USTA Georgia recognizes standouts among state tennis community with Annual Awards

USTA Georgia recognizes standouts among state tennis community with Annual Awards

USTA Georgia announced the recipients for the organization’s 2019 awards, which recognize outstanding achievements statewide in tennis, on and off the court. Twenty-five awards comprise the full list of honors, and the award winners will be officially recognized at the USTA Georgia Community Tennis Development Workshop in early February.

This annual awards ceremony seeks to distinguish outstanding individuals in discipline categories.  Winners are nominated by their peers, with the USTA Georgia Awards Committee having the final authority on awards selections.  This year’s selections are highlighted by Harriette Lynch and Randy Stephens receiving the coveted Presidents Award, while Leslie Shields is honored with the Ruth Ryner Lay Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rome’s own Doug Walker will be honored with the Marc Kaplan Media Excellence Award and Bill Thornton will be honored with the USTA League Male Captain of the Year.

The awards ceremony will take place the evening of Saturday, February 8 at the JW Marriott Buckhead.

Below is the list of 2019 winners:

·         Adult Tournament of the Year – Georgia State Adult Sr. Open Atlanta – Bitsy Grant

·         Al Parker Award for Junior Player – Edward Tymes

·         Charles H. Cox, Jr. Award for Adult Player of the Year – Mario Rincon

·         Dr. Robert Bunnen Community Tennis Association of the Year – Central Savannah River Area Tennis Association

·         Hardie Family Award for Junior Sportsmanship of the Year – Masaki Posey

·         Iberia Bank Tennis Professional of the Year – Heidi Ramaeker

·         James Kincaid Family Award for Family of the Year – The Coleman Family

·         Janet Louer Junior Team Tennis Coordinator of the Year – Robert Brown

·         Junior Tournament of the Year – USTA National Level 2 Tournament

·         Kathleen and Cannon Carr Award for High School Coach of the Year – Jaime Kaplan

·         Local League Coordinator of the Year – Kim Chunn

·         Mac MacDougal Tennis Official of the Year – Don Bradley

·         Marc Kaplan Media Excellence Award – Doug Walker

·         Member Org of the Year – Southern Crescent Tennis Association

·         NJTL Chapter of the Year – Kids Luv Tennis

·         President’s Award – Harriette Lynch and Randy Stephens

·         Randy Stephens Award for State Volunteer Service – Linda Dollar

·         Richard C. Botsch Educational Merit Award – Val Ocubillo

·         Ruth Ryner Lay Award for Lifetime Achievement – Leslie Shields

·         Scholar Athlete of the Year – Nicholas Beck

·         Signature Tennis Courts Award for Tennis Director of the Year – Tricia Mascherin

·         Special Tennis Event of the Year – Autism Bridge Event

·         Team Tennis Event of the Year – USTA Georgia 55 & Over League State Championships Columbus

·         USTA Junior Team Tennis Captain – Micaela Brady

·         USTA League Female Captain of the Year – Candace Cole

·         USTA League Male Captain of the Year – Bill Thornton

·         Wheelchair Excellence Award – American Wheelchair Tennis Championships

About the Author

Our Georgia's Rome tourism team works hard to curate content to help you discover and explore our beautiful town! We want to ensure our content is up-to-date and accurate; so please let us know if we ever overlook an important detail! This post was originally written by Kristi Kent and is updated by staff.