Julie Anthony and Andy Zurcher highlight Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Gala

Gala celebrates two Hall of Fame inductees, recognizes annual award recipients

The 2024 Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Gala drew a packed crowd of 370 guests on Saturday, November 9 at Infinity Park Events Center in Glendale as 14 annual awards were distributed and two new inductees were welcomed into the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame.

As has become the tradition, the event was emceed by Christine Chang Gillette (Former longtime Emmy award winning morning news anchor and reporter at ABC’s Denver 7, now book consultant and media trainer) and Andy Zodin (Director of Racquet Sports at Columbine Country Club, President of USPTA Intermountain Division and a sports talk radio host and podcaster).

An annual fundraising event for the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation, attendees at the Gala pledged more than $75,000 for the CYTF, which promotes the physical, emotional and social development of ALL youth to aspire to become active, productive and responsible citizens. By providing individual player scholarships and program grants to kids and organizations throughout the state, the CYTF ensures that juniors from small rural towns as well as from larger metropolitan areas benefit from the sport.

Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Inductees

A native of southern California, Julie Anthony played collegiate tennis at Stanford University from 1965-1969, where she and Jane Albert captured the National Collegiate Doubles crown in 1967. She then competed on the women’s professional tour for 10 years (1969-1979), reaching the doubles final at Roland Garros and the semifinals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. In 1974, Julie played in the inaugural year of World Team Tennis, leading the league in women’s doubles wins with her partner, Billie Jean King. 

Toward the end of her professional tennis career, Julie earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, combining her athletic and clinical skills as a sports psychologist and author. A pioneer in the area of sports psychology, Julie was sports psychologist to professional athletes and also the Philadelphia Flyers from 1980-1982. She relocated to Aspen, CO, and was co-owner of the iconic Aspen Club from 1982-1996, and founded and directed the Fitness and Sports Medicine Institute there, cutting-edge in the field of sports medicine. From 1989-1994 she coached Gigi Fernandez to 11 Grand Slam doubles titles and an Olympic gold medal. Watch Julie's induction video.

Born and raised in Colorado, Andy Zurcher was consistently among the top players in the nation during his junior career. A two-time state high school champion, he went on to become a two-time team captain at the University of Notre Dame, an NCAA team finalist, voted the top senior collegiate player of the year, and graduated as an All-American and Academic All-American. Andy was presented with the prestigious Dan Magill Award in 1994 to recognize his outstanding performance and contributions to collegiate tennis. He recorded the third most wins in Notre Dame tennis history (128-60 in singles and 206-101 overall). Andy achieved NCAA career high rankings of No. 19 in singles and No. 7 in doubles. 

On the professional tour, Andy earned an ATP World Rank of 295 in doubles and 1071 in singles playing professional tennis in Australia, Europe, Central America, and throughout the United States. He served as the Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at Notre Dame from 1995-97, and was recognized as the Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year in 1997. Locally, Andy won more than a dozen combined titles at the Denver City Open and Colorado State Open (now known as the Colorado Tennis Championships). Watch Andy's induction video.