The second class of honorees into the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame are among some of the most recognized and remembered tennis players.
Jim Osborne and F.D. Robbins were two of the brightest young talents to play in Utah. Both men are now college tennis coaches - Robbins at the University of Utah and Osborne at Brigham Young University. Honored posthumously will be former Ute coach Harry James.Lee Hammel has been both an outstanding player, high school coach and tennis official over the years. Kathy Rothfels and Janice Stevens have been two of Utah's most notable women players over the years.
Moved but not forgotten from the local tennis scene is Gordon Giles, a prominent figure back in the 1930s and 1940s.
The ceremony and banquet will be held on Tuesday at the Cottonwood Country Club at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 per person. For information call Gaylen Young, 272-1911.
Osborne was a three-time All-American at the University of Utah between 1963-67. He was a NCAA semifinalist and two-time WAC champion. He was on the 1968 U.S. Olympic team and won a bronze medal in doubles, and was on the U.S. Davis Cup team (1968), the U.S. World Cup Team (1980), the U.S. Italia Cup Team (1980) and the U.S. Dubler Cup Team (1981).
Osborne has won two national doubles titles and seven senior national titles. He has been ranked in the Top 10 in both singles (No. 7) and doubles (No. 2). He has career wins over Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase.
Robbins played for Olympus High, then for Utah where he was a two-time All-American and ranked No. 20 in collegiate tennis. He was ranked No. 2 in U.S. junior singles and was on the Junior Davis Cup team for four years.
In 1969, he won the National Junior Hardcourt, National Grass Court and Pacific Coast Junior titles. In 1975 he beat Ken Rosewall and is listed in the USA Tennis Yearbook as having played one of the longest matches ever. In 1969, at the U.S Open, he beat Dick Dell, 22-20, 9-7, 6-8, 8-10, 6-4.
He hit the pro circuit in 1972, became head tennis pro at the Sports Mall in 1976 and head coach at the U. of U. in 1985.
Rothfels was executive secretary of the Utah Tennis Association from 1969 to 1974. During that time she was also coach of the U. of U. women's team and manager of the Salt Lake Tennis Club.
She has been ranked in the Top 5 nationally in various age divisions 12 times. In 1988 and 1989, she played on the U.S. Marble Cup team which competed in Austria and Germany. She was undefeated both years in international play.
She has won five national singles titles and three national doubles titles. In the 1950s, she played Wimbledon where she won her age class title in 1956 in singles and doubles 1951-53.
Stevens has been a tennis pro, teaching pro and director of the Salt Lake County Recreation. In 1957, she made the semifinals of the National Public Parks tournament. Most years between 1957 and 1978, Stevens was ranked No. 1 or 2 in Utah and the Intermountain in singles and doubles.
She was a finalist in the National Indoors in 1980 and in 1982 was listed in the Who's Who in Tennis. She has directed several national tournaments and since 1956 she has been president of the Tennis Umpires Association.
Hammel first made his mark in tennis by winning the BYU Invitational while in junior high. He went on to play for the University of Utah, playing No. 2 in 1946 and No. 4 in 1947. He was a high school tennis coach for 30 years.
He has been ranked in No. 1 in Utah and Intermountain in singles 13 times and doubles six times. He has been ranked nationally in men's 50s, 60s, 65s and 70s. His highest ranking was No. 3 nationally in singles and No. 1 in doubles.
Internationally, Hammel played on the Britannia Cup in 1965 and the Crawford Cup in 1970. He went undefeated in nine matches.
James (1921-1991) played tennis in high school, but contracted polio in the Army and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. But that didn't stop him from being one of the biggest contributors to Utah tennis. He started out directing tennis tournaments, then went on to be head coach at Utah for 26 years.
He had several teams ranked in the Top 10, won 12 conference titles and placed 2nd five times. During his time at Utah he coached 25 nationally ranked players, including Osborne, Robbins and Greg Holmes, who went on to win the NCAA singles title. He also directed more than 40 national tennis events, including the 1957 and 1970 NCAAs.
During his career he won numerous awards, including the Sports Illustrated "Pat on the Back" awards (1961), the Marlboro Award presented by World Tennis for outstanding contributions (1963), Sport Magazine's "Sport Service Award" (1968) and was named WAC and District 7 Coach of the Year. He also managed the Salt Lake Tennis Club, Canyon Racquet Club and Hamilton Club.
Giles, now living in Woodland Hills, Calif., played for the University of Utah. He reached the finals of the Intermountain Junior Doubles in 1935. In 1936, he was ranked No. 4 in national juniors and in 1945 was ranked No. 6 nationally in men's doubles.
Over the years he won several titles, including the Salt Lake Men's Doubles and the Intermountain Men's Doubles.