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Amy Jensen and Amanda Augustus at their Cal Hall of Fame induction, with Sandy Barbour Cal Athletic Director and Burl Toler, President of the Big C Society.
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Amy and her father, John Jensen who traveled from Australia for Amy's induction.
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USTA NorCal board members and staff were present at the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame to honor one of our own Friday, Nov. 11, at the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Greek Orthodox Church Conference Center in Oakland. USTA NorCal Manager of Player Development, Amy Jensen, was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her outstanding tennis play at Cal.
Even the dark clouds and persistent rain could not dampen the golden evening. Last night, hundreds of Old Blues, their family and friends, gather to honor the Cal Hall of Fame Class of 2011 inductees.
Our own Amy Jensen may have been beaming the brightest. Sitting next to her father John, who traveled all the way from Brisbane, Amy was honored by the Big C Society for her unparalleled success on the court and in the classroom. She said, "My mum taught me passion and love for the game. My dad taught me 'to do my best and if you can, win the last point.' Both have served me well in my career."
Amy was a Cal singles and doubles All-American who won an unprecedented three consecutive NCAA doubles titles, The Australian native was a three-year letter-winner for the Golden Bears (1996-2000), posting a career record of 105-52 in singles and 94-29 in doubles. She won her doubles titles in 1998, 1999 with Amanda Augustus and 2000 with Claire Curran. She was named a 1997 and 2000 NCAA Singles All-American and a doubles All-American in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Amy was also an assistant coach with the Golden Bears women's tennis program for four years as well as their volunteer assistant coach for two years. Kathy Toon, who coached Amy when she won the NCAA Championship and coached with her under fellow inductee Jan Brogan, attended the induction. She said, "Amy leads by example. She is a consummate student of the game and of life. I continue to admire her ability to take all that life throws at her, the good and the bad, and embrace the lesson and improve. I'm very proud of her." Kathy's website,
GlamSlamTennis.Com often features coaching tips from Amy.
During her acceptance, Amy said, "I learned a lot working intensely with a team of 12 players. Now I'm excited to continue my journey with the USTA, the 'Mother Ship' of tennis and the opportunity to coach over 10,000 juniors here in NorCal. I'm just so thrilled to give back." Joining USTA NorCal this year, Amy has brought her experience as an internationally top ranked junior, NCAA champion and a collegiate coach to her role as Manager of Player Development.
She works with USTA player Development team, Patrick McEnroe (USTA General Manager of Player Development), Jose Higueras (USTA Director of Coaching) and their coaches to develop world-class American players through a clearly defined training structure and competitive pathway. Supporting the NorCal High Performance coaches, junior players and parents, Amy looks to implement a comprehensive coaching philosophy supporting the mission of restoring American tennis to international prominence.
The new inductees were also honored at halftime of Cal's Nov. 12 football game vs. Oregon State at AT&T Park.
The Cal Class of 2011, which will comprise the 26th group of inductees, consists of:
- Ned Anderson - a rugby standout from 1968-71 and Cal's head coach from 1975-83
- Amanda Augustus/Amy Jensen - as a tennis doubles team, they captured NCAA titles in 1998 and '99
- Jan Brogan - Cal women's tennis coach from 1978-2007 and an eight-time conference coach of the year
- Dave Butler - a two-time Academic All-American and the 1983 Pac-10 men's basketball Freshman of the Year
- Deltha O'Neal - a consensus All-American as a senior who was the 1999 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year
- Bryan Price - one of the top left-handers in school history who won 25 games and struck out 235 batters
- Maite Zabala - a three-time All-Pac-10 goalkeeper who set the Cal women's soccer record for career shutouts