Ray Benton, CEO
Ray Benton joined the TCCP in January of 2009 after having been involved with the club through one form or another since its inception.  Ray is one of the most experienced executives in the tennis industry and he will serve as the CEO of both the Junior Tennis Champions Center and the TCCP.  His career has included every facet of the business of tennis.  Ray was a teaching professional for eight years, a college coach, and has served as the first National Executive Director of the National Junior Tennis League, which was founded by Arthur Ashe. 

Ray’s entrepreneurial experience includes being the President of ProServ, a leading sports management firm, and founder and operator of the Nuveen Tour, a worldwide senior tennis circuit featuring Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

Bob Verdun, General Manager
Bob comes to the TCCP with tremendous experience developing business, teams, and programming.  A former college basketball and tennis coach, Bob was Boston Globe coach of the year and a two time New England Collegiate Conference coach of the year before retiring from coaching in 1999 to become the Associate Executive Director for Weymouth and Canton Clubs.  During his tenure, Weymouth Club was voted "Best of Boston" in 2001 while Canton Club received three Nova awards for Customer Service, motivating programming, and facility design.  Bob then served as Executive Director for the Pawtucket Family YMCA, the largest YMCA facility in the Northeast, overseeing the 10 million dollar renovation project that opened in 2007.  

Bob still enjoys playing competitive sports, particularly tennis, as well as enjoys running, hiking, and playing the guitar.  His favorite past time is playing with his two kids- Hannah (7) and Zachary (5).

Colleen Mertz, Customer Service Director
Colleen is a native of Silver Spring, Maryland, where she grew up playing basketball and golf. During high school she was Team Captain of the basketball team.

Colleen attended college at James Madison University, where she obtained a degree in Special Education. After college, she taught elementary school and raised her three children, Shannon, Billy, and Kelly.

Shannon played basketball all through college and now lives in New York, Kelly is a sophomore at JMU, and Billy was in the first graduating class of the JTCC, before playing tennis in college at Alabama all four years.

Colleen is the Customer Service manager for the TCCP.

Reid Snyder, Marketing Director
In high school, Reid was a standout in tennis, soccer, and basketball. He spent his summers developing his own tennis program, and providing affordable tennis instruction for local youth. Reid attended Hamilton College, where he competed on their tennis team. At TCCP, Reid focuses on marketing and fundraising efforts for the Champions Program, in addition to on court instruction.

William Ellison, Program Manager
William is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew up playing several sports. He attended Claremont McKenna College and was an Environment, Economics, & Politics major with a minor in Leadership Studies. At CMC, William was named captain of the tennis team for three years, and won the Division III National Championship in doubles his senior year. William is the Program Manager for the Junior Tennis Champions Center.

Ellen Miller, Director of Children’s Programs
Born in Buffalo, New York, Ellen began playing competitive tennis at the age of 11. After lettering in 5 sports in high school, she played tennis at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and in several professional tournaments.

A USPTA certified professional, Ellen was instrumental in building one of the premier tennis junior development programs in the Houston, area.

Ellen completed a Masters in Elementary Education from The George Washington University in May, 2009. Her work in elementary education has instilled in her an understanding of the developmental capabilities of young children and serves her well as a coach of the youngest future champions at the Tennis Center.

As part of her teaching philosophy, Ellen credits educator Jerome Bruner, who believes every child is capable of learning. It is up to the professional to instill that love of learning-whatever that learning- and ultimately impart useful knowledge to the child.

A two-time National Champion and All-American, Top-10 United States Masters swimmer, Ellen is a big believer in fitness and cross-training. Without strong conditioning, even the best tennis strokes go to waste. Ellen works primarily with committed 7- 12 year olds focusing on stroke fundamentals, footwork, balance, and useful playing strategies. Her unabashed goal is to build the early development program at the Tennis Center into the premier program in the Mid-Atlantic.

Komi “Oliver” Akli, Senior Professional
Born: Lome, Togo
Oliver joined the Champions Center coaching team during the summer of 2000. As a senior coach, Oliver works with several players of all ages and levels and works with many of the top nationally ranked players. He leads a number of Club group clinics for adults and juniors and teaches private lessons. He has had many coaching successes including working with players who have won USTA and ITF titles. Olver strives to give his best to his students every day, and hopes to help them reach their goals whether in college or on the ATP or WTA tour. Oliver is USPTR/USPTA High Performance certified.

Oliver believes that true champions understand the importance of discipline and being tough. His philosophy is to make the Champions Center one of the best training facilities in the world by instilling a strong work ethic, determination, and discipline in every player.

Alisama “Ali” Agnamba, Senior Professional
Born: Lome, Togo
Upon arriving to the US, Ali served as practice partner to Venus and Serena Williams. He then moved to the DC metro area where he served a coach at the Georgetown Day Boy’s Tennis Program. Since joining the Champions Center coaching staff, has conducted many junior and adult clinics and private lessons. Ali is also the head of the Junior Champions Program, designed for committed juniors age 7-12.

Ali’s coaching philosophy is to encourage his students to be disciplined, focused and to always feel good about themselves in the game of tennis and in life.

Mikhail “Misha” Kouznetsov, Senior Professional
Raised in: Moscow, Russia
Misha began to play tennis at the age six at the world famous Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow. His training was coordinated by Alexander Volkov, coach of Marat Safin and Elena Dementieva. At the age of 15, Mikhail decided to move to the United States to continue his tennis training, receiving a scholarship from the Rick Macci Tennis Academy. Misha’s greatest personal achievement is graduating with honors from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) with a degree in computer science and earning a high GPA. Misha’s favorite sports are tennis, soccer, and skiing. His favorite athlete is Andre Agassi because of his personality and his wonderful efforts to help children. Misha’s father, who taught him a strong work ethic and how to be a strong person, is his role model. It was Misha’s father’s guidance that brought him from Russia to the US. He would also like to have a family of his own some day.

Misha’s greatest coaching achievement is coaching top international tennis players at JTCC. He also coached two top 20 players while working in Pennsylvania. He has also been a hitting partner for Anastasia Myskinia and Shenay Perry. Another achievement of Misha’s, is coaching and helping some of the top players at the Champions Center grow and excel. A goal of Misha’s is to develop a player and coach them to the top of either the ATP or WTA tours. He hopes to help many children become good tennis players and great individuals.

Misha’s coaching philosophy is to develop a strong technique for a player while concentrating on their future improvements. He defines a champion as a person who is not just a great tennis player but a great individual who has a strong work ethic and a great attitude towards life. He believes, “A champion is someone who overcomes challenges, learns from them, and becomes stronger!”

Wilfrance Lominy, Staff Professional
Wilfrance, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, started playing tennis at the age of six at Sportsmen’s Tennis Center. Like the Junior Tennis Champions Center, the STC is a non-for-profit that combines sport with community outreach and junior enrichment. Wilfrance graduated from Hampton University with a marketing degree. She was part of the first official Women’s Pirates team in 1995. Since the success of her inaugural season her participation has pave the way for female students athletes. Wilfrance joined The Tennis Center at College Park in the spring of 2005 as an Assistant Teaching Professional. As a proven instructor, Wilfrance works with both juniors and adults in clinics and private lessons. She helps players of all abilities understand and learn the fundamentals of the game and hone their skills. Wilfrance also assists with marketing for the club.

Wilfrance believes in building a complete player, which is someone who listens, takes constructive criticism, takes pride in their abilities and the game, and knows when to be mentally tough. Ultimately you’re only as good as your attitude and that will take you far on and off the court. Martina Navratilova said it best, “ The mark of a great sportsman is not how good they are at their
best, but how good they are at their worst.”

Tyrone Turner, Staff Professional
Born: Cincinnati, Ohio
Tyrone brings a lifetime of tennis experience to the Tennis Center at College Park, having joined us in the Spring of 2007. Prior to joining our team, Tyrone has been in the tennis industry for 35+ years, most recently working at the South East Tennis and Learning Center in Washington, DC. As an assistant coach, he spends his time on the court with both juniors and adults in clinics and private lessons.

Tyrone believes that tennis is one of the greatest sports because it operates on the honor system. He cites Andre Agassi as one of his favorite athletes due to his love of the game and what he has given back to the community. When Tyrone isn’t teaching or playing tennis, he enjoys spending time with his family.

Sandi attended Auburn University, majoring in Elementary Education, on a full scholarship for tennis. She was the #1 doubles player, #3 singles player, and Team Captain during her time at Auburn.

After college, Sandi played on professional tour before settling down in Atlanta as a teaching/head pro for over fifteen years.

Through her studies in education and experience as a head pro, Sandi has an in depth understanding of the development of athletes that makes her a formidable addition to the tennis center. She enjoys teaching/playing with tennis enthusiasts of all ages.

An alumnus of University of Lome, Roger is a USPTR, ITF certified and a former Davis Cup player with natural talents.
With his entrepreneurial ideals, he had ventured outside of TCCP for several years, and had continued teaching tennis as a freelance coach; he developed and mentored many juniors’ to qualify for their High School and College teams, assisted several competitive USTA adults teams as well,  to enjoying the noble sport of tennis. One of his goals is to open a Tennis Development Center for youth in his home country Togo, with a vision to inspire, search for talents and produce top and competitive players.

Roger trusts that discipline, hard work and focus are the keys to success in tennis, and he continues to arouse his players to believe in themselves, stressing always the power of positive thinking and attitude.

He loves playing soccer; loves fashion, and his favorite musicians are Trane, Redman, Mozart, Beethoven, Karajan and many others. He speaks, writes French fluently with an excellent terminology, and he’s ready for a constructive conversation at any giving time.