Top Players and Contributors Honored at 2024 Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Gala

Colorado’s most talented tennis players and supporters took center stage on November 9 to be honored for their skills, talent and contributions to the game as part of the 2024 Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Gala and Annual Awards Celebration.

Special Thanks to Subaru– a long-term sponsor of USTA Colorado and CYTF- and their rep JD Goodwin

Emceed by Christine Chang Gillette and Andy Zodin, this year’s event inducted Julie Anthony and Andy Zurcher at the Infinity Park Events Center in Glendale, Colorado.

Each year, members of the Colorado tennis community gather to commemorate the induction of a new class to the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame, and to celebrate the achievements of players, organizations, volunteers and others who have distinguished themselves through their dedication and commitment to tennis.

Intermountain Executive Director Rob Scott toasts the award winners

All proceeds benefit the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation (CYTF) which promotes the physical, emotional and social development of all youth to aspire to become active, productive and responsible citizens.

California native Julie Anthony played for Stanford University and won the national collegiate doubles crown in 1967. She made appearances at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the U.S. and earned a Ph.D while competing in the women’s pro circuit. She played doubles with Billie Jean King in the inaugural year of World Team Tennis, and in the 1980s she relocated to Colorado and was co-owner of the Aspen Club and later founded the Fitness and Sports Medicine Institute. From 1989 to 1994 she coached Gigi Fernandez (2019 inductee) to an Olympic gold medal and 11 Grand Slam doubles titles.

More than 300 attended this year

Colorado native Andy Zurcher was among the nation’s top collegiate players and two-time captain at the University of Notre Dame. He graduated as an All-American and Academic All-American and was presented with the Dan Magill Award in 1994 for his performance and contributions to collegiate tennis. While at Notre Dame he achieved NCAA career high rankings of No. 19 in singles and No. 7 in doubles. From 1995 to 1997 he served as Notre Dame’s Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach and was recognized as the Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year in 1997. Most recently he has won more than a dozen combined titles at the Denver City Open and Colorado Tennis Championships.

Below is a list of the USTA Colorado Annual Award Winners in various categories.

ON COURT ACHIEVEMENT
Male Player: Nicholas Herrero Cuesta (Denver)
Female Player: Lucy Lu (Broomfield)
Senior Player: Richard Best (Denver)

SPORTSMANSHIP, LEADERSHIP AND ACHIEVEMENT
Boys’ 14U: Braylon Desquitado (Colorado Springs)
Boys’ 15-18: Tyler Van Tassell (Ft. Collins)
Girls’ 14U: Anna Curran (Golden)
Girls’ 15-18: Sabina Czauz (Thornton)
Parks Player: Samantha Garcia Lucero (Denver)

SERVICE – OF THE YEAR
Organization of the Year: Springs Tennis – Rep-Patrick Ramirez (CO Springs)
Volunteer of the Year: Alden Bock (Golden)
Family of the Year: Bernthal Family (Boulder)

SERVICE – LONGTIME
Service to under-served populations: Tom Talmadge (Centennial)
Service to recreational players: Jason Bolton (Arvada)
Service to the tennis community: Mike Phillips (Erie)

For information on the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation please visit their website at: cytf.net