MENU

Staff

Rome Tennis Center: 706.236.4490

COLT GASTON
General Manager


Colt is from Rome, Georgia.  He played tennis at Rome High School before playing collegiately at Louisiana State University where he was an All-American and SEC-Indoor Doubles Champion for the Tigers.  After graduating from LSU, Colt went on to play professionally where we ranked among the top 500 ATP.   Colt has been working with juniors for over 15 years and has an expertise in player development.  He has worked with 2 top 100 players ATP/WTA and helped over 30 kids obtain college scholarships.  Colt is joining us from the University of Missouri where he was the Head Women’s Tennis Coach for the past 4 years and also helped the Tigers obtain their highest ranking in program history.  Colt also helped oversee the Mizzou Tennis Complex that has over 400 members.

 

STARLA RODEN
Pro Shop & Membership Manager
Starla Roden brings a strong background in the sports industry after working in management for the Rome Braves for 21 years before joining the RTCBC and Rome Downtown team. Outside of work, Starla enjoys spending time with her growing family, including her husband of 29 years, Jerry, as well as daughter Ansley and her husband Kiah Huckaby, son Evan and his wife Kloe, grandchildren Asher Roden and Lainey Kate Roden, and two grand-dogs Maverick Huckaby and Ozzie Roden.

TEG LOZANO
Director of Tennis

Teg, from Pecos, TX, is coming to Rome from the Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton, CA where he was the Director of Racquets. Teg brought strong growth to tennis and pickleball during his time at Castlewood and also featured as one of Cliff Drysdale Management’s touring professionals delivering signature events all across the country. Teg enjoys riding his bike, longboarding, kayaking, and going to the beach.

 

ALEX TOROK
Director of Pickleball

Alex Torok has over a dozen years of coaching experience teaching all ages and skill levels. He is passionate about stroke development, tactics, and functional fitness. A veteran servicemember with the US Coast Guard from San Antonio, Texas, Alex also holds a masters in Sports Management from the University of Texas. He joins us from his most recent position in Northern Virginia and is dedicated to enriching the Rome Pickleball community through enhancing the member experience.

 

 

 

STEPHEN DRAKE
Pickleball Teaching Professional

Stephen began playing pickleball in 2020 and had an instant connection with the sport. Since then, he has dedicated much of his free time to learning the techniques and tactics of pickleball in order to be competitive with a wide slate of ages and skill levels. Stephen also serves as USA Pickleball Atlantic South East Region’s ambassador.

LUIS ROJAS
Tennis Teaching Professional

Born and raised in Mexico City, Luis has competed in multiple ITF and UTR events throughout North America. In addition to a strong tennis background, Luis earned a B.A. in International Relations & Business Management at Linfield University and holds an MBA from George Fox University. Outside of tennis, Luis enjoys hiking, family time and lawn games. His favorite food is Italian and he loves listening to Jazz and Blues music.

Tennis accomplishments include:

  • Linfield Men’s Team Captain (2016-2020)
  • NWC First Team All-Conference (2019)
  • NWC Conference Champion (2022)

 

CALEB MCCURRY
Tennis Instructor

 

 

 

 

 

SARIS MEJIA
Tennis Instructor

Saris a junior at Berry College where she is majoring in pre-med and Spanish. Originally from Bogota, Colombia, Saris has a history of high-level tennis training with the Colombian Tennis Federation. During her most recent year on the Women’s Berry College Team, Saris played a mix of lines 1-3 singles. In her free time, Saris enjoys dancing, listening to music and swimming.

 

 

 

 

ETHAN ELLISON
Tennis Instructor

Ethan Ellison graduated from Model High School in 2024. He will be a freshman at Berry College and will play for the Berry College men’s team in the fall of 2024. Ethan helps teach our middle school and high school prep classes along with our middle school and high school tennis camps.

 

 

 

 

CADE HENDERSON
Tennis Instructor

Cade Henderson is going into his junior year at Armuchee High School. He has played line 1 for the Armuchee High School Boys’ Team the past 2 years. Cade helps out in teaching Junior summer camps as well as classes.

 

 

 

 

CLUBHOUSE STAFF

KYLE WILLIAMS

Front Desk Attendant

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEBRA AULT-BUTENKO
Front Desk Attendant