Episodes

Dec 9

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Rick Shafferman. Rick tells of his journey from the park’s programs in Owensboro to the Presidency of the USTA Kentucky and the Raise a Racquet Foundation. The Foundation is the Endowment Fund for USTA Kentucky raising funds for tennis facilities, players and programs throughout Kentucky. Rick was a conference champion at Miami of Ohio and followed it up with a great career in adult USTA tennis. A highly respected leader in the Kentucky Tennis Community as he speaks to giving back to the sport he loves.

Nov 3

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Meg Peavy. Meg is the former University of Louisville number one player in the early years of Title nine and and went on to coach at U of L. She speaks about her tennis beginnings as a "parks kid " in Florida. Of special interest is her years’ work on the charitable side of tennis with the rising stars as its founder and other ventures which have had an enormous impact on the Louisville community. Her many current friends and friends to be will enjoy her story!

Aug 25

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Michael Cunningham. Michael tells his story of rising from a lightly recruited junior player to multiple time gold ball winner and US National senior champion. This podcast also covers his Georgetown College years as player and coach, and his relationship with Hall of Famer John Herring. Michael talks about the immense impact his wife Jessica has had on his career. His humility shines through in this interview.

Nov 4, 2024

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Joseph Kroh. Joe was the legendary St Xavier Coach who is widely acclaimed as the best high school coach in state high school history. His Louisville teams won a record 17 state team championships. More than a high school coach, he was instrumental in guiding his daughter Ashley to great success. This led to her reaching the NCAA Doubles Final for Marshall. Joe shares his theories on coaching and personal stories of how he built the St X juggernaut.

Sep 9, 2024

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Richard Benson. Rich Benson, originally from Utah came to Kentucky in 1985 to play at the University of Kentucky. He has remained in Kentucky where he and his family call home. He is the only three time All American in UK Tennis History in doubles and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Tournament as a sophomore. Rich was a member of several of the best teams UK has fielded and was a leader on three top ten teams. He was a two-time SEC Champion individually. He went on to great success on the pro tour in doubles as he reached a ranking of 128 in the world on the ATP Tour. He shares his story of beating Andre Agassi and their friendship through his current job as head coach at Centre College.

Jun 28, 2024

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Jeff True. Jeff has been involved with Kentucky Tennis in so many ways. After successfully playing the National Junior Circuit he played for Indiana. He coached both the men’s and women’s programs at Western Kentucky. As part of that he ran over 100 junior tournaments where many top players got their start. His family won Kentucky Tennis Family of the Year and he claims one of his great joys is playing the National Father and Son Championships.

Mar 22, 2024

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Colleen Jones Underhill. Colleen was the number one ranked Kentucky Jr. female player for several years as well as securing a top 10 ranking in USTA Southern. She played for Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville where she was Kentucky High School State Champion and female player of the year. She continued her successful tennis career as number one singles at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Underhill continued to play competitively as an adult and has been a teaching tennis pro, and coach at her high school alma mater. She and her husband Todd are very philanthropically active in tennis and are principal donors of the Underhill Tennis Complex at Sacred Heart Academy and the Miami University outdoor tennis complex. She speaks about why that was important to her.

Nov 7, 2023

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Rex Ecarma. Rex Ecarma is a legendary figure in Kentucky collegiate tennis circles. He built the University of Louisville tennis program from playing their home matches at Triangle Park to the Bass Rudd Tennis Center on the U of L Campus. He coached Michael Mather to the NCAA quarterfinals and then a berth on the US National Team. He also led Austin Childs to the 2011 NCAA singles finalist. His teams qualified for numerous NCAA championships. Rex, a Louisville native and U of L Lettermen tells his story.

Apr 28, 2023

In today's Legends of Kentucky Tennnis Dennis Emery talks with John Herring. Herring speaks about growing up in tennis and his many roles in the game. He has been USTA Kentucky Board President and serves on the USTA Southern and National Boards. He is one of the most successful senior players nationally in the history of the state and talks about how he was a late bloomer in the game competitively. He talks about his great success as a high school coach and introducing hundreds of young players to the game with his wife Christy, who is a superstar in her own right, promoting and providing tennis in the schools and parks.

Feb 27, 2023

In today's Legends of Kentucky Tennnis Dennis Emery talks with Greg Hill Hill emerges from Henderson Kentucky in the mid-80s and became a top southern and national player. Hill talks about his collegiate career at Texas A&M where he was their first NCAA All-American, and his professional career which included wins over players like Agassi. He speaks about what it was like to be the number two man for Nick Bollettieri for many years He served as coach for Williams, Sharapova, Kournikova, and several other world number ones From Henderson to Wimbledon Greg tells the inside story.

Nov 22, 2022

In today’s Legends of Kentucky Tennis Dennis Emery talks with Kevin Collins. Kevin Collins is the patriarch of one of Kentucky’s leading tennis families He and his wife Sandy have been involved in all aspects of Kentucky tennis for 40 years. Kevin has won numerous senior level events and has sponsored numerous high level tennis tournaments. In addition, their children have won high level state events. This podcast speaks to the benefits of tennis for the entire family.

Sep 13, 2022

In today’s Legends of Kentucky Tennis Dennis Emery talks with Vimal Patel. Hear Vimal Patel’s story of his journey from the public courts of Owensboro to the best tennis venues in the world as a professional. Along the way he trained with Joan Ramey Ford, international coaching icon Rick Macci, and college tennis greatest coach ever Dick Gould. This podcast includes his impressions of his game, his development as a player, and his rise to number two in the US junior rankings and an NCAA Team Championship and Doubles Finalist finish.

Aug 9, 2022

Mel Purcell is simply the best player in the history of Kentucky tennis. This podcast details his rise from Murray Kentucky to Wimbledon. Along the way he talks about his legendary father Bennie Purcell and winning the NCAA DOUBLES for the University of Tennessee. At multiple times, Purcell was a member of the ATP top twenty. He details his matches and relationships with the world’s best players including McEnroe, Connors, and Lendl. This is a must listen for those who care about the history of tennis in Kentucky

Jun 15, 2022

Jack Ditty is one of eastern Kentucky’s all time tennis legends. He is a tireless promoter of USTA events and women’s $60,000 events. He has been the tournament director for the $60,000 events, most recently the Braidy Industries Women’s Tennis Classic, a USTA Pro Circuit event. The podcast includes the story of his daughter Julie’s rise to an NCAA final and top 100 rankings on the WTA tour in singles and doubles. Ditty describes running local journey clinics to watching his daughter play Venus and Serena at Wimbledon. This podcast is a virtual history tennis in Kentucky.

Jan 12, 2022

On this second of a two-part series podcast, John English details the history of the Louisville Tennis Classic which featured players like Laver, Ashe, Rosewall, and all the greats. English describes how his brother Sam envisioned the event and with his help and a core group made it happen. It included building a new facility near the Louisville Zoo, battling the weather, and gaining the support of politicians in the state including a young Mitch McConnell (who was not yet a senator). He also discusses the reasons Louisville left its prestigious position on the world tour. It’s a great story of how Louisville became the center in the world of tennis for one week a year every summer.

Dec 7, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with John English. This is the first conversation in a two-part series. John English - a great player on the Louisville scene and is even more well known for all the wonderful work he did in supporting and growing tennis. He was a club owner, co-director of the USTA National Clay Courts, numerous exhibitions, as well as the First National Bank Tennis Classic John discusses all this and more on this part one podcast. Truly one of the molders of Kentucky Tennis as we know it today.

Oct 20, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Susan Sloane. Susan is simply the best player the state of Kentucky has ever produced. She was a child prodigy who went from winning the National championships in the Girls 12 to being ranked top 20 in the world on the WTA Tour for three consecutive years. Susan talks about playing all four Grand Slams and her matches with Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati, Gabriella Sabatini , and Mary Jo Fernandez Along the way she talks about the three high school championships she won as a sixth, seventh, and eighth grader.

Aug 3, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Charles Beckman. Beckman went from a multiple Joe Creason Jr. Tournament winner to a two-time state high school champion as a junior. Beckman moved on to have a great career at Texas which saw him make all American three times and reach the NCAA doubles final. As a pro Beckman reach top 50 in the world and successfully competed at all four grand slams something he talks about in this podcast. He finishes by sharing his thoughts on coaching his daughter Carrie, a three-time state high school champion and has committed to play tennis at the University of Notre Dame.

Jun 28, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Matthew Emery who was ranked as high as number one in the United States at times when he was 16, 17, and 18 years old. He ranked as high as number 15 in the ITF world rankings in singles and 18 in doubles. His junior career was highlighted by winning the US National Clay Court championships in Louisville Kentucky and upsetting the number 1 seed Thomas Berdych in the first round of the Wimbledon junior championships in 2001. His on-court career was cut short during his sophomore year in college at the University of Kentucky with an eye injury. Matt is currently the Director of Tennis at Kennesaw State University. He discusses his introduction into sports and tennis through dealing with his injury to his life in tennis now.

May 26, 2021

Susan Nolan McNeill, originally from Louisville Kentucky, was a leading junior player in the state and in the Southern section throughout her junior years. She became one of the first scholarship players at the University of Kentucky where she played in the top two spots. Susan went on to play throughout her life at a high-level in USTA Southern events. In this podcast, she discusses the Louisville female tennis scene in the 1970s. She also discusses coaches who influenced her game and what they meant to her career and why she has had such a lifetime passion for the game.

Apr 28, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Eric Quigley - one of the best players in the state on every level. Eric became an urban legend in Louisville when he won four consecutive state high school tennis championships and never lost a match in high school. He continued to have a highly successful college career at the University of Kentucky where he not only reached the 2012 NCAA singles final losing to Steve Johnson of Southern California but concluded his career as the all-time winningest player in college tennis history with 171 wins in singles. He had a very successful professional career reaching 290 in the world in singles and 180 in the world in doubles. His professional career was highlighted by the 2016 appearance in the US Open doubles championships in New York. He speaks about all this and more in this podcast.

Apr 5, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Julie Ditty Qualls. Julie is recognized as the second-best singles player and the best doubles player the state has ever produced on the national scene. Her professional career included top 100 rankings on the WTA tour in both singles and doubles. A winner at every level, she led Vanderbilt to the NCAA team final, won multiple gold balls at the junior level, and is the all-time tournament championship winner on the USTA pro circuit tour with over 30 championships. Julie discusses what it meant to her career to grow up in Ashland Kentucky, the influence of her family in her career, and her continued passion for the sport.

Mar 18, 2021

In today’s Legends of Kentucky tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Gary Plock. Gary was inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986 and is one of the top 10 male players in the state of Kentucky’s history. Gary was top 10 in the United States in the juniors, a member of the US Junior Davis Cup Team as well as ranking number one in Kentucky for many years. Gary was one of only three who won four consecutive state high school championships. He played collegiately at the University of Texas where his career was highlighted with a NCAA doubles finalist run in 1978. Included in that run was a win over John McEnroe and Bill Maze of Stanford in the semifinals. His successful professional career was cut short due to an elbow injury. Gary discusses the Louisville tennis scene in the 1970s and his friendships and rivalries with many players in the area including Jackie Cooper.