MTA to Celebrate 2019 & 2020 Hall of Fame Classes

Ron Friedman

Maine Tennis Hall of Fame

friedy29@gmail.com

207-400-4006

Maine Tennis Hall of Fame Returns with 8 New Inductees After COVID Hiatus

FALMOUTH, MA - Officials of the Maine Tennis Hall of Fame will hold a formal ceremony for eight new honorees at The Woodlands Club on Saturday, April 22, from 4 to 6 pm.

The inductees represent the classes of 2020 and 2019. Formal ceremonies were not held in those years due to COVID. More individuals will be honored in coming years, but organization spokespersons said that the upcoming banquet will be a “catch-up” event.

Those in the class of 2020 are Eric Blakeman, Anita Murphy and Brian Patterson.

Representing that Class of 2019 are Paul Gastonguay, the late Bill Kayatta Sr., Devi Maganti, Brian Mavor, and Glen Mayberry.

Eric Blakeman, 51, grew up in Yarmouth. At North Yarmouth Academy, he played No. 1 singles from seventh grade through his senior year. He went 127-0. He played varsity tennis at Northwestern University.

Lewiston High School Coach Anita Murphy is being honored for more than four decades of leading her girls’ squads to numerous victories – and championships. She has been named coach of the year in the conference, state and national levels, and has won more than 500 matches as a high school coach. Her teams have won 13 state championships.

Brian Patterson, 46, a native of Falmouth, was a state high school champion in Maine in his freshman and senior years. As a senior, he was a top-ranked junior on the national level. At Notre Dame, Patterson was honored in his senior year for most victories on the team (singles and doubles).

In the class of 2019, Gastonguay, 56, has excelled as a player and as the award-winning coach of the men’s and women’s team at Bates College, from which he graduated in 1989. He was the winningest player in Bates history, combining for a 149-41 record, and was an All-American his senior season. Gastonguay competed professionally in International Tennis Federation Satellite, Challenger and ATP Tour events.

Bill Kayatta, who died in 2015 at the age of 88, was the organizer of the Maine Tennis Hall of Fame. The longtime South Portland resident began playing tennis in his 40s and competed in United States Tennis Association (USTA) League tennis for many years.

Glen Mayberry, 68, won the state singles championship at Deering High School in 1971. He played No. 1 for the University of Southern Maine for all four years, and he won the league singles championship twice. And Mayberry, quick at the net with a thundering overhead, has won numerous doubles and mixed doubles events. Mayberry taught and coached at Deering.

Brian Mavor, 59, was the state high school champion in 1982 for Cape Elizabeth High School. Mavor played for North Carolina State in the mid-80s. Mavor, a 6-foot-3-inch righthander with a powerful topspin backhand, has been ranked No. 1 in men’s singles here for 16 years in a row, a state record.

Hall of Fame officials say Devi Maganti, 68, epitomizes the term “service.” She has been a key volunteer in developing tournaments for the Maine Tennis Association and for the statewide USTA Leagues. She was responsible for the development of almost 200 USTA teams and close to 1,000 players.

The Maine Tennis Hall of Fame exists to recognize those tennis players and non players in Maine whose achievements as sportsmen or sportswomen are worthy of the highest commendation and recognition, or whose contributions as officials or individuals in a tennis-related activity have been so outstanding over a significant period of time as to justify the highest commendation and recognition. 

The Maine Tennis Hall of Fame Committee is made up by Don Atkinson , Chan Bearce , Wayne St. Peter and Ron Friedman. With questions, email Ron Friedman at friedy29@gmail.com.