Legends of Ky Tennis the Hall of Fame Series

In today’s Legends of Kentucky Tennis conversation, Dennis Emery sits down with Mary Lou Hambrick. Mary Lou discovered tennis at the age of 27, and she and her family went on to become one of the most influential tennis families in Kentucky and Southern Tennis. A dedicated and tireless volunteer, she served on numerous Kentucky, Southern, and USTA national committees, helping shape and grow the game for generations. In this conversation, Mary Lou reflects on her family’s tennis legacy, the honors and awards she has received, and the mentors, friends, and experiences that inspired and guided her remarkable journey in tennis.

In today's Legends of Kentucky Tennis, Dennis Emery talks with Terry L. Bunnell. Terry shares his lifelong love of tennis and his passion for serving the game. He discusses the Weldon Classic and its important place in Kentucky tennis history, as well as his presidency and mission to make tennis accessible to everyone in the state. Terry was inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025 and is the namesake of the Terry L. Bunnell Tennis Courts at Caverna Independent School District.

In today’s Legends of Kentucky Tennis conversation, Dennis Emery talks with Andrew Varga. Andrew of Louisville built an exceptional junior and collegiate tennis career. A four-time Creason and Kentucky State Closed champion, he earned No. 1 state rankings in every junior division, twice topped the Southern Section in doubles, and reached top-75 nationally. At St. Xavier High School, he twice made the state singles semifinals and captained the team to its first two state championships in KHSAA history. At the University of Kentucky, Varga was a four-year starter, two-time captain, and winner of the program’s only SEC Outdoor individual title. He ranks fourth in UK history with 128 singles wins and helped lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and top-15 national ranking. Andrew was recently inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame on February 6, 2026.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.