A W A R D S
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Award Descriptions
USPTA PRO OF THE YEAR
Recognizes a member who, in the course of a career, has demonstrated exemplary achievement in seven areas including contributions to the USPTA, USTA, as a teaching professional, player and coach; in education, research, and publications; and with other organization, achievements, and contributions.
PRESIDENT'S AWARD FOR SPECIAL RECOGNITION
This is an award presented at the President’s discretion which recognizes a USPTA member for special achievement and other criteria deemed worthy by the divisional President.
ED SERUES PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LONG-TERM SERVICE
This is an award presented at the President’s discretion which recognizes a USPTA member for outstanding longterm service to the division and other criteria deemed worthy by the divisional President.
USPTA DIETZ BOWL
Recognizes a New England member for outstanding participation, contributions, and achievement in USTA/NE events and volunteer support.
USPTA INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARD
This award is given to teaching professionals who take both an entrepreneurial and altruistic attitude toward their job. They use their own resources and those offered by the industry to build programs and bring tennis to more people, growing their own tennis business.
TESTER OF THE YEAR
The USPTA Tester of the Year award recognizes the USPTA/NE tester who does the most to advance certification opportunities and the certification process.
FACILITY MANAGER OF THE YEAR
This award is open to USPTA members and non-members. Nominees must be the General Manager (in function, if not in title) of a club or tennis facility either large or small. This award is for a person and not a facility.
DAN BONFIGLI MEMORIAL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE
This award recognizes a USPTA member that is highly active within the division and has made significant contributions in growing participation through tennis related programs in the local and larger industry in the spirit of community service in the previous calendar year.
AL ROGERS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR DEVOTION TO EDUCATION
The recipient of this award will be a current USPTA/NE New England member who demonstrates devotion to improving membership participation and education locally and throughout the division over an extended period of time.
ELEVATE PRO OF THE YEAR
For professionals who have been USPTA members for 5 years or less and are demonstrating dedication, innovation, and/or contributions to the organization/profession.
DIVERSITY AWARD
Recognizes those USPTA members who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to unite diverse populations within their community through tennis.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Tennis Professional of the Year Mario Llano
Mario Llano is a USPTA Elite Professional from Colombia. He has played tennis since the age of six becoming Colombia’s national champion at the age of 17. He played in Challenger tournaments and eventually decided to play college tennis. Mario played Division II tennis at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri where he reached a national ranking of eight in Division II singles.
Mario has served as the Director of Tennis at the Village of Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, and the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Also, he owns and operates the RI Tennis Academy, which he has done for over 20 years.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
George Basco Lifetime Achievement Award
Rick Sharton
Rick Sharton has been one of New England’s top junior coaches for the last 40 years. He has coached NE juniors to 300 # 1 rankings. He has coached many professional players one of whom was ranked # 90 in the world.
Rick was owner and Tennis Director at the Longfellow Club for 17 years and Tennis Director at The Thoreau Club for 20. Rick has been a USPTA member for over 40 years. He is a Past President of the New England division, and served as a board member for 10 years.
He has received many honors: the USTA NE Professional of the Year; the William Freedman Award for contributions to NE Junior Tennis, as well as being the recipient with his family as the USTA NE Edwin Goodman Family of the Year Award in 2013.
Rick’s wife Brenda was a top college player and their two sons, Will and Charlie, were always nationally ranked and top sectionally ranked juniors. Both played Division 1 tennis at Georgetown University.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
George Basco Pickleball Coach Developer of the Year Angelo Rossetti
Angelo is Director of Racquet Sports at the Tennis & Fitness Center of Rocky Hill and served as the Director of Tennis at Weston Racquet Club, an Ivan Lendl Tennis Center, for over 10 years. He is USPTA Elite, PTR, MTM, USTA High Performance & Mental Skills and IPTPA (pickleball) certified teaching professional, being first certified in 1992. Angelo is the USPTA New England Pickleball Coach Developer, a new position within the USPTA.
Angelo was elected in 2017 as one of the youngest Presidents of USTA Connecticut (20182020). Angelo played Varsity tennis at Hamden High School en route to be a top Division I player at the University of Connecticut, where he earned a B.S. degree in Sports Science with a concentration in Sports Marketing.
Angelo is a 2X Guinness World Records™ titleholder of two different tennis titles; the Longest Tennis Rally and the Longest Tennis Volley Rally.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Pickleball Professional of the Year Connie McHugh
Connie, who is from Martha's Vineyard, runs a 7-days a week drop in for picklers to come and play. She has hosted several round robins and tournaments. Last summer Connie began a training and playing program where people spent part of a session in the health club learning strength moves to protect themselves from injury on court. The other part of the session was spent on court doing with instructors drills and strategies.
Connie's facility remains a public facility so anyone can come in and take an introductory Pickleball lesson. Connie is big on making matches for players so that new contacts to the club have an equal skill level of competition.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Platform Tennis
Professional of the Year
Jerry Albrikes
Jerry Albrikes is a former No. 1 ranked player, originally from Stratford, CT. In 2017, he was selected into the USTA Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
He played tennis at Central Connecticut State University. Upon graduation, he held a top ranking in singles, doubles and mixed and consistently played New England tournaments until 2010, including the Talbert Cup.
As a coach, Jerry led multiple Intersectional teams and coached Women’s USTA League teams to the national competitions. He also led the girls high school tennis program at Lauralton Hall in Milford, CT and served as an assistant at his alma mater, Central Connecticut State University.
Jerry was a teaching professional at Mystic Indoor Tennis in Mystic, CT.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
High School Tennis Coach of the Year
Wilbur Shardlow
Wilbur Shardlow is the owner of Shardlow Tennis in Gardiner, Maine. He is also a teaching professional at A-Copi Tennis and Sports Club in Augusta, Maine. He is a past recipient the USPTA New England 65 and over Tennis Professional of the Year. Maine Tennis Association has twice awarded him “Player of the Year.” He is also a Master Racquet Technician.
He recently conducted several clinics for middle school and high school coaches free of charge throughout the state of Maine. He presently serves as the Maine State President for USPTA New England.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
USPTA Star Award Larry LeBatique
Larry is from West Hartford, CT, where he played varsity tennis at Conard High, ranked #6 in CT. Larry, a competitive junior tournament player, attended the University of CT where he played on the men’s team. He ran his home town recreation department in West Hartford.
Larry is the Head Professional at Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly, MA. He is also the Head Coach of the Boys Tennis Team at Austin Prepatory School in Reading, Massachusetts. His team has won the Catholic Central League Championships for each year he has coached, prompting his recognition as CCL Coach of the Year. In 2022, Larry received the Kindness Award from USTA New England. He and his Austin Prep Team received the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's Sportsmanship Award for the 2021 season. He also runs the Reading Open Tennis Tournament each June.
Larry was ranked #1 in New England for both Men’s & Mixed Doubles in the USTA and was named the USTA New England Captain of the Year for leading his team to Nationals.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Industry ExcellenceDietz Bowl Award
Chuck McFarland
Chuck McFarland was the Tennis Director at the Abenaqui Country Club in Rye, NH for 22 years. He retired in the fall of 2022. During his tenure at Abenaqui, he designed and maintained 4 HarTru tennis courts that were built in 2007. He ran successful cardio tennis programs as well as started junior golf & tennis camps.
Chuck implemented many social events such as the Adult Golf & Tennis Mixer Tournament, Breakfast at Wimbledon Mixers, U.S. Open Mixers, and started the Abenaqui - Wentworth by the Sea Tennis Challenge matches. Chuck enjoyed spending countless hours on the tennis courts of Abenaqui, serving its members, teaching, running round robins, and working on the courts.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Elevate Award
Mike Hill
Recognized as one of the top tennis professionals in the state, Mike trains and coaches several top high school tennis players in Maine. Mike joined with Apex in late spring of 2019 to direct the academy and junior programs. He is a USPTA certified Elite Professional, with demonstrated expertise in all aspect of tennis teaching and management.
Involved in tennis from an early age, Mike is very familiar with the programming, time commitment, and challenges of the junior tennis world. He played tennis for Mt. Ararat High School and was the Maine High School Boys State Singles Champ three years running in 2007, 2008, and 2009. He attained the #1 Junior Player ranking in New England Boys 18s in 2009.
Mike played Division 1 tennis at Brown University where he excelled at #1 singles. A fouryear member of the Bears, Mike has the distinction of being ranked 15th of all time in singles wins for Brown. He graduated in 2013 with a degree in Psychology. When Mike isn’t working with juniors on the court, look for him out biking, snowboarding, or traveling, and ask him about his interest in stock trading.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Small Facility Manager of the Year
Stu Lehr
Stu Lehr has been a teaching for over 30yrs in the New England area. Currently, he is the General Manager of The Beach Club in Swampscott, MA. The Beach Club is a private summer club that sits on Phillips Beach. The club has 4 tennis courts, 4 Pickleball courts, a sport court, 2 pools, and a snack bar that offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week.
In addition to being a General Manager, Stu teaches at Bass River Tennis Club in the offseason, and is one of the MA State President for the USPTA New England division.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Large Facility Manager of the Year
Peter Paltsios
Peter Paltsios has been a certified USPTA Professional since 1985. With 25 years of experience as a tennis player, instructor, coach, racquet stringer, and equipment rep and advisor, his experience spans many aspects of the tennis industry.
He is presently the Director of Tennis at the Nashua Swim and Tennis Club in Nashua, New Hampshire. In addition to teaching, Peter provides private tournament coaching, and has been a Certified Stringer since 1985 with the United States Racquet Stringing Association. Formerly, he was the Director of Tennis at the Lexington Club in Lexington, MA.
As a player, Peter was ranked #2 in the Men’s Open New England Doubles. As a high school coach, he served as Bishop Guertin Boys’ Varsity Coach. He is currently Coaching 5 Top New England players.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Regional Tennis Professional of the Year
Xiao Li
Xiao Li discovered his passion for teaching tennis when coaching his daughter. In 2005, Xiao became a PTR 10&Under certified coach and started working as a part-time coach, teaching red ball tennis at Longfellow Tennis &Health Club in Wayland, MA.
In 2013, Xiao became a USPTA-certified professional coach and founded a tennis club in Chengdu, China that focused on junior tennis development. As the head coach, he worked hard to provide a positive and supportive environment for his players to learn and grow. His dedication paid off when his players, representing their school, won the team title for the first time in the school's history at the annual city-wide elementary school tennis tournaments in 2015 and 2016.
In 2019, representing the Longfellow, Xiao invited 12 tennis players and two coaches from China to visit his club and train with his players for one week. This exchange program was a huge success and helped foster international relationships through the sport of tennis.
In 2020, Xiao became the co-director of red ball tennis and currently serves as the Director of Junior Tennis at the Longfellow Club.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
Regional Tennis Professional of the Year Susan Kirby
Susan arrived in Maine eight summers ago initially spending her time in both Maine and Florida, where she spent 29 years at The Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville Florida. As a teaching professional, Susan has worked with juniors and adults of all levels and ages. Her expertise includes program development, event planning, tournament directing, private and group lesson instruction, and USTA league coaching, captaining, and playing. Susan has used her experience to facilitate the growth of both tennis and pickleball programs here in Maine and is excited about being a part of further growth
As a player, Susan is a Hall of Famer at UT-Chattanooga, where she was a member of her Lady Mocs 3-time Division 2 National Championship team, and 4-time Southern Conference championship team. Post college playing accolades include USTA national rankings in the 30s, 40s and 50s. A USTA 5.0 sectional championship in Florida, and the USPTA Florida Women’s Player of the Year.
When not on the court, Susan enjoys the beautiful outdoors in Boothbay Harbor usually accompanied by her beagle, George.
Susan Kirby is the Tennis and Pickleball Instructor for the Boothbay Region YMCA. She is also the Assistant Director of Tennis and Recreation at the Juniper Point Tennis Club in Boothbay Harbor.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
College Coach of the Year
Bruce Levine
In terms of roles in the tennis world, Bruce has worn almost every hat there is available. But perhaps his most impressive is his contribution as a coach.
As a high school coach, he led the boys team at Amity Regional from 1998 to 2006. His team won a state championship in 2004 with an undefeated season. He has also led the girls' tennis coach at Cheshire High School. As a travel coach, he coached on the ATP Tour.
As a college coach, Levine led both the men's and women's tennis programs at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., in 2016 and again in 2017. He also had a stint as the interim head coach for the women's tennis team at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He served as the assistant women's tennis coach at Skidmore (1980-1999). In 1998, he helped Skidmore win the Division III national championship. In Fall of 2021, he took the reins as the Coach of the Men’s and Women’s Tennis Teams at Salve Regina University. This past season, Levine led the Salve Women’s Team to the semifinals of the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships. Bruce is also a Senior Tennis Professional at the Hall of Fame Tennis Club in Newport, RI.
2022 AWARD WINNERS
President's Award
Kirk Anderson
Kirk Anderson A USPTA Master Professional, Anderson has been a USPTA member for 50 years. Anderson is one of only 11 people worldwide to hold a Master Professional distinction with both the USPTA and PTR. Kirk was the Director of Education for the USPTA 1995-1996. He is a graduate of the USTA High Performance Coach program and is certified by the International Youth Conditioning Association as a Youth Fitness Specialist. He has a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in exercise science from Western Michigan University.
Kirk has written and co-authored 14 tennis books for coaches and tennis professionals. He’s also written several workshop scripts and dozens of articles in journals in the United States and internationally. Anderson has been a popular speaker and presenter among international, national, and regional workshops. He is best known for his innovative and energetic style with players and coaches of all ages and ability levels. He has also been a featured speaker at ITF Tennis Participation Coaches Workshops held in Bath and London, England.