Meet Our Team

Tennisinvt is a space where USTA Vermont shares its resources with the Vermont tennis community. The USTA State Association for Vermont is represented by the following volunteers:

Board of Directors

Sandy Foster

Vice President, Chair Budget and Finance Committee
sandy@benningtonaces.org

Sandy came to USTA Vermont in the Spring of 2021 and has grown in the role to become Finances Facilitator, Court Resurfacing and Facilities Guide, and Vice President. In her professional life, she is the Executive Director of the Bennington Aces NJTL, a role that allows her to see the powerful impact tennis and educational support can have on young rural Vermonters in the southern part of the state.

While she has been passionate about tennis for the past 12 years, her tennis journey after a stage 3 cancer diagnosis. Playing tennis became a crucial part of her healing process, helping her maintain her mental health during the challenging times of surgery, treatments, chemotherapy, and radiation. Her game has improved considerably, yet she’s  still perfecting her “don’t-hit-it-into-the-net” technique. 

It is a little known fact that Sandy drives a mean tractor as well as maneuvers other large pieces of equipment on the family farm she shares with her husband Michael in North Pownall, Vermont.

Frank Costantino:

Treasurer
frankcostantino1958@gmail.com

Frank’s love affair with the sport began on a community tennis court when he was 12; it even forced him into the public library where he devoured every tennis book available. His heroes were the Aussies – Rod Laver, Ken Rosewald, and John Newcombe – and they became a part of his passion to learn. During the summer, he was often found on the tennis court behind the high school, hitting with anyone who showed up with a racquet and a can of balls. While he played for The Middlesex Blue Jays during his junior and senior years of high school, college and the early years of family life kept him off the court. It wasn’t until moving to Vermont in 2005 that he reconnected with the game, filling in with groups of older accomplished players like the Thursday Night gang and Early Birders at The Edge. He had always wanted a life partner with whom to share the game, so he convinced his wife Joanna to join him. Eventually he began to compete again, co-captaining USTA League teams for many years. His goal during his time at USTA VT is to provide financial oversight and management as the organization looks for new ways to spread inclusive tennis. Fun facts: he loves trumpet music – period and played semi-professional jazz for many years. When retirement comes, he looks forward to playing as much as he can.

Deborah Norotsky:

Secretary

Deb’s career as an RN with over 30 years experience has required her to be tough, present, and effective in difficult situations. Her varied employment as a healthcare practitioner has taught her to be an excellent listener who is an empathetic and compassionate advocate for others.

Her other volunteer experiences have been wide and varied: membership in 100 Women Who Care, a tennis facilitator with Kids on the Ball, hospice caregiver, healthcare support team member in her local school system, wheelchair tennis advocate, and board member of her local synagogue. Captaining both womens and mixed USTA teams demands her to be a detail-oriented leader, cheerleader, and collaborator. Building tennis communities is such a priority that Deb was honored as USTA Vermont’s “Super Captain” in 2025. As a tennis player, she is always striving to improve her game while creating meaningful connections with others. Serving as secretary of the Board of USTA Vermont is one significant way that she feels she can bring her unique perspective as a healthcare provider, tennis player and captain, and experienced volunteer to support the growth of tennis throughout our region

Jen Weiss

Recreation Coordinator and USTANE Staff Member
weiss@newengland.usta.com

Jen is based in Burlington, VT where she has been deeply involved in the fitness world for over a decade, previously working as a personal trainer. She has also coached high school tennis, most recently with the Essex HS Girls Tennis Team. When not on the tennis court, she likes to hike, bike, and spend quality time with her dog, Bev.

Committee Chairs

Tammy Azur

JTT and Youth Tennis Coordinator, and USTA New England Coaches Commission member
tammya@edgevt.com

As Director of Tennis at The Edge, Tammy has over 30 years of teaching/coaching experience, including summer camp counselor, high school head coach, DI collegiate coach, and full-time tennis professional/tennis director. She currently teaches many adult and junior players through private lessons, clinics, camps and weekly programs at the Edge, where she also runs in-house leagues at all levels. Tammy grew up in northern Vermont, learning to play tennis from her father when she was 9. She was a multi-sport athlete playing soccer, basketball, and softball in high school. Accepted to the University of Vermont on a full academic scholarship, Tammy graduated with an Economics degree and played four years of DI Women’s Tennis for the Catamounts. Her roles within USTA New England and Vermont encourage her to bring decades of coaching expertise to competitive tennis opportunities for young players (JTT, local Grand Prix and sanctioned tournament play) and training for aspiring high school and professional coaches. She currently resides in Fairfax, VT with her wife, Nicole and their two children, Clark and Vera. As a family they love to travel, hike, and ride roller coasters.

Joyce Doud

DEI Chair
joyceD@edgevt.com

With an older sister as her first teacher, Joyce Doud began playing tennis with her identical twin sister at age 11 on a community court in Delaware. Playing national junior tournaments and Division 1 college tennis, she began her now decades long teaching career at 17. She has taught in DE, MA for 9 years, and at The Edge for 35 years. She is a USPTA Elite Professional (scoring in the top 2% on her certification exam) and honored as Vermont Pro of the Year twice. A former US Open ball girl (where she backed up Billie Jean King), Joyce has umpired high school and college tennis and instructed generations of players, young and old alike. As DEI chair, she hopes to make tennis available to underresourced, less visible, and rural communities around the state. When not on the court, Joyce enjoys spending time with her 3 grandsons and vacationing on Delaware beaches with her family. Fun facts: Joyce has a tennis racket tattoo, played clarinet in her middle and high school bands, and harbors a lifelong sports fantasy of dunking a basketball!

Emma Gredenhag

Board Member at Large and Social Media Coordinator 

Emma is from Jacksonville, Florida, and is currently a junior at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, where she is double-majoring in Accounting and Business Administration. She is a member of the Saint Michael’s Women’s Tennis Team, serving as captain while competing in both singles and doubles. Emma joined USTA Vermont in March 2025 as a Social Media and Communications Intern, supporting community engagement and tennis promotion across the state. Back home in Florida, she teaches tennis at Deerwood Country Club, where she shares her passion for the sport with players of all ages and skill levels. At Saint Michael’s, she has earned recognition as an ITA Scholar-Athlete and NE10 Academic Honor Roll member. Off the court, she is also involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the “Hope Happens Here” mental health awareness initiative, and the Student Investment Fund. When she’s not playing tennis, Emma enjoys skiing, going to the beach, and spending time outdoors.

Jeanne Hulsen

Board Member at Large; Community and Events Advisor
jeannehulsen1@gmail.com

As an accomplished athlete, teaching professional, and program director, Jeanne Hulsen is passionate about building innovative instructional, recreational, competitive and social programming in the racquet/paddle sports arena. Her extensive experience as a multi-sport coach is a great asset in the dynamic landscape of tennis and pickleball in Vermont. Jeanne continues to excel competitively in both tennis and pickleball, where she is active on New England’s Tennis Women’s Intersectional teams, the Addie Cup and Friendship Cup. In 2022, she won a gold medal in Pickleball at the Women’s 60+ National Senior Games. Jeanne coached collegiate women and men’s tennis, and women’s volleyball in both New York and Vermont, where she coached high school varsity boy and girl’s tennis and volleyball. She has also organized and coached youth development tennis programs, led numerous camps and clinics, and coached USTA adult league teams and their players. Professionally she has served as University of Vermont Campus Recreation Director, Burlington Tennis Club Tennis Director, Burlington High School Athletics Director, and most recently Pickleball Director at the Sports and Fitness Edge in South Burlington. A certified tennis and pickleball instructor, she has served on the USTA New England Board of Directors, and continues in her role with USTA Vermont, where her dedication to building unique events and strong tennis communities is highly valued.

Edie Perkins

Board Member at Large

Edie started playing tennis at seven, and as a natural athlete and competitor by nature, she loved the sport immediately. Unfortunately, college — and life after — got in the way, and she stopped playing with regularity. In her 30s, Edie fell in love with running and became a competitive marathoner – even coming in 25^th in the Boston Marathon. But Edie’s life changed significantly in 2017 when she was struck by a car while biking. Being paralyzed from the chest down didn’t dampen her desire to live an active life; she took to handcycling immediately and explored a variety of adaptive sports. Edie wanted to return to tennis in the years following her injury, but finding a community and equipment proved challenging. In 2025, the stars aligned. A handful of volunteers and a group of women (and sometimes a man or two) in wheelchairs began to gather weekly for a wheelchair tennis clinic. An obsession was born! Edie now plays 2-3 times per week (more if possible) and has helped to organize an All-Comers Wheelchair Tennis camp, a tournament, and lots of just-for-fun play with the others. She is eager to bring more people into the sport, provide more opportunities for competitive play, and create opportunities for inclusive play with able-bodied tennis lovers. Professionally, Edie’s most recent job was Executive Director at a nonprofit organization, the Kelly Brush Foundation, that helps people with spinal cord injuries lead active and engaged lives by getting them involved in adaptive sports. Under her tenure, the organization doubled in size and increased its impact ten-fold. She is excited to put her leadership skills, passion for the sport, and experience as a wheelchair player to use to help more people develop a love for the game and opportunities to play it.

Ken Scott

Board Member at Large

Ken is a lifelong tennis player, an RSPA Instructor and USTA Tournament Director.  At The Edge, where he is a staff professional, Ken leverages his background in community tennis development and youth engagement.  He focuses on growing local programs and building partnerships across Vermont.  Ken’s passion for the sport and commitment to inclusivity inspire his ongoing work to make tennis accessible to all Vermonters.  He has two children: a 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, both of whom share his love of tennis and often play together as a family.

Advisory members of the State League Committee

Heidi Willoughby

State League Committee Co-Chair
shwillo@me.com

Although born in New England, Heidi’s family moved to Florida, where she began playing tennis at the age of 12. She eventually became a nationally ranked junior tennis player and went on to play NCAA Division I college tennis at Clemson University. As an adult, she has played League Tennis in 3 USTA Sections (Northern, Missouri Valley and New England). She has helped coach the CVU Girls Tennis Team for 5 years and has Co-Captained the New England Friendship Cup (New England vs. Quebec) for 6 years. In addition to her work on the Vermont State League Committee, Heidi recently joined the Board of the New England Senior Tennis Foundation.

Will Dodge

State League Committee
wdodge@drm.com

Will played casual, sporadic tennis after high school with friends and family but took the game more seriously during the pandemic as a way to exercise and find social interaction. Along the way he discovered several kindred spirits with the same passion for the game. He now plays at least three times a week year round and has participated in USTA league for the past three years, occasionally as captain. As a volunteer, he hopes to bring others into the game, especially other ‘casual, sporadic’ players. Apart from tennis, his other passion is playing keyboards and backup vocals in a Montreal-based Radiohead cover band.

Edye Graning

State League Committee Co-Chair
edyeg33@hotmail.com 

Edye learned to play tennis as an adult and has fully embraced the tennis community, playing 2-3 times a week year round.  She joined the Vt State League Committee to make competitive tennis available to more adults and to make tennis more inclusive.  She and her husband Mike both volunteer coach the Mount Mansfield High School Girls Tennis Team where teaching the love for the sport is the priority.  She also loves to hike, ski, read and above all else eat dark chocolate.

Mission Statement and Shared Goals

The mission of USTA Vermont is to promote the growth of tennis to inspire healthy people and communities in Vermont, throughout New England, and across America. Our goal is to do the following: 

• Support programs, people, facilities, and initiatives that bring tennis to people of all ages and abilities through state, regional, and national grants and scholarship programs 
• Make tennis opportunities visible and accessible through our newsletter, website, and social media sites
  • You must opt in In order to receive our newsletter. 
• Facilitate training for coaches at the recreational, high school, and professional levels
• Help preserve and maintain places to play tennis
• Promote youth training and competition – within schools and other public and private facilities 
• Recognize people and organizations that make a difference in their tennis communities
• Support USTA league, tournament, and friendly competitive play

Advisory members of the State League Committee

Advisory members of the State League Committee