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2000 Hall of Fame Inductions
People Who Changed The Game
In 2000, we inducted 4 incredible women into the Hall of Fame. Each of their legacies has created a lasting impact on the sport of tennis and will for the rest of time.
Inductees
Emilie Burrer Foster
An all-star athlete, Texan Emilie Burrer Foster (b.1947) focused her talents on tennis in high school and became a state champion. After two years at Lubbock Christian University, where she reached the semifinals in national collegiate doubles, she transferred to Trinity University and emerged as a tennis powerhouse. The only collegiate player to win back-to-back singles and doubles titles, Foster also led her Trinity team to national titles in 1968 and 1969.
Foster coached at Texas Tech University for eight years, taking the team from club to varsity status without benefit of athletic scholarships. Returning to her alma mater in 1978, Foster reached the national finals twice, won ITA Coach of the Year honors in 1983, and coached 12 All-Americans, including 1983 collegiate and Pan American doubles winners Gretchen Rush and Louise Allen. Honoring her unyielding competitive spirit, one friend wrote of Foster: “She embodies the words ‘true grit.’ ”
Foster coached at Texas Tech University for eight years, taking the team from club to varsity status without benefit of athletic scholarships. Returning to her alma mater in 1978, Foster reached the national finals twice, won ITA Coach of the Year honors in 1983, and coached 12 All-Americans, including 1983 collegiate and Pan American doubles winners Gretchen Rush and Louise Allen. Honoring her unyielding competitive spirit, one friend wrote of Foster: “She embodies the words ‘true grit.’ ”
Jane Albert Willens
Daughter of famed quarterback Frankie Albert, Jane Albert Willens (b.1946) inherited her father’s championship spirit, capturing her first national title at age 14. Two years later she claimed the California State triple crown, the youngest titleholder ever. Albert continued her winning ways at Stanford University, her father’s alma mater, becoming the national collegiate singles champion in 1964 and doubles champion in 1967.
Described as ‘thriving on pressure,’ Albert debuted at Wimbledon in 1963 on Centre Court, nearly taking the match against 1962 finalist Vera Sukova. Despite a back injury in 1964, she broke into the USTA Top 10 and was ranked No. 4 the following year. In 1967, Albert made a fitting exit from competitive tennis by winning two gold metals at the Pan American Games. Now a clinical social worker and the mother of three children, Albert was the first woman inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.
Described as ‘thriving on pressure,’ Albert debuted at Wimbledon in 1963 on Centre Court, nearly taking the match against 1962 finalist Vera Sukova. Despite a back injury in 1964, she broke into the USTA Top 10 and was ranked No. 4 the following year. In 1967, Albert made a fitting exit from competitive tennis by winning two gold metals at the Pan American Games. Now a clinical social worker and the mother of three children, Albert was the first woman inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.
Julie Anthony
Julie Anthony (b.1948), who earned a Ph.D. while competing on the women’s pro circuit, embodies the word ‘scholar-athlete.’ A promising junior player in Santa Monica, California, Anthony received free lessons from 1904 U.S. champion May Sutton Bundy, whom she called ‘Granny.’ Awarded academic and tennis scholarships to Westlake School in Los Angeles at age 15, Anthony subsequently entered Stanford University, where she and partner Jane Albert, claimed the national collegiate doubles crown in 1967.
As a professional, Anthony helped to inaugurate World Team Tennis in 1974, leading the league in women’s doubles wins with partner Billie Jean King. After receiving her doctorate in clinical psychology from UCLA in 1979, Dr. Anthony combined her athletic and clinical skills as a sports psychologist and author. From 1989 to 1994, she coached doubles player Gigi Fernandez to 11 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. Providing wise counsel to amateurs and professionals alike, Dr. Julie Anthony has drawn life lessons from the game of tennis.
As a professional, Anthony helped to inaugurate World Team Tennis in 1974, leading the league in women’s doubles wins with partner Billie Jean King. After receiving her doctorate in clinical psychology from UCLA in 1979, Dr. Anthony combined her athletic and clinical skills as a sports psychologist and author. From 1989 to 1994, she coached doubles player Gigi Fernandez to 11 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. Providing wise counsel to amateurs and professionals alike, Dr. Julie Anthony has drawn life lessons from the game of tennis.
Patricia Henry Yeomans
In a career spanning 70 years, Patricia Henry Yeomans (b.1917) spearheaded many of the century’s tennis milestones. The daughter of California champion Corinne Stanton and sportswriter Bill Henry, Yeomans was a tennis natural, winning the national junior title in 1935. At Occidental College, she worked her way to No. 1 on the men’s freshman team before being banned from competition. She swept the College Girls’ Invitational in 1936 and 1937, the ‘unofficial’ intercollegiate tournament of the era.
Involved in every level of tennis from juniors to seniors, Yeomans helped Helen Lewis organize the first sanctioned women’s collegiate championship in 1958 and pioneered tournament play for 50-and-over age groups. With tennis official Joseph Bixler and former champion Jack Kramer, Yeomans began lobbying in 1972 to bring tennis back to the Olympics. Her dream was achieved in 1984 when tennis premiered at the L.A. Olympics and was approved as a full medal sport for the ’88 Games.
Involved in every level of tennis from juniors to seniors, Yeomans helped Helen Lewis organize the first sanctioned women’s collegiate championship in 1958 and pioneered tournament play for 50-and-over age groups. With tennis official Joseph Bixler and former champion Jack Kramer, Yeomans began lobbying in 1972 to bring tennis back to the Olympics. Her dream was achieved in 1984 when tennis premiered at the L.A. Olympics and was approved as a full medal sport for the ’88 Games.
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