MARIETTA, GA – USTA Georgia today announced the recipients for the organization’s 2024 awards, which recognize outstanding achievements statewide in tennis both on and off the court.
Twenty-six (26) awards comprise the full list of honors, and the award winners will be officially recognized at the USTA Georgia Community Tennis Development Workshop in 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.
The Ruth Ryner Lay Award for Lifetime Achievement and the John Callen “Excellence in Leadership” Award will be announced in due course.
The awards ceremony will take place on the evening of Saturday February 8th at the JW Marriott Buckhead.
Below is the list of the 2024 winners:
• Adaptive Tennis Award – Macon-Bibb County Tennis Division
• Adult Tournament of the Year – Banana Challenge (Jekyll Island)
• Al Parker Award for Junior Player of the Year – Ellery Mendell (Watkinsville)
• Charles H. Cox, Jr. Award for Adult Player of the Year – Carolina Blouin (Augusta)
• Dr. Robert Bunnen Community Tennis Association of the Year – Macon Area Tennis Association
• Hardie Family Award for Junior Sportsmanship of the Year – Blake Hilsen (Cumming)
• First Horizon Tennis Professional of the Year – Karen Atkins (St. Simons Island)
• James Kincaid Family Award for Family of the Year – Angela & Robbie Bedgood Family (Macon)
• Janet Louer Junior Team Tennis Coordinator of the Year – Wanda Morpeth (CORTA)
• Jerry Baskin Scholar Athlete of the Year – Alex Hamlin (Macon)
• Junior Tournament of the Year – South Georgia State Junior Open (Valdosta)
• Kathleen & Cannon Carr High School Coach of the Year Award – Keny Moore (LaGrange HS)
• Local League Coordinator of the Year – Kala McNair (COTA)
• Mac MacDougal Tennis Official of the Year – Sharon Wright (Griffin)
• Marc Kaplan Media Excellence Award – Sam Crenshaw (92.9 The Game)
• NJTL Chapter of the Year – Macon Area Tennis Association NJTL
• Outstanding Parks & Recreation Department – City of Snellville Parks & Recreation
• Randy Stephens Award for State Volunteer Service – Bill Thornton (Rome)
• Richard C. Botsch Educational Merit Award – Amber Conoly (Greensboro)
• Signature Tennis Courts Award for Tennis Director of the Year – Bobby Walker (Macon)
• Special Tennis Event of the Year – MATA Back to Tennis Bash
• Team Tennis Event of the Year – USTA Atlanta Junior Team Tennis Qualifier
• USTA Junior Team Tennis Captain of the Year – Jennifer McCoy (Suwanee)
• USTA League Female Captain of the Year – Terry Gattiker (Athens)
• USTA League Male Captain of the Year – Hunter Cole (Loganville)
• Wheelchair Excellence Award – Harlon Matthews (Forest Grove)
