Speakers and Presenters

2010 Tennis Festival of the North presented by Delta Ail Lines Presenters


Lindsay Davenport
Three-time Grand Slam Singles Champion
Lindsay Davenport, of Palos Verdes, Calif., is one of only four women since 1975 (the others being Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova) who has been year-end No. 1 at least four times in her career, achieving the top ranking in 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005. She finished her career with a singles record of 753-194 and won 55 singles titles. She claimed her first Grand Slam singles title in 1998 at the US Open. She followed that by taking Wimbledon in 1999 and the Australian Open in 2000. She also won three Grand Slam doubles championships, including the French Open in 1996, the US Open in 1997 and Wimbledon in 1999. Davenport has won over $22 million in her career and was ranked 29th by TENNIS Magazine in its list of the greatest 40 players in tennis history. Currently retired and an analyst for Tennis Channel, Davenport is married to former All-America tennis player Jon Leach and has two children – son Jagger (2) and daughter Lauren (5 months).


Martina Navratilova
18-time Grand Slam Singles Champion
Martina Navratilova, formerly of the Czech Republic and who now has dual citizenship and lives in Aspen, Colo., is arguably the greatest women's tennis player in history. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles in her illustrious career, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (an all-time record) and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including nine consecutive years from 1982-90, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles and she holds the open-era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era (74 consecutive matches) and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women's open era. She won six consecutive Grand Slam titles and reached 11 straight Grand Slam singles finals. She and doubles partner Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches at one point and won all four Grand Slam titles in 1984. Tennis legend Billie Jean King said Navratilova is "the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived."

Eric Alexon
Tennis Professional
Eric is a member of the National Cardio Tennis Speakers Team and has served as a practice partner for touring professionals Jim Courier, Magdelena Maleeva, Manuela Maleeva and Katrina Maleeva. He has taught in some of the nation's best clubs in Florida, Illinois and Denmark. He has Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., and is USPTA - P1 and PTR certified.

Kirk Anderson
United States Tennis Association
Kirk Anderson is the Department Director for Recreational Coaches and Programs at the USTA. Anderson holds Master Professional classification from both the USPTA and the PTR. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and a Master’s degree in Exercise Science from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. and is a graduate of the USTA High Performance Coach program. Anderson has published dozens of tennis related articles in journals in the United States and internationally including Learn To Rally and Play – A Coaches’ Guide, USA Tennis 1-2-3 Adult Program Guide, USA Tennis 1-2-3 Curriculum for Kids, Coaching Youth Tennis and Coaching Tennis – Technical and Tactical Skills. He developed the Coaching Youth Tennis online course and contributed to three videotapes: USTA’s Teaching Group Tennis, USTA’s Backboard Tennis and the Games Approach to Coaching Tennis. In 2003, Anderson received the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award, and was named Person of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry magazine in 2006.

Martin Blackman
Unites States Tennis Association
Blackman is currently the Senior Director of Talent ID and Development for the USTA. Blackman’s responsibilities with USTA involve the establishment of Regional Training Centers throughout the country. From 2004-08, he was the Director of the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in Maryland. The JTCC is a not-for-profit High Performance junior development program with an outstanding record of producing Nationally-ranked players. Prior to joining JTCC, he was the men’s tennis coach at American University in Washington D.C. At American, he led the team to three consecutive conference titles and was recognized in those years (2006-08) as Conference Coach of the Year. Blackman enjoyed a five-year professional tennis career highlighted by nine professional titles and appearances at all four Grand slams from 1991-94. He won five junior National Championships and was a member of three Junior Davis Cup Teams and two NCAA National Championship teams at Stanford. Since retiring from active competition in 1994, Blackman has been involved with a number of community-oriented programs. In the late 1990s, he was an Assistant Director for the Center of Excellence, an academic and mentoring program for underprivileged children in Washington D.C. area, and a Resume Counselor at Jubilee Jobs, a non-profit organization that assists at risk adults in finding employment. Blackman has a B.A. in Economics from George Washington. He lives in Boca Raton, Fla., with his wife, Sennait, and their four children.


Mark Brandenburg
Sports Counselor and President of EQNow

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, CSC, is a certified sports counselor with a Masters degree in psychology. He achieved an ATP world tennis ranking in 1980, and has been heavily involved in competitive sports for 35 years. As a USPTA professional, he has privately coached over 50 nationally-ranked junior players, two national champions and women’s players ranked among the top 10 in the world. Mark is also certified as a life and business coach, and through his blending of the fields of sport psychology and life coaching, he has developed a program for individuals and for teams that brings out their best performance. He is the president of EQNow, a coaching and consulting company, and spends his time coaching, writing, training, and speaking.

John Carpenter
MTM Tennis University
In June 2009, Carpenter formed www.moderntenniscoaches.com with Oscar Wegner to certify and train coaches all over the world using a standardized simple and proven effective tennis teaching known for decades as MTM. Courses are taught through an online MTM Tennis University as well as through on court testing. First 150 coaches MTM certified included a current ATP coach, a former top 60 WTA player, and several coaches who have worked prominently for IMG-Bollettieri’s as well as from now tennis prominent Serbia, and many others who have produced top USTA juniors (#1 girl and #2 boy) as well as WTA and ATP players.



Mike Carter
USTA Master Trainer
Mike Carter has been a certified tennis teaching professional with the USPTA and PTR for over 25 years. Tennis Industry Magazine recognized Carter as one of the Top 25 Unsung Heroes of Tennis for his valuable contributions to the sport. For the USTA, he is a Master Trainer, a national trainer for QuickStart Tennis and Recreational Coach Workshops. In 2007, he was awarded the USTA National Trainer of the Year. For the past 19 years, Carter has worked to help promote and develop the sport of tennis for the USTA Texas section. Some major career highlights are his indirect win over Bjorn Borg and being voted "Best Hair" in high school. 




Joe Dinoffer
Oncourt Offcourt, Ltd.
Joe Dinoffer has had an extensive "world class" career in the tennis industry, conducting clinics and exhibitions in over 50 countries and personally logging over 30,000 hours of instruction in English, Spanish and German. He is a Master Professional in both the PTR and USPTA and received the prestigious 2006 USPTA Tennis Industry Excellence Award. Dinoffer is the author and editor of 16 books and more than 45 DVDs and videotapes. He writes regularly for TENNIS, Smash, TennisLife and Racquet Sports Industry Magazines, and also has numerous shows and tips airing on the Tennis Channel. As a member of the Head/Penn Advisory Staff and National Speaker Bureau, Dinoffer is a frequent speaker at national and international tennis conferences, having conducted over 250 workshops in the last 10 years. He is also the founder and president of Oncourt Offcourt, Ltd., a company exclusively serving the needs of tennis, fitness and physical education coaches with innovative training aids and educational tools. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Monika, and their daughter, Kalindi.

Wayne Elderton
Grant Connell Tennis Centre Tennis Director/Head of Tennis Canada Coaching Development and Certification in British Columbia
Wayne Elderton is acknowledged as one of Canada's leading coaches. He is Head of Tennis Canada Coaching Development and Certification in British Columbia. In this role, he has provided coaching training to over 1500 coaches. He is a main contributor to the Tennis Canada Coaching Certification program and has also written articles and coaching materials for the PTR, Tennis Corporation of America, Tennis Coaches Australia and the International Tennis Federation. He is a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) as recognized by the Coaches of Canada. Elderton has enjoyed considerable success in his career using the Game-Based approach. As a High Performance coach, he has led provincial teams to gold medals in the Canada and Western Canada Games. His players have won numerous national titles and many have achieved full scholarships in the United States. Some have gone on to achieve WTA and ATP rankings. He has also coached three wheelchair players to top 10 world rankings and has coached Canada's World Team Cup squad (Davis Cup for Wheelchair players). He is a key builder of the Canadian National Wheelchair Team program and created Tennis Canada's Wheelchair Instructor Course. In 2006, he was inducted into the City of Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame in the coaching category. He is currently Tennis Director at the Grant Connell Tennis Centre in North Vancouver which was awarded the 2005 Canadian Facility of the Year for program excellence by the Tennis Professionals Association.



Dr. Dan Halvorsen
University of Minnesota Medical School
Dr. Dan Halvorsen is a physiologist at the University of Minnesota Medical School and has served as physiologist and nutritionist for a number of elite tennis players including Pete Sampras, Monica Seles, David Wheaton and Luke Jensen. He also works as a researcher and adjunct professor in Integrative Biology and Physiology ans is the clinic director of the PowerCubed Exercise Medicine Clinic. He is a long-time member of the USPTA and serves on the USTA National Sports Science Committee. He is the only tennis player in Minnesota high school history to win the prestigious Minnesota Student-Athlete of the Year Award.



Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen
Former Top 39 Player In The World and Teaching Professional
Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen, from Edina, Minn., was the first-ever winner of three consecutive Minnesota state singles championships at Edina High School. Coached by her brother, Brace, throughout juniors and high school, she was ranked #1 in USTA Northern at all age levels and finished fifth at the Girls 18s National Grass Court Championships. She was a four-year letterwinner at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., and a three-time All-America. She finished her senior season ranked No. 4 in the nation in singles and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles tournament as both a junior and senior. She finished her playing days as Pepperdine’s all-time leader in career winning percentage (.837) and #2 in career wins with 77. She was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. After her collegiate career, Helgeson-Nielsen played professionally for several years, including appearances at all four of the Grand Slams. She was ranked as high as #5 in the United States and #29 in the world in 1994, and won her only WTA tournament that year – the Auckland Pro Championship. In 1994, she also reached the round of 16 at both the Australian Open and the US Open. During her career, she also advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles at the French Open and Wimbledon and in mixed doubles at the US Open. In her career, she defeated a number of popular players including Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, Mary Jo Fernandez and Anna Kournikova, among others. She is married to Todd Nielsen and is a part-time tennis teaching professional. She also has two children, Garret (9) and Trent (6).

Jon Henning
Hamline University Head Women's Tennis Coach
Jon Henning enters his third season as the head coach of the Piper men's and women's tennis programs. Prior to taking the helm at Hamline, Henning was a teaching professional at Wooddale Tennis and Health. As a student-athlete, he was a member of the Pipers’ 2006 MIAC third place men’s tennis team. Henning compiled a 44-41 record in singles and a 39-38 record in doubles as a Piper, including a 14-9 combined record at first and second singles in his senior year. That year, Henning also finished with a 15-6 record at first doubles and was named to the MIAC All-Conference team. His success helped guide the Pipers to a four-place jump in the MIAC standings from seventh in 2005 to third in 2006. Henning’s teaching experience includes his role as a tennis instructor with the K-12 programs at Wooddale Tennis and Health. During the summer of 2006, he was the head tennis instructor with the USA Team Tennis program with the Stillwater Community Education program. He has also served as a volunteer assistant coach with the New Prague High School women’s tennis team and with the Hamline All-Sports Camps. Henning serves on the board of directors for the USTA Northern Section and is active in league play as the first singles player on his 4.5 team. Henning graduated from Hamline University in 2006 with a major in biology and a minor in education. He is currently working on his master's degree in education at Hamline.

Brandon Jackson
University of Minnesota Tennis On Campus Program

Brandon Jackson, from Ore City, Texas, has been affiliated with teh University of Minnesota Tennis on Campus program for seven years. He currently serves as the University of Minnesota Tennis Club President. Under his guidance, the Club Team has skyrocketed to one of the premier teams around the country with multiple Top-30 finishes at the USTA Tennis On Campus National Tournament. Brandon has also taken an active role in helping build the TOC Program. He currently serves on the USTA Northern Collegiate Committee and the NIRSA National Campus Championship Series Tennis Work Team. When Jacksob is not serving the Tennis on Campus community, he is completing his Master of Education at the University of Minnesota in Sport Management and Coaching. He also competes on numerous USTA League tennis teams and is the head coach of the White Bear Lake Tennis Team.

Luke Jensen
ESPN Announcer/Syracuse University Head Women's Tennis Coach
Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles and singles victories against Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier. Jensen and his brother, Murphy, won the 1993 French Open doubles title. He was also a member of the 1991 and 1992 Davis Cup Teams. His ambidextrous play, including his ability to serve the ball with either hand at 130 miles per hour, earned him the nickname "Dual Hand Luke." He also has served as an announcer for ESPN since 1994. In addition to his announcing responsibilities, Jensen is also the head women's tennis coach at Syracuse. In 2008-09, Jensen directed his team to an 8-7 finish in the BIG EAST, and an 11-14 mark, overall. Under Jensen’s guidance, the Orange has experienced success off the court, as well. Jensen has produced 13 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars and overseen 23 of his pupils get named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. Born in Grayling, Mich., Jensen conducts more than 70 charity, seminar and tennis clinics around the world each year, in addition to his involvement with the Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy for Down Syndrome. A 1985 graduate of East Grand Rapids High School, Jensen reached the second round of the US Open just before enrolling at the University of Southern California, where he earned All-America honors in 1987 and 1988. Jensen won the 1983 Michigan High School State Singles Championship and earned high school All-America recognition.

Steve Keller
Director of Development for the Professional Tennis Registry
Steve Keller is responsible for organizing, developing and conducting workshops and professional development courses throughout the United States and Canada. Keller also administrates the PTR on Campus program that has been instrumental in getting young coaches into the tennis teaching industry. Additionally, he is responsible for PTR certification and testing and oversees the Clinicians and Testers in the United States and Canada. Keller has been a certified professional with PTR since 1986, and has been a National Clinician and Tester since 1990. Keller spent 18 years with the Van der Meer organization directing sites in Missouri, Florida and South Carolina prior to joining Tennis Corporation of America (TCA). Steve also earned the distinguished USTA/PTR Public Service award in 1996 and is a certified professional with the USPTA. He lives in Hilton Head Island, S.C., with his wife Kris, and two sons Andrew and Cole.



Ted Kopren
Owner, Pro Sense Tennis
Ted Kopren, of Osseo, Minn., has taught tennis in different capacities since 1974. He has been a head tennis professional in West Germany from 1984-89. In 1989, Kopren moved back to Minnesota and has taught tennis at various clubs in the Twin Cities. In 2000, he received his Master's Degree from St. Mary's University of Minnesota. While at St. Mary’s, he did research on vision and visual skills in sports. His paper Teaching Visual Skills in Tennis: A Sensory Approach in Learning was a launching point for further research and development of teaching visual skills and developing lenses for the purpose of improved vision for improved performance in tennis. Kopren is currently employed by Life Time Fitness - St. Louis Park as a teaching professional. His company, Pro Sense Tennis, carries a variety of tennis equipment. His patented lenses are new to the tennis industry and have specific applications to improve performance on the court.
 

Ajay Pant
National Tennis Director for Tennis Corporation of America
Ajay Pant is currently the National Tennis Director for Tennis Corporation of America (TCA). He is also the Director of Racquet Sports for TCA owned Midtown Athletic Club in Rochester, N.Y. Pant has been with Tennis Corporation of America since 1993 and has served as Head Tennis Professional, Club Manager and General Manager for TCA clubs in the Chicago area. Pant has worked with beginner to world-ranked players at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was the Coordinator for the Arthur Ashe/Nick Bollettieri “Cities” Tennis Programs in New York, New Jersey, Kansas and Missouri. Pant is a Master Professional, National Tester and National Clinician for the Professional Tennis Registry. The PTR honored Ajay as the International Tester of the Year in 1993, International Clinician of the Year in 2000 and Pro of the Year in 2004. He was chosen as one of 20 “experts” for a study by the PTR and the University of Georgia on expert tennis teachers. He is also a USPTA Master Professional. Pant lives in Pittsford, N.Y., with his wife Megan, son Arun and daughter Kiran. 

 

Jeff Tarango
Legendary Sports Group
Jeff Tarango was a three-time All-American at Stanford University and two-time NCAA Champion before turning pro in 1989. He won two ATP singles titles and 14 ATP doubles titles. He was ranked as high as #42 in the world in singles and spent 13 years in the top 100. He played on the United States Olympic Team in 2001 and was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1991, 1992, and 1997. He also was a finalist at French Open in 1999 with partner Goran Ivanisevic.

Tyler Thomson
University of Minnesota Women's Tennis Coach

Entering his ninth season as head coach of the University of Minnesota women's tennis team in 2009-10, Tyler Thomson continues his building of the Golden Gophers' program. He has coached six first-team all-Big Ten performers and nine nationally-ranked players, while also working with 34 ITA scholar athletes and 42 academic all-Big Ten selections. A four-year starter during his playing days at the University of Montana, Thomson came to Minnesota after previously serving as the assistant coach at College of William & Mary for four seasons and at Allegheny College (Pa.) for one year. Thomson was honored during the 2008-09 season as one of the nation's top teaching pros by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association as the recipient of the Northern Division Women's College Coach of the Year award. Thomson holds a rating of USPTA Professional 1. He was selected to participate in the USTA's High Performance Continuing Education Program at the 2008 U.S. Open in New York City. Thomson also participated in the program in 2006 while becoming a USPTA specialist in competitive player development. Among his other individual honors, Thomson received the ITA East Region's assistant coach of the year award among 82 regional teams in 1999. A member of the U.S. Professional Tennis Association, he was also a finalist for the 1999 ITA national assistant Coach of the Year award.



Tommy Valentini
Gustavus Adophus College Men's Tennis Coach

Tommy Valentini is in his first year as head coach of the men's tennis team at Gustavus Adolphus after serving three years as an assistant coach. A 2002 Gustavus graduate and four-year letterwinner on the tennis team, Valentini is finishing his doctoral studies in kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. He is currently a graduate teaching assistant and primary instructor of history and philosophy of sport. In addition to his coaching responsibilities at Gustavus, Valentini is also an instructor in the health and exercise science department teaching a class in sport ethics. During his playing career, Valentini compiled a record of 60-7 in singles and 53-9 in doubles. In his senior year, he was the MIAC Champion at #4 singles. He was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American majoring in honors history and religion. He received the Arthur Ashe Award for excellence in tennis, academics and humanitarian concerns from both the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 2001. In 2002, Valentini was awarded the Hollingsworth Key, which is presented to the Gustavus senior male athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average.

Jonathan Vegosen
USTA Board of Directors - First Vice President

Jonathan Vegosen began serving a two-year term as First Vice President of the USTA in January 2009. He previously served a two-year term as a Director at Large. Vegosen serves on the Compensation and International Committees as well as on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Master Plan Study Group, and represents the USTA on the Grand Slam Committee and the ITF’s Constitutional Committee. He is also the Board Liaison to the Creative Opportunities Task Force and to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. During the 2007-08 term, he was a member of the Budget Committee, and Board Liaison to the Player Development Council and the ITA.

In addition to his current duties on the USTA Board of Directors, Vegosen serves as a member of the Board of Directors of USTA Serves and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He also is Director for Life of JCYS, a not-for-profit social service agency.

Vegosen has held a number of past positions in tennis. He was Chair of the USTA Collegiate Committee, as well as Vice President and a board member of both the USTA Midwest Section and the USTA Midwest Youth Tennis and Education Foundation. Vegosen is a Past President of the Chicago District Tennis Association (CDTA), where he was the Chairman of the Junior Development Committee and authored the Parent Guide for Competitive Junior Tennis. He also served on the Board of the Chicago Tennis Patrons, the charitable arm of the CDTA.

The captain of the tennis team at Northwestern University, Vegosen was selected All-Big Ten in 1973. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Political Science, he attended the Northwestern University School of Law, from which he graduated cum laude. After serving a clerkship for a federal judge and working at a corporate firm, Vegosen and three others formed a law firm in 1981 now known as Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman and Dunn Ltd. The firm represents primarily owner-managed businesses and high-net worth individuals.

Vegosen and his wife, Shari, reside in Chicago. They have two sons, and all members of the family play tennis. The Vegosens’ youngest son, Spencer, was No. 1 in the nation in the USTA Boys’ 16s in 2004 and won 11 sportsmanship awards during his junior tennis career. The Vegosen Family was honored as the USTA Ralph W. Westcott Family of the Year in 2004.

David Wheaton
Wimbledon Semifinalist – Teaching Professional
USTA Northern Hall of Famer David Wheaton, of Tonka Bay, Minn., started playing tennis at the age of four, played his first tournament when he was eight and won the Minnesota State High School League Tennis title in 1984 as a ninth grader. He then moved to Florida where he was the top-ranked American junior in 1987 after winning the U.S. Open Junior and U.S. Clay Court titles. He was also named the 1987 U.S. Olympic Committee Tennis Athlete of the Year. While in Florida, he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy with the likes of Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Mark Knowles. Serving as valedictorian of his class at St. Stephens Episcopal High School, Wheaton then went to Stanford where he helped the Cardinal win the 1988 NCAA team title as a freshman, was named an all-American and won the Block S award given to the most outstanding freshman athlete at Stanford. On July 4, 1988, Wheaton started his professional career, playing 13 years on the ATP tour. He was ranked as high as No. 12 in the world in singles in 1991, as he won the largest prize money event in tennis history at the 1991 Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Germany. He also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon that year and the quarterfinals of both the U.S. and Australian Opens. Wheaton, known for his stars and stripes headbands he wore while playing, earned more than $5 million in prize money and won three singles and three doubles titles in his career. He also played on the United States Davis Cup Team in 1993. Wheaton still plays professionally part-time as he won the 2004 Wimbledon Over 35 Doubles Championship with partner T.J. Middleton. Wheaton is also giving back to the game off the court by serving on the USTA Board of Directors in his career, working as the interim tennis coach at the University of Minnesota in 2005 and currently as the co-head tennis professional with his brother at the Wayzata Country Club. He is a contributing writer for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper, hosts The David Wheaton Show, which offers a Christian worldview on current events, culture and faith and has just written a book titled University of Destruction.


Steve Wilkinson
Retired Men’s Tennis Coach Gustavus Adolphus University
Steve Wilkinson served as the head men’s tennis coach at Gustavus Adolphus College for the 39 years and finished his carrer winningest coach in men’s tennis collegiate history with over 900 victories. He earned his 923rd career win and overtaking Jim Verdieck of the University of Redlands for most victories in the history of collegiate men’s tennis (Divisions I, II, and III, and NAIA).Wilkinson’s squads won two NCAA Division III titles (1980 and 1982), as well as 35 MIAC titles. In addition, his players claimed six national doubles titles and four national singles titles. He has coached 46 players to 87 All-America honors (including current ATP tour player Eric Butorac), 103 players to 226 All-Conference honors, and five CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Recognized as one of the most prominent coaches in collegiate tennis history, Wilkinson has been involved in numerous national tennis organizations having served on the executive committees of the United States Professional Tennis Association, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, and the United States Tennis Association. He was inducted into the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame in 1974, the Northern Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1983 and the United States Tennis Association Missouri Valley Hall of Fame in 1999. In the summers, Wilkinson and his wife, Barbara, run the Tennis and Life Camps on the Gustavus campus. The Tennis and Life Camps, are considered to be among the finest tennis camps in the country. In addition to his coaching abilities, Wilkinson was also an outstanding player. He played collegiate tennis at the University of Iowa where he finished second in #1 doubles at the Big Ten Championships his senior season. After college, Wilkinson played competitive tennis for many years and was ranked #1 in the United States in the 45, 50, 55 and 60 and over divisions. He has represented the United States in the Dubler Cup, Perry Cup and Austria Cup competition winning the world championship in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1989 and finishing second in Berlin, Germany in 1992.

Kathy Woods
Manager and Director of Tennis – Racquet Club of St. Petersburg
Woods served as President of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) from 1994-96 and held the distinguished honor of being the first and only female to serve the Association in that capacity. She is the co-author, with her husband Ron, of Playing Tennis After 50. Currently, she is the Manager and Director of Tennis at the Racquet Club of St. Petersburg, a facility that boasts 14 clay and three hard courts, swimming pool, pro shop and restaurant. Woods previously directed tennis programs in clubs and communities including Princeton, N.J., Key Biscayne, Fla. and Westport, Conn. She has been a certified teaching professional for nearly three decades. She has also worked with the Tennis Industry Association on the Cartoon Network Tennis Tour and has been a featured speaker for the International Tennis Federation at the Worldwide Coaches Workshop, the Japanese Professional Tennis Association and the USTA National Tennis Teachers Conference. In 1996, Kathy was honored with the prestigious Educational Merit Award by the International Tennis Hall of Fame for outstanding service to tennis at the national level. As a competitive player, she earned a coveted Gold Ball by winning the USTA National 30s Doubles championships and has been ranked number one in the nation by USPTA in both singles and doubles. Woods played varsity tennis and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.