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Dick Gould, Frank Brennan, Jr. Inducted Into USPTA Hall of Fame

October 10, 2019

The United States Professional Tennis Association held its Awards Lunch last week during the 2019 USPTA World Conference presented by Havana Bob’s at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Long-time Stanford University tennis coaches Dick Gould and Frank Brennan, Jr. were each presented with the Tim Heckler Hall of Fame Award.

Gould coached men’s tennis at Stanford for 38 seasons from 1967 to 2004. He won the program’s first NCAA team national championship in 1973 and repeated in 1974. Gould and the Cardinal would go on to win 15 more national championships; every senior class until 2004 won at least one national championship.

Gould coached such greats of the game as John McEnroe, Roscoe Tanner, Sandy Mayer and Bob & Mike Bryan. Fifty of Gould’s players became All-Americas, 13 went on to win Grand Slam titles and eight became Olympians. Gould was also instrumental in fundraising for Stanford’s $20 million Taube Tennis Center. He was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. Gould is a USPTA Elite Professional and has been a member for 38 years.

Brennan, Jr. coached women’s tennis at Stanford for 21 seasons from 1980 to 2000. He won 10 NCAA team national championships in that time, including six in a row from 1986 to 1991, and posted four undefeated seasons. When Brennan, Jr. retired after the 2000 season, Lele Forood, a former player of his since her childhood, took over coaching with his son, Frankie, as an assistant. Forood and Brennan III have continued Stanford’s dominance with 10 national championships since 2000.

In addition to his 10 championships, Brennan, Jr. coached 41 All-Americas and posted a win-loss record of 510-50. He was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 and the ITA Women’s Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. Brennan, Jr. is a USPTA Elite Professional and has been a member for 54 years.

The Hall of Fame Award honors Tim Heckler, who was elected president of the USPTA in 1980 and was CEO for 30 years until 2012. As CEO, Heckler increased membership five-fold, revolutionized the Association through computerization and established the USPTA as the foremost organization of tennis-teaching professionals in the world. He was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 2000.