married in 1947, travels with him to tournaments from Florida all the way to Vancouver. The couple logs upwards of 10,000 miles a year on their trips. The Hendersons are now on their fourth motor home and mulling over the purchase of a fifth.

*This story contains information from an article by Rick Cantu that appeared in the Williamson County edition of the Austin American-Statesman on June 2, 2005.

Browse current S.U. news
Browse the S.U. Headline News Archive
Return to the S.U. home page