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Rafael Vieira. Director of Tennis.

Rafael has spent the last 5 years as the Director of Tennis at Trump Colts Neck NJ.  Rafael was hired by Donald Trump to aid and coordinate a team of architects responsible for building the tennis facility at Trump National Golf Club.  Rafael laid the ground work for the necessary initiatives to start the Club’s tennis program directing all aspects of operation of the tennis program, including professional staff selection, tournaments, pro shop sales, group and private tennis lessons, men’s and women’s team practices, children’s camps, social activities and court maintenance.  In his 5 years at the helm he has grown the program to over 300 member families and developed a thriving junior program including the USTA quick start program, instruction, coaching, events, camps, tournament and sportsmanship.

Prior; Rafael was the Head Tennis Professional at Greenwich Country Club from 2007 to 2009.  At GCC Rafael oversaw all aspects of operations including tennis, platform tennis, and squash programs as well as tournaments, pro shop sales, group and private tennis lessons, men’s and women’s team practices, kids’ camps and social activities.  In regards to tournaments his passion and encouragement helped increased tournament participation by 15% year over year.

From 2004 to 2007, Rafael was the Head Tennis Professional at The Mar-a-Lago Club Palm Beach, FL. This is a prestigious club and recipient of the 1997 Outstanding Tennis Facility of the Year (by the U.S. Tennis Court and Track Builders Association) At Mar-a-Largo, Rafael continued to hone his skills as a professional teaching private and group tennis lessons to all members, organizing events including club championships, tennis Pro/Ams, interclub matches, and charity events including The Annual Donald J. Trump Pro Am Celebrity Invitational benefiting the Prostate Cancer Foundation.  This event annually raises an estimated $1.4 million. The event has grown into one of the most prestigious pro/ams in the world including players like Jimmy Connors, Aaron Krickstein Chris Evert, Bryan brothers, Todd Martin.

Rafael earned his degree at Palm Beach Atlantic University completing his studies with a 3.64 GPA while earning Doubles All-American Athlete honors, Scholar-Athlete of the year honors and Palm Beach Atlantic University Clarke Boetel Award Winner for outstanding student-athlete for the school year.

Rafael currently lives in Red Bank, NJ.

Fun Facts: Rafael is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.  Please feel free to call him Rafael or Rafa.

Nicolás Yannicelli. Assistant Director of Tennis.

Nicolas hails from La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina and has played tennis since he was 6 years old. As a junior, Nicolas was ranked in the top 20 in Argentina where he played against several top 20 ATP tennis players such as Guillermo Cañas, Mariano Puerta, and Mariano Zabaleta. Nicolas was also a very well known sparring partner for world famous Argentinean legend Guillermo Vilas.

Nicolas attended college at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in Argentina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. In May of 2000, Nicolas was awarded a full tennis scholarship from Palm Beach Atlantic University to pursue a Sport management degree, and soon after his arrival, he started teaching tennis at some of the most affluent locations in the country such as the Hamptons, Manhattan, NY and the island of Palm Beach, FL.

In 2004, Nicolas returned to Argentina to become the Director of Tennis at Campo Chico Country Club and the Director of Sports at Campo Grande Country Club where he was overseeing a tennis program with more than 350 adults and 150 children. Later in that year, Nicolas was named National Teacher by the AAT (Argentinian Tennis Association).

An interesting fact – Nicolas was the runner up of the Argentinean version of the TV show Survivor. Living for two months in the freezing mountains of Argentina, Nicolas confessed that was the most amazing experience of his lifetime.

Matthew Fawcett. Tennis Pro.

Matthew Fawcett resides in Brielle, NJ with his wife Tara and 3 year old son Braedon. Matt has 10 plus years tennis teaching experience, and is PTR and USPTA certified. In addition to Matts tennis credentials he has been playing platform tennis for 4 years and is currently top 50. Matt has worked at tennis clubs throughout New Jersey including recently, Beacon Hill Club in Summit where he was the Head Professional of Racquets teaching tennis and paddle to all ages and levels, Monmouth Beach Club in the summer of 2012 where he was the Assistant Director and ran the junior program including quick start, clinics, tournaments, along with being instrumental in hiring and training staff, as wells as increasing junior program participation by 15%. He has been a tennis professional at New Shrewsbury Racquet Club in Tinton Falls and The Atlantic Club in Wall, NJ as well. As a graduate of Rutgers University, he played tennis for their Division I Men’s Tennis Team from 2003-2007. At Rutgers, Matt was instrumental in leading his team to the Big East Tournament in 2004 and 2005. In 2006 he won the deciding match to reach the Big East finals against Notre Dame. Matt was team Captain his senior year and received numerous awards at Rutgers including; Most Valuable Player, Sportsmanship and Leadership. Matt was a top 100 nationally ranked tennis player throughout his junior years along with being #1 in New Jersey for 2 years. Matt looks forward to joining Bay Head Yacht Club alongside Rafael Vieira and Nicolas Yannicelli and helping build upon the tennis program.

Andrew Katz, tennis pro.

Andrew played 4 years at Monmouth University. He has been teaching at New Shrewsbury Racquet Club for over 10 years. Andrew also worked as an assistant pro at Monmouth Beach Bath and Tennis Club for 2 years. During the summer time, Andrew also works as an assistant pro at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck. He is married to Carolyn with two daughters Jacklyn and Natalie.