Alex (Andy) Andrews is President / CEO of Dominion Realty Partners with offices in Raleigh,
NC, Richmond, VA, and Charleston, SC. Over the past ten years, Andrews has been responsible
for more than $2 billion worth of development, acquisitions, and leasing of commercial office,
multi-family communities, high-rise condominium projects and mixed-use developments. Before
entering the real estate field, Andy played collegiate tennis at North Carolina State University
where he was All-America in 1980–1981. He also was selected to the ACC Top 50 Award. After
college, Andy played on the ATP Tour from 1981 through 1986, reaching the doubles semifinals
of the U.S. Open and doubles final of the Australian Open in 1982. Andrews won 19 professional
titles worldwide in singles and doubles during his career.
David Benjamin has been the Executive Director and CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association (ITA), the governing body of collegiate tennis, since 1979. The ITA represents more
than 1,500 member coaches and collegiate institutions, and almost 20,000 collegiate tennis
players at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College levels. Benjamin
also served as varsity men's tennis coach and director of tennis at Princeton University from
1974-2000, and taught academically (American Studies) at both Harvard and Princeton. As
an undergraduate at Harvard University, Benjamin was captain and played No. 1 singles his
senior year on the men’s tennis team. As a graduate student, he also played on the Cambridge
University tennis team and its varsity court tennis team.
Timon Corwin is Senior Director for Junior and Collegiate Competition for USTA Player
Development. Corwin previously served as Men’s Athletics Director and Men’s Tennis Coach at
Kalamazoo (Mich.) College as well as the Tournament Director of the USTA National Boys’ 16s
and 18s Championships. Corwin’s Kalamazoo College teams finished third or higher in the nation
six times, including two national runner-up finishes (1997, 1999). He was named ITA’s NCAA
Division III National Coach of the Year in 1997. As an eight-time All-America in singles and
doubles with the Kalamazoo team from 1983-86, Corwin led his squad to the 1986 NCAA
championship title while winning the singles crown. That year, Corwin was the recipient of the
ITA’s National Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. Corwin earned his law
degree from the Marquette University Law School in 1992. Corwin lives in Boca Raton, Florida
with his wife, Rachel, and their 4 children.
Sara Deere first took tennis lessons at a local club in her hometown of Lake Ozark, Missouri
starting at the age of 12. With no high school tennis team available to her, Deere didn’t begin
playing regularly until she was completing her B.S. in Education with an emphasis in Health and
Physical Education from Missouri State University. Deere was a ranked adult player from 19921995 and completed a M.S. in Education with an emphasis in Sports Management and
Biomechanics from the University of Kansas. While completing her masters degree, she also
worked at the Alvamar Racquet Club and helped administer and coach at an at-risk youth tennis
program based in Kansas City beginning in 2003, when her volunteer tennis activities increased.
In 2006, she helped with implementation of the Tennis on Campus program at the local district
level and recently started to assist in grant writing for a tennis foundation located within the greater
Kansas City metro area.
Karl Gregor has more than ten years coaching experience at the junior and collegiate level,
currently serving as the Harvard Men’s Tennis Volunteer Assistant Coach. Gregor graduated from
the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1997 as a four-year letter winner, playing No. 1 singles and
doubles at the Academy. He served as assistant men’s tennis coach at Air Force for the 1997-98
season, then played on the U.S. All-Armed Services team in 1998 and 1999. A former top-5
ranked player in the New England Men’s Open division, he competed on the pro tour in 2002.
Other coaching experience includes eight years working with nationally ranked New England
juniors and a year as a volunteer assistant coach at Boston University. Gregor serves as
chairman of the USTA New England’s Collegiate Committee and member of the Player
Development Committee. Since separating from the Air Force as a captain, Gregor has held
several positions in the defense industry.
Tim Heckler has worked as USPTA CEO since 1982. Previously, he served eight years on the
national USPTA Executive Committee, including four years on the national Board of Directors. A
Master Professional, Heckler was selected USPTA Professional of the Year in 1979 and elected
USPTA president in 1980 and 1981. While attending Lamar University, he played on the pro
circuit before securing a full-time tennis-teaching position in 1970 at Houston's Westwood Country
Club. In 1973, Heckler was consultant and tennis director for the Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King
"Match of the Century" held in the Houston Astrodome. Heckler's personal passions include
increasing tennis play among children and families (USPTA Little Tennis), and providing
education through technology to tennis teachers. The USPTA honored Heckler in 2000 by naming
him a grand inductee in the Association's Hall of Fame. He also received the International Tennis
Hall of Fame's Tennis Educational Merit Award in 2002 and was inducted into the Texas Tennis
Hall of Fame in 2005.
David Higdon is Chief Communications Officer for the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf
Association) and works for a variety of clients including UNICEF, ESPN the Magazine and
Heartland Park Topeka as a business management consultant and marketing communications
executive. Higdon previously served as Senior VP, Communications at the ATP, governing body
of international men’s pro tennis, where he worked for eight years. He was named one of Tennis
Industry’s “40 under 40” top executives in 2000. Prior to the ATP, Higdon served as Senior Writer
and Senior Editor for Tennis Magazine; Editor-in-Chief for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers team
publication; and freelance writer for publications including The New York Times, InStyle and
Sports Illustrated for Kids. Higdon was a nationally ranked NCAA Division III tennis player at
Kalamazoo College, where he was captain of the team that finished 2nd and 3rd at the 1982 and
1983 championships. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife Sharon, a former NBA team
executive, and two children, Jake and Sophie, all of whom volunteer at the MaliVai Washington
Kids Foundation.
Sheila McInerney is in her 25th year as the Head Women's Tennis Coach at Arizona State
University. She was the 1997 Pac 10 and National Coach of Year, and coached for the USTA at
both the Pan Am Games and the Goodwill Games. McInerney has been a USTA Coach of Jr.
Federation Cup Teams and USTA Collegiate Summer Team for more than 15 years. She was
ranked in the top 10 of junior tennis from the 12s-18s, and a four-time All-America at the
University of Southern California (USC). She played on the WTA Tour for three years. McInerney
is currently the chair of the ITA Women's Operating Committee.
Trevor Kronemann is entering his third year as head tennis coach at the University of California
Irvine (UCI) and also serves as coach of the Newport Beach Breakers of World Team Tennis
(WTT). A 1990 graduate of UCI, where he earned All-America honors for four years, Kronemann
returned to his alma mater after coaching for five years at Cal Poly. Kronemann competed with
UCI in the NCAA Championships throughout his collegiate tennis career, and he was an NCAA
doubles finalist with partner Mike Briggs in 1989. He helped his team capture four Big West
Conference titles, winning singles conference titles all four years and two conference doubles
titles. As a senior, he was honored with the National ITA Van Nostrand Award, which goes to a
promising collegiate player entering the pro ranks. On the ATP pro circuit, Kronemann played
from 1990-98, winning five doubles titles and also served as Vice President on the ATP Tour
Player Council. Kronemann and his wife Melanie, a fellow UCI graduate, live in Mission Viejo,
California with their three children.
Jon H. Messick is Head Women’s Tennis Coach at Colorado State University, where he has
coached for 23 years total, eleven with the men and 19 years with the women. He played
collegiate tennis at Swarthmore College, where he earned his B.A. in Economics. He has taught
professionally with the John Gardiner organization, Ranch Country Club and Fort Collins Tennis
Center. Messick serves as tournament director for the Boose Memorial Tennis Tournament to
benefit Hospice of Larimer County and league coordinator for USTA Adult Leagues. He is a board
member of the Fort Collins Tennis Association; past president and board member of USTA
Colorado; vice president and board member of USTA Intermountain; member ITA Central Region
Ranking Committee; and chairman of the USTA Colorado Ranking Committee. He has been cited
on numerous occasions including recently as 2007 Volunteer of the Year Award by the Colorado
Wheelchair Tennis Foundation.
Brad Pearce has been head men’s tennis coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2003.
He was the No. 1 ranked player in the USTA Boys’ 18 rankings in 1984, No. 5 in the world
rankings. Pearce was a semifinalist that year at Junior Wimbledon and a quarterfinalist at the US
Open Junior Championships. He was a two-time All-America at UCLA, winning the Pac-10 singles
and doubles crowns in 1986, when he reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championships as a
sophomore. Pearce turned pro after his sophomore year and won nine professional ATP titles,
reaching the singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1990 and achieving ATP career-high rankings
of No. 71 in singles and No. 23 in doubles. He’s a member of the USTA Nominating Committee
and recently was inducted into the NCAA Tennis Hall of Fame. He returned to college and
secured his B.A. from BYU in 1999. Pearce lives in Utah with his wife Cindi and six children, two
of whom currently are nationally ranked Intermountain Sectional players.
Erica Perkins is Manager for Junior and Collegiate Competition for USTA Player Development.
Currently Perkins works on a variety of collegiate projects including registering and publicizing
One-Day Showdowns, organizing collegiate team events and competitions, promoting QuickStart
tennis on college campuses, and updating the USTA Varsity Collegiate Website. Perkins served
for two seasons as the head women’s tennis coach at Michigan State, where she coached the
Spartans to its first ITA Final National Ranking in 2008. Prior to her stint at MSU, she served for
two years as an assistant coach at the college of William & Mary after two years as the head
coach at Georgia Southern University. A native of Seattle, Washington, Perkins played college
tennis at Washington State University from 1997-2002, when she led the Cougars to 4 NCAA
team tournament berths. She was a three-time All Pac-10 selection and qualified for the NCAA
singles tournament three times and NCAA doubles tournament once. Perkins graduated from
WSU’s Honors College with a B.A. in History in 2001 before earning her Master’s degree in
Athletic Administration in 2003.
Mark Riley is the Kalamazoo College Men's Tennis Coach and USTA Boys' 18 & 16 Nationals
Tournament Director. Riley was hired as head coach at Drake University from 1994-1996 after a
collegiate playing career at the University of Pittsburgh and Kalamazoo College. He followed his
Drake stint with four seasons as head coach at the University of Kansas (1997-2000) and the next
seven seasons at the University of Pennsylvania, highlighted by two ECAC Championships and
two Ivy League championships. In 2006, Riley was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)
Northeast Region Coach of the Year, United States Tennis Association-Middle States Tennis
Association Section Coach of the Year, and Philadelphia Area Tennis District Collegiate Coach of
the Year. He currently serves on the ITA Board of Directors, ITA Operating Committee and Board
of Directors-Kalamazoo YMCA.
Committee Chair Timothy Russell was a member of the USTA’s National Youth Competition and
Training Committee from 2003-2008, during which he served as Vice Chair. He also served a twoyear term as the national delegate from the USTA’s Southwest Section, following his two-year
term as the Southwest Section President. Dr. Russell was also the first Chair of the Southwest
Section’s Coaching Commission and has served a wide variety of roles with the USTA. He
presently is completing work on a new book, Mindful Tennis: Lessons from the World’s Greatest
Coaches, Touring Professionals, and Peak Performance Experts, written with distinguished
Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer. As a renowned orchestra conductor, music educator and
record producer based in Arizona, Dr. Russell has become a leading voice in comparing high
performance in the arts and athletics.
Mark Saunders was named Executive Director of the USTA/Midwest Section in June 1996 after
serving as the association’s Director of Player Development for five years. As the Executive
Director, Saunders oversee a 20-person staff and administers the day-to-day operation of the
association. He’s a magna cum laude graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of
Business, where he was honored as the school’s “Outstanding Marketing Student” and selected
for membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for collegiate business schools.
Saunders is a member of the USPTA and prior to joining the USTA, he worked as a general
manager, director of tennis, teaching and touring professional at various tennis clubs throughout
Illinois and Pennsylvania. He and his wife Libby have two children, Colin and Hannah, and reside
in Carmel, Indiana.