Brett Caldwell

Brett grew up in Asheville and graduated from Enka High School.  Brett left Asheville to attend UNC Chapel Hill where he majored in Sports Administration.  He has been teaching adults and children in Asheville for the past six years and is a certified USPTR Pro.  Brett and his wife Sara enjoy hiking in beautiful Western North Carolina.  

Fun Fact: Brett is a Rock Star! He plays bass guitar in a band named Summer Wars.

Joni Carroll

Joni Carroll grew up in Miami, Florida where she discovered her love for tennis. She played collegiate tennis at Barry University while pursuing her degree as an educator. After becoming an English teacher for the public school system, she continued to play and teach tennis at various clubs throughout Miami for both children and adults. Joni has coached track, badminton, and tennis.

Now, recently retired after 30 years in the classroom, you can find Joni on the tennis courts or hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains as Asheville becomes more of her permanent residence.

Fun Fact: While teaching high school near the Everglades in Florida, Joni would pick up stray dogs and sneak them into her classroom for the day. She has rescued countless pups and is proud to be a foster failure multiple times!

Contact: joni152@me.com

Certified USPTA Instructor

Tanner Cheek

Tanner Cheek is a lifelong tennis player. He grew up in Florida, moved to Colorado and married his husband Stephen, and eventually made his way to Asheville in 2020 (in classic, mid-pandemic-life-crisis style). He has enjoyed coaching the Asheville High School boy's tennis team since 2022 and has experience running junior and adult clinics alike. An all-around sports enthusiast, racquet-based games and volleyball are among his favorites. Coach Cheek is a middle school science teacher and enjoys exploring Asheville's beautiful hiking trails, kayaking the nearby waterways, and of course, playing the beautiful game!

Fun Fact: Tanner was SCUBA certified when he was 16 and has spent time underwater in the Florida Keys, Cozumel, the Virgin Islands and some freshwater springs in Florida. He hopes to dive the Great Barrier Reef and the waters near Indonesia and Thailand someday!

Contact: tanner5094172@gmail.com

Terry Davis

Terry began playing tennis at the age of 22 in Atlanta, GA as part of the Atlanta Lawn & Tennis Association (ALTA), at that time the largest amateur tennis association in the country, where her love of the game quickly developed. She grew fond of the teammate mentality, and, of course, the competitive nature of the sport as she loves a good match.

Terry, her husband, and three daughters moved to Asheville in 1999 and have been here ever since. All three of her girls played competitive tennis throughout their childhood and in high school. Terry loves playing with her family, although her children’s lifelong goal is to beat her but they have not been able accomplished that yet!

She works as an interior designer, artist and also volunteers in various gardening projects throughout the city. She is very much looking forward to teaching kids tennis, a new and exciting venture for her!

Fun fact: Currently, Terry plays on four USTA tennis teams here in Asheville!

Alex Diez

AC Reynolds Varsity Head Coach Women’s and Men’s Tennis

Originally from upstate New York, Coach Diez graduated with a Bachelor of Science in physical therapy from Ithaca College (1987), and Master of Science in Health Services Administration from Russell Sage College (1992). She and her husband moved to Asheville in 1992, raising three children - all graduates of AC Reynolds High School. Coach Diez has been coaching the women’s and men’s varsity tennis programs at ACR since 2014. Both teams were 3A/4A MAC Conference Champions 2021-2022.

Fun Fact: Alex is married to an Olympic fencer. Her husband Ed competed in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA.

Bob Graeme

Bob grew up in Winter Park, Florida. He attended Western Carolina University where he majored in Political Science and played collegiate tennis. After college, he became a high school social studies teacher and coach. He has been very involved in teaching and studying United States History. He has coached football, soccer and tennis. For the last ten years he has been the tennis coach at North Buncombe High School. He also works with tennis players of all ages. Besides tennis, Bob also enjoys hiking, walking, golf, disc golf and gardening in the Western North Carolina mountains!  He is married to the choral director at the high school.

Fun Fact: Bob has a very active one year old granddaughter who he is trying to determine if she is going to be a right handed tennis player or a left handed tennis player.

Contact: robertfgraeme@gmail.com

Lisa Klepper

Lisa grew up in Knoxville Tennessee and graduated from UT with a BA in sociology. She met her husband Bob during her senior year there. They moved to Asheville after traveling the world with their 4 children. Lisa developed her love of tennis while living in Bermuda with her family. She had been active in athletics throughout her life and quickly fell in love with the sport! She has been a teacher, has been very active in an orphanage in Bolivia and loves working with children.

Fun Fact: Lisa has played competitive tennis in 4 different countries! She played in Bermuda, Singapore, England and the USA!

Diana Pavlick

Diana Pavlick is a "half-back", moving from western Pennsylvania to south Florida before settling in the beautiful Asheville area. An entrepreneur at heart, she has founded over 12 businesses including producing handmade greeting cards, raising world champion horses, pavement sealing, several florist shops and many more.

Although she played numerous sports over her career, racquet sports are her passion now. Racquetball, Pickleball and of course, Tennis keep her very busy. "I love introducing beginners to the sport of tennis and helping them to master the basics while developing a lifelong love for the game."

Fun Fact: Diana became a vegetarian 40 years ago. Over the years she has collected an extensive library of meatless recipes and cookbooks.

Contact: diana.pavlick@yahoo.com

Ellen Tarry

Ellen moved with her husband from Charlotte one year ago after raising their three children. Tennis has always been a family affair as she played growing up on middle school and high school teams. She put the racquet down for 20 years and starting again was like riding a bike! She previously worked at Lifetime Fitness in Charlotte in their tennis program and is looking forward to instilling the love for tennis in the younger generation in Asheville.

Fun Fact: Ellen was a camp counselor in Minnesota for all of her college summers and one summer led 26 10th grade girls to canoe and portage the Boundary Waters in Canada for a week long trip!

Caitlin Van Hecke

Growing up a dancer, Caitlin always felt a bit like an outsider for not "getting" sports. When her future husband introduced her to tennis as an adult, she fell in love with the game…and him ;). Along with her obsession with the yellow ball, she is also a yoga instructor and mom to a toddler-teen (3 going on 13). She plans on hiring him out as a ball boy as soon as he's old enough to reliably throw the ball back!

Fun fact: She's taught yoga in studios, schools, parks, gyms, and prisons. Most recently she's been hanging out at local farms, teaching goat yoga, #emphasisonthegoats

Contact: caitlin.vh@gmail.com

Bob Wernet

Bob grew up in Texas playing multiple sports, mostly ones played with a ball. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science Degree in Gerontology from the University of North Texas.

His family moved to Asheville in 1998 and he joined the Asheville Racquet Club South and enjoyed playing racquetball for several years. About 8 years ago he decided to pick up the tennis racquet again and now enjoys playing regularly.

He retired from his job in September 2022 after serving in management roles in senior living communities for the past 40+ years. He now enjoys playing tennis, golf, boating and a variety of outdoor activities in Asheville. Over the years, he has especially enjoyed coaching youth sports and serving as a Boy Scout leader.

Fun Fact: Bob has been a devout fan for over 50 years for the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas A&M Aggies.

Contact: wernetbob@gmail.com

Certified USPTA Instructor