Awards
2021 RTA Awards
Congratulations to 2021 RTA Award Winners
Lilo Pelegrino, 2021 Raleigh's Pro of the Year:
Congratulations to Lilo Pelegrino for being named Raleigh's 2021 Tennis Pro of the Year! Lilo, Assistant Tennis Director at the North Hills Club, is an incredibly valuable part of the Raleigh Tennis Community and is loved by the players at North Hills.
Lilo’s leadership abilities are endless. Every relationship and interaction with Lilo are marked by his trademark candor, empathy, and enthusiasm. Leading by example, with empathy and understanding, he is an expert at bringing out the strengths in every member of the team and bringing them together to tackle whatever problem or challenge needs to be solved.
Pamela Hankerson, 2021 RTA's Team Captain of the Year:
Congratulations to Pamela Hankerson on being named RTA's 2021 Team Captain of the Year! The award is given to an area captain, voted by their peers and teammates to be a hardworking, organized, and devoted captain.
Pamela has proven herself to be a friendly, faithful, and steadfast captain. She makes everyone feel not only like they are welcome, but also like they are necessary members of the family. Being a captain is not an easy job—yet you would never suspect that while watching her do it!
Pamela captaining between 6-7 teams per year, typically 3.5 18+ Women's division teams, but occasionally she will captain a 7.0 Mixed and a 3.0/3.5/4.0 Tri-Level team.
Wendy Sielaty, 2021 RTA's Team Player of the Year:
Congratulations to Wendy Sielaty for being named Raleigh’s 2021 Team Player of the Year! This award is given to a local player and voted by other players in the Raleigh area. This award is presented to a league player who demonstrates good sportsmanship, consistently plays on league teams, and encourages a positive play environment for their team.
Wendy has a reputation for being determined, a dedicated team player, a hard worker, and is thoughtful and reliable. One teammate commented on how she “always makes herself available on match days even if she is not in the line up just in case she is needed at the last minute! She works so hard on her game and is so receptive to feedback and changes to better her play!”
“Being chosen by my tennis peers as Player of the Year will be the one achievement, I treasure the most. What an honor to be seen by others as a positive ambassador for the sport I love.”,” says Wendy.
Rob Simeone, 2021 RTA's Volunteer of the Year:
Congratulations to Rob Simeone for being names RTA's Volunteer of the Year! This award is given to a volunteer in our community that exemplifies extraordinary efforts in dedicating their time to Raleigh Tennis Association events and programs. Rob’s contributions to the Try Tennis pathway and the Rusty Rackets program have been tremendous; and we greatly appreciate Rob's dedication to help make these programs a success. He is receiving this award because of his admirable dedication to helping new and returning players in the RTA's Try Tennis & Rusty Rackets programs.
"I want to help them achieve their goals if I can. This is why I enjoyed working with Rusty Rackets,” says Rob.
Past RTA Community Awards
2020 RTA Pro of the Year: Bennett Bailey
2020 RTA Best Team Captain of the Year: Jennifer Wolborsky
2020 RTA Player of the Year: Wendy Christensen
2019 RTA's Pro of the Year: Carlos Garcia
2019 RTA's Best Team Captain of the Year: Allen Oliver
2019 RTA's Volunteer of the Year: NC State Club Tennis (Tennis on Campus)
2019 RTA Player of the Year: QueenE Hargrove
2018 RTA Best Team Captain, Maggie Wittke
2018 RTA Best Tennis Pro, Meghan Coomes, Hasentree
2018 RTA Volunteer of the Year, Tanya SigRist
2018 Try Tennis Player of the Year, Magali Brigham
2017 RTA Best Team Captain, Jennifer Wermig
2017 RTA Best Pro of the Year, Paul-Henri Arrigoni, RRC
2017 RTA Volunteer of the Year, Dempsey Farmer
2017 RTA LLC Sportsmanship, Will Edwards
2017 RTA LLC Sportsmanship, Tracy Crisp
2016 RTA "Wizard of Oz" John VanDeWater
2016 RTA Volunteer of the Year, Roger Winstead
2016 Best Tennis Pro, Jon Janda, North Hills Club
2016 Best Team Captain Laura Brown
2015 RTA "Wizard of Oz" David Bell
2015 RTA Volunteer of the Year, Susan Shaw
2015 RTA Best Tennis Pro, Jay White, University Club
2015 RTA Best Team Captain Brittany Robinson
2015 RTA LLC Sportsmanship Barbara Kelly
2014 RTA "Wizard of Oz" Shane Wells
2014 RTA Volunteer of the Year, Pam Boyden
2014 Best Tennis Pro, Paul Goode, RRC
2014 Best Team Captain, Carol Kissell
2013 RTA "Wizard of Oz" Tim Wilkins
2013 RTA Volunteer of the Year, Pam Priddy
2013 LLC Sportsmanship Award, Tammy Crump
2013 Best Tennis Pro, Bennett Bailey, MEX
2013 Best Tennis Captain, Cathy Couch
RTA Awards and Notable Achievements
2020 - NC Tennis Community Tennis Association of the Year - Raleigh Tennis Association
2020 - NC Tennis Educational Merit Award given by Buster & Karen Brown - Julie Dick
2018 - Southern USTA LLC of the Year - Tracy Debnam
2018 - NC Tennis LLC of the Year - Tracy Debnam
2014 - NC Tennis, CTA of the year - Raleigh Tennis Association
2014 - Southern USTA, Marilyn Sherman Spirit Award - RTA Community Director Susan Flanagan
2014 - NC Tennis Peggy Golden Spirit Award - RTA Community Director Susan Flanagan
2013 - NC Tennis Jr. Team Tennis Local League Coordinator of the Year - Ken Glanville & Lorraine Norris
2013 - NC Tennis Volunteer of the Month for May - RTA Community Director Susan Flanagan
2011 - NC Tennis Special Event of the Year - RTA's Adopt-A-Troop Care Package Packing Party
2009 - NC Tennis Outstanding Parks & Rec Center - Millbrook Exchange Park
2008 - NC Tennis Member Organization of the Year- Raleigh Tennis Association
2008 - USTA Tennis Welcome Center - Top 50 in the US
2008 - Southern USTA Jr Tournament of the Year - RTA Futures
2007 - NC Tennis Member Organization of the Year - Raleigh Tennis Association
2007 - City of Raleigh's Outstanding Financial Contributor - Raleigh Tennis Association