UTA Partner

Stewart Russell

Stewart Russell is originally from Northport, New York and graduated from Roanoke College in Salem, Va. with a degree in Sociology. Stewart directs the junior and adult programs at James Creek Tennis Center and Legacy Park Tennis Center.

Stewart most recently (September 2024) received his Master Professional accreditation with RSPA (formerly USPTA).  This is the highest recognition offered by the RSPA.  It is reserved for those members that have demonstrated mastery of all aspects of tennis teaching and management, as well as achievements over the course of their career.

Stewart has been a USTA National Junior Player Development coach who participated in Regional and National events hosted by the USTA.  Before joining Universal Tennis Academy, Stewart was the Head Men’s Tennis Coach at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia for five years. He was also the Director of Tennis at Brookstone Country Club in Acworth, Ga. He has a comprehensive and extensive background in teaching players of all ages and ability levels.

Stewart and his wife Penny have two children. Their daughter, Taylor, is a certified personal trainer in Savannah and their son, Justin, played baseball at Kennesaw State University and currently serves as a Marietta Police Officer and a member of their SWAT unit.

Work in the Community:
– Member of the USTA National Junior Development coaching staff for 12 years
– Volunteer in all teach-a-thons to help raise funds for AYTEF and Chattahoochee Foundation
– Coordinator of Northside Hospital Tennis against Breast Cancer annual event @ James Creek TC for 15 years.

Director of Tennis

Evan Stack

Evan grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia playing USTA junior tournaments at the state, sectional and national level. He attended North Cobb High School, where he helped the boys’ tennis team make the state 5A tournament all four years

After graduating, Evan played for the Bridgewater College men’s tennis team, a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Over two seasons, he put together a record of 25-9 in singles and 23-18 in doubles. Evan graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2016 with a degree in Accounting. Prior to working for UTA, he worked in the Higher Education industry as a recruiter and fundraiser.

Evan works with players of all ages and skill levels.

Tennis Professional

Ryan Hughes

Originally from Kent, England Ryan has worked at UTA since 2007.  His previous position was Director of Tennis at Horseshoe Bend Country Club where he oversaw the development of all junior, adult, and pickleball groups as well as the summer camps.

Ryan played at the University of Southern Indiana graduating with a business administration degree, winning the conference title his Junior year.

When not teaching, Ryan is a scratch golfer and enjoys working on his classic car collection.

Director of Pickleball

Lisa DeGirolamo

Lisa DeGirolamo, Director of Pickleball, and a longtime resident of Legacy Park with her husband Jeff and sons Gregory and Christopher, Lisa has been an active member of the tennis community, playing in both ALTA and USTA leagues.

A native of New Jersey, Lisa played competitive tennis as a junior. She holds a degree in Finance from Seton Hall University.

Lisa is a member of USA Pickleball and is a PPR certified instructor. She loves sharing her passion of the game with players of all levels.

When not on the pickleball court, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family, kayaking, fishing, and playing golf.

Tennis Professional

Katarina Guarino

Katarina is a USPTA certified tennis & pickleball professional with 10 years of experience. She has worked extensively with players of all levels and enjoys helping people fall in love with the game of tennis.

As a player she was top ranked in the south and nationally. She went on to play ITF international futures events with a career high ranking of 530 in the world. She has two ITF junior titles and has traveled to 38 countries internationally for tennis.

In her free time, she enjoys gardening, rock climbing and spending time outside.

Tennis Professional

Darrio H. Williams

U.S.P.T.A Elite Teaching Professional with 30 years of experience. Passionate about his career, determined to continue to educate himself on the tennis coaching trends.

Legacy Park Community long time tennis coach since 2007, Head Pro, Director of Junior Tennis, High Performance Developmental Coach, USTA Mentor, Kennesaw State University Professor of Beginning and Intermediate Tennis Course.

Ferris State University, Professional Tennis Management (PTM) graduate, minor in Business Administration & Marketing.

Tennis Professional

Lina Ramos

Lina, who hails from Bogota, Colombia, achieved national rankings in top 20 throughout her junior career. She moved to Texas in 2010 to be part of the John Newcombe Tennis Academy and earned the award for “most improved player of the year”.

In 2011, Lina received a full scholarship to play tennis at the university of Northwestern Ohio, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with an associate degree in Applied Business in sports marketing and management and bachelors of sciencedegree in specialized studies, with a focus on Business Administration.  She joined SPORTIME and JMTA in 2015 at New York working as a tennis coach and running tennis tournaments for some of the juniors that have achieved tennis scholarships to D1 universities.

Linda also practices soccer and boxing and loves almost every single sport.  She is a fan of music and plays the ukulele and piano and her greatest passion is traveling around the world and learning about all different cultures.