Reach Out To Guilford Racquet & Swim Club

Sarah’s parents opened the indoor tennis club in 1973 for Mutual Tennis and bought it in 1977, expanding outside in 1978.  Sarah was raised in the playroom and on the courts.  In 2003, she began working full-time with her mother managing the club and learning the job.  In 2015, she bought GRSC from her parents.  Sarah plays a lot of tennis, a little paddle and pickleball, and is raising her four children (Wolf, Kurt, Penelope & Felix) with her husband, Andy, in New Haven.

 

Beth grew up in Guilford and raised her daughters, Emily and Kate, in the area with her husband, Matt. Having started in the playroom in 2004, Beth learned about the desk, customer accounts, and USTA. She is now both the GRSC Assistant Manager in charge of members accounts and is the club’s Adult USTA Coordinator.

Chris has been teaching at GRSC for over 20 years and has been Head Pro since 2007. He has coached both Branford and Guilford High School girls teams since 2003, earning multiple coach awards. Chris developed several programs at the club, including Guilford Collegiate Showcase. He is PTR certified in Adults, U10, and performance Juniors. He lives in Deep River with his wife, Carolyn, and son, Jonathan.

Matt lives in Killingworth with his wife, Stephanie and daughters Delaney and Mattea.  He began his on-court teaching role at GRSC in 2007 while working part-time for the CT Open Tournament.  Upon going full-time at GRSC, he became Junior Director in 2017, where he oversees all of our junior programming.  Matt enjoys activities with his family, seafood and rooting for his favorite sports teams.  Matt is a USPTR certified instructor and he also plays USTA for GRSC.

Jill was born and raised in Miami, FL.  After college, she worked as a securities trader for a boutique NASDAQ market making firm.  She now lives in Madison with her husband Mike, and their two kids, Lily and Jasper.  At GRSC, Jill works at the desk, plans social events and is the Communications Director.  In her spare time, she plays tennis, goes to her kids’ sporting events and hangs out with her family.

 

Pam grew up in Massachusetts, one of nine kids. She lives in Guilford with her husband, Bill, where they raised three children; Kara, Kyle, and Ryan. Having always played and enjoyed sports, Pam has played paddle since the ‘80s and is still an active tennis and pickleball player at GRSC. She joined the desk in 2016 and has since led the organization in our growing paddle program.

Lesly Wagner grew up in Indiana, and after living for a time in Pittsburgh, she and her husband Pete landed in Guilford, where they raised Rachel, Dave, and Grace. Always a tennis player and up for a challenge, Lesly launched CAPP at GRSC and has created and grown our successful pickleball program. When not on the courts, Lesly loves to travel and meet up with her large extended family.

Wendy was born and raised in Virginia. She and her husband, Chris, lived in Tennessee, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the UK before moving to Guilford. She was introduced to pickleball when her children, Mitchell, and Cassie, began lessons. Wendy immediately took to the sport. In 2017, she joined the GRSC team; her 12 years as an elementary school teacher translate well to teaching Junior Pickleball. When she is not on the courts, you can find her watching her kids at the hockey rink.

Since 1983, Steve has been teaching all levels of Tennis at GRSC. He is widely regarded as one of Connecticut’s best teaching pros. Steve was a nationally-ranked junior and adult player and is now a top-level paddle player. During the summer, he is head pro at Sachem’s Head Yacht Club. Steve lives in Madison and has three sons: Steven, Sean, and Tucker.

Averi was born in New York and raised in Connecticut, where she played at GRSC as a junior player. Averi completed her undergraduate degree in Marketing, her Masters in Sports Management from South Connecticut State University and is a PTR-certified Adult and U10 tennis professional. She is the club’s social coordinator and lives in Madison with her husband, Justin.

Matt grew up in Guilford and has trained as a player at GRSC since the age of six. Both his parents are avid racquet players on both the tennis and pickleball courts. He competed in Division I for the College of The Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, earning his undergraduate degree in Economics in 2020. Having worked as an Assistant Tennis Pro at GRSC for years, including overseeing the Summer Park and Recreation, he is a natural fit to be on the GRSC team.

Melissa started playing at the age of six and has competed in tournaments in the Midwest, Florida, and abroad during her high school years. After attending the University of Colorado, she moved to Guilford in 1993 with her husband, Andrew, with whom she has two sons, Hayden and Harrison.  Melissa has been teaching at the club since 2015 and is a PTR certified instructor for both youth and adult tennis.

Christian Appleman is a Guilford resident and the current head coach of the UConn men’s tennis team. He is also a former assistant coach for the Yale men’s tennis team and has coached tennis and basketball in Division I athletics for over 30 years. Both of his children are GHS graduates, and his wife is the head coach of the Yale women’s volleyball team. Having been a pool member at GRSC when his kids were young, it is a treat to have Christian back as part of the team.

Jen grew up in Simsbury, CT playing tennis since she was 6 years old.  She continued her tennis career at Assumption University in Worcester, MA.  Jen holds PTR certifications for 10 & Under, 11-17 and Adult Development.  She loves meeting new people and creating positive experiences for everyone, on and off the court.  When she’s not teaching tennis, she enjoys cooking, spending time with her niece and nephew and shooting pool.

Austin is a certified USPTA tennis teaching professional and worked at Fairfield County Tennis and Milford Indoor Tennis before landing in Guilford.  He played high school tennis at Brookfield High School and college tennis at Western Connecticut State University, where his teams made the playoffs every year.  When he’s not teaching or helping the North Branford Rec Department with youth tennis, he can be found playing tennis, as he belongs to several USTA league teams.

Jenn grew up in Milford and has been a lifelong CT resident.  After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from UConn in 2013, Jenn worked in the USTA New England office; she took up tennis and has been obsessed ever since.  She coached at Milford Indoor Tennis before joining GRSC.  Jenn has worked in public schools for the past three years and is now in graduate school full time studying Elementary Education.  In her free time, Jenn loves to hike, watch UConn basketball, and play on a few adult tennis teams!

Eli grew up in Branford and played at GRSC as a junior.  His tennis career began at Branford High School where Matt Fraenza was his coach.  He recently graduated with an undergraduate degree in Biology from Wheaton College, where he played varsity tennis for all 4 years.  He is a player on the Guilford 8.0 Mixed Team, Men’s 4.5 Team, and the 9.0 Mixed Team.  Outside of tennis, Eli enjoys spending time with his family, relaxing at the beach, and staying active.

 

Mauricio grew up playing on clay courts with his dad and his brother in Peru, competing in regional and national tournaments, which eventually led to a scholarship at Freed-Hardeman University, where he battled it out in the NAIA division.  He resides in New Haven and when not on the courts, he teaches college-level dramatic writing and performance.  In his free time, he enjoys bouldering, biking, swimming, and going on adventure hikes with his dog, Loki.