By Lisa Morales - Archbishop Curley Notre Dame HS
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO | ACND Posing at the tennis court dedication ceremony, from left: Douglas Romanik `84, Curley Notre Dame principal; Jean Desdunes `79, USTA Florida senior director of Diversity and Inclusion Programs; Derrick Davison `78, USTA Georgia director of competition; and Jean Pierre `87, president of the ACND Booster Club. Davison and Desdunes were on two state championship teams and Desdunes won two doubles state titles as well.
MIAMI | While dedicating its refurbished tennis courts Oct. 11, Archbishop Curley Notre Dame Prep also honored a group of alumni who represented the school's past state championship tennis teams.
The courts' renovation was made possible by a grant from the United States Tennis Association, private donations, and funds raised by the Booster Club.
Representing U.S. Tennis were ACND alums Jean Desdunes ‘79, USTA senior director for diversity, and Rick Davison, USTA Georgia junior competition coordinator. Both men played for Archbishop Curley and Desdunes won a doubles state championship in 1979. Many other members of the Curley tennis team were in attendance, including team coach Ed Matallo and Blaine Willenborg ‘78, who won three high school state championships (1976-78), and was part of UCLA's national championship teams (1979 and 1982) before turning pro.
Willenborg, now vice president of wealth management and financial advisor for Morgan Stanley in Aventura, organizes the company’s Doubles Tennis Challenge every year; $1,000 of the event proceeds from this and subsequent years will benefit the ACND Prep tennis program.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO | ACND Posing from left, back row: Allan Kelley, Rick Davison, Alex Gregory, Kyle McLaney, Jean Desdunes, Gary Pappas, Cory Waldman, Dr. Juan Salazar, Ken Kleinfeld, Carl Cascio, Joe C. Frechette, Jr., and George Oyarzun; front row, from left: Coach Ed Metallo, Chris Kelley, Leon Deleon and Blaine Willenborg.
Other players honored were: Chris Kelley ’68, Mark Hurd ’76, George Oyarzan ’76, Leon De Leon ’76, Cory Waldman ‘77, Derrick Davison ‘78, Egan Adams ‘78, Gary Pappas ’79, Ken Kleinfeld ‘80, Joe Frechette, Jr. ’80, Carl Cascio ’80, Albert Mora ’83, Tamara Sutton ’98, and the late Tim Charles ’78 and Don O’Brakta.
“It was such a thrill to go back to my high school and visit with some of my lifelong friends and fellow tennis buddies, and a few surprise guests that made the day even more special,” said honoree, Cascio. “It surpassed my already high expectations in being able to visit and reminisce with all of the Archbishop Curley/Notre Dame friends and family. I only hope we can do this again and more often.”
The $5,000 in USTA Facility Funding will be used to purchase six benches and aluminum bleachers to complete the resurfacing of the school’s five existing 78-foot tennis courts. The USTA initiative aims to assist communities, leveraging their tennis facilities to promote lifelong healthy activity, and to improve their programming by advancing the latest tennis innovations for all program types.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO | ACND Students from Archbishop Curley Notre Dame Prep tennis team will start their season on renovated courts. The school plans to begin a community tennis program the summer of 2015. Pictured here, back row, from left: sophomore Janelle Forbes, senior Kaila Merrill; fron row, from left: junior Alexandra Laroche, senior Eddy Rochez, and junior Esperanza Cadena.
"We are pleased to receive this endorsement by the USTA as we move forward with our goal to enhance our middle and high school tennis program, plus offer a community tennis summer camp accessible to low-income families,” said Douglas Romanik, ACND principal. "It is a great honor to credit improvements to our 14-acre, urban campus through grants awarded by national associations such as the USTA for tennis and also the MLB’s Baseball Tomorrow Fund, used to assist with the completion of a baseball field renovation in 2010.”
To see more photos from this event and learn about upcoming tennis programs and summer camp, visit: http://www.acnd.us/HighSchool.asp?photos=TennisCourt2014&page=1.
