Meet Our Racquet Pros

 

Luis_smLuis Quintero - Director of Racquet Sports 
Luis is ranked as an Elite Professional in the United States Professional Tennis Association and as a Pickleball and Paddle Tennis Professional in the Professional Tennis Registry.
As a youth, Luis was consistently ranked in the Top Ten during his Junior Tennis career in Colombia from age 8 to18. He was also ranked in the top 30 in South America at the age of 15 and played professional tournaments before moving to the United States. Luis started his college career at Shorter University in Georgia, where he qualified two consecutive years for nationals, was captain of the team and ended up being ranked #31 in singles and #13 in doubles nationally. That year, Luis won the coveted "The Champion of Character Award" by the NAIA.
After two years in Georgia he moved to New York City, where he graduated from Hunter College in 2013 with a Film and Media Studies degree. In his first tennis season at Hunter, he won the Conference Championship and was named Most Valuable Player. In 2012, Luis was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
As a coach and manager, Luis finished another successful season as Tennis Director at the New Canaan Racquet Club in Connecticut. Luis has led a team of professionals during a restructuring process that has elevated the club to new standards. The Club started a new 10&Under protocol and teaching system which has increased the junior participation and formed a High-Performance program with college level players. The adult USTA teams have almost doubled, the club hosts more USTA and UTR tournaments, and they’ve started a new Pickleball program. Luis worked for 9 Summers at the New Canaan Field Club, one of the biggest tennis programs in the Northeast. At this seasonal club, he served as Men’s Coordinator, Women’s Coordinator, and Events Coordinator, working his way up to Assistant Director and Junior Coordinator.
Luis has extensive experience teaching both adults and children. He has also coached in high performance programs in Bogota, Colombia, Camp Starlight in New York, Nike Tennis Camp in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Kings Highway Tennis Club in Darien, Connecticut.
Summers at Buck Hill Falls is a superb experience for me. Working at such an amazing property with such a welcoming and joyful community led us to have memorable and successful year of Racquet Sports. I am looking forward to working again with the professional and committed staff we have. I am more motivated than last year to continue improving professionally and as an individual.” – Luis Quintero 
Isadora Oliveira – Assistant ProfessionalIsadora has been playing tennis for 18 years. She started playing tournaments when she was 5 years old. During her junior career in Brazil, she was ranked #1 for two consecutive years. She also represented her city, Sao Paulo, in the national tournaments for four years.
Isadora came to the United States in 2020 to study Business Administration at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, FL. During her sophomore year at HCC, she was undefeated in the season. She was the NJCAA conference singles and doubles champion, national singles champion, and national doubles runner-up. In 2021 she transferred to Middle Georgia State University, where she was the captain of the women’s tennis team and was playing #3 singles and #1 doubles. Isadora was the only undefeated singles player in her 2023 conference and got the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the second year in a row. She recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Marketing. 
As a coach, she has been working with high school players and assisting in the tennis clinics at Middle Georgia State University. She also worked at the HCC Tennis Center as a Pro Shop attendant and assistant coach in tennis and pickleball.
Isadora is returning to Buck Hill Falls after a successful first year as one of the Adult assistant coordinators. “I enjoyed my first year in Buck Hill Falls, it was a great experience both in and outside the tennis courts. I loved the high energy each member brings to the club, and I was so happy for being part of the program. I am very excited and looking forward to seeing everyone again. I am sure we will have a fantastic Summer once again!” -Isadora
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Irene_4Irene Recuenco – Assistant ProfessionalIrene began her tennis career in Spain, where she won state tournaments at age 15 and 16, and was ranked in Top 100 nationally during her junior tennis career before moving to the United States.
Irene started her college career at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville (Missouri), where she achieved considerable mentions both as a tennis player and as a student. During her first year at Northwest, she was ranked #15 in the D2 women’s national ranking. She qualified for nationals during her second year and advanced to the quarterfinals in Spring 2019. Irene ended up ranked #6 in the nation for singles and she got the “All-American” mention by NCAA. 
After two years at Northwest Missouri State University, she transferred to the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida, where she graduated with a degree in Exercise Science. Covid-19 interfered with playing her first season's scheduled matches. In the 2021 season, she lost the final of the conference championship but still advanced to the regional’s championship.
As a coach and manager, Irene has worked several summers back home at Bellreguard Tennis Club in Spain. There Irene led different clinics and tournaments. Adult clinics were offered on weekends, while junior players attended summer camp and private lessons. The club also hosted state tournaments during the summer. In 2020, she worked at Oliva Tennis Club, also in Spain, where she was responsible for private lessons, clinics, and the Junior summer camp. The club started a new under-12 teaching program, which brought a lot of juniors to the club and formed a high-quality group of players.
This will be Irene’s third summer at Buck Hill Falls.  She will keep bringing all her hard work, self-discipline, professionalism, and character to grow the Buck Hill Falls Racquet Sports program. Her excellence and dedication were highly noted by the Buck Hill Falls Community. We are thrilled to have her back! 
“During my two seasons at Buck Hill Tennis, I’ve loved the environment created by the community, and how they contributed to the growth of the program, and also to my personal growth. I am excited and looking forward to seeing everyone again!"  -Irene 
Juan Sebastian Zabala – Assistant ProfessionalJ. Sebastian Zabala started to play tennis at the age of 5 in Ecuador, his home country. Sebastian was coached by the former Roland Garros winner, Andres Gomez, and also by current Ecuador’s Davis Cup Captain, Raul Viver. Sebastian represented Ecuador and South America in the World Tennis Cup in 2016 and later achieved the Bronze Medal in the South American Cup in 2016. He led the Ecuadorian team as the No. 1 player in the World Junior Tennis Championship event, held in Prostejov, Czech Republic. During his junior career, he was able to win many ITF Events in singles and doubles. Zabala reached as high as No. 79 in the junior ITF (International Tennis Federation) rankings and No. 1 in the Ecuadorian National ranking from the ages of 10 to 18.  He also got his first ATP points in 2019 making the quarterfinals in a M15 ITF Professional event.Sebastian started his college career at East Tennessee State University, pursuing a business major. In his first season, he was crowned champion of the SoCon conference in 2021. In the same year, Sebastian was named to the SoCon All-Freshman squad and, to the SoCon Honor Roll, also awarded the SoCon Commissioner’s Medal, and tabbed as an ITA Scholar-Athlete. In 2022, Sebastian earned a spot on the All-SoCon Doubles First Team and the Singles Second Team. He was named February SoCon Player of the Month, posting the best singles record on the team with a 24-6 mark, including 16-1 in dual matches to lead the Buccaneers to a 16-match winning streak and SoCon championship tournament. After two seasons at ETSU, Sebastian decided to transfer to a top 40 D1 tennis program at the University of Memphis. “There is no better place to be working than Buck Hill Falls. I am thrilled to come back and have another successful summer. I can´t wait to see everyone again and continue to help in the growth of the Racquet Sports Program. “ – Juan Sebastian Zabala 


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Itay

Itay Feigin - Assistant Professional 
Itay started to play tennis in his hometown, Ashdod, Israel, at the age of 5. As a kid, both tennis and swimming were his sports. But at the age of 10, he decided to focus only on tennis. That proved to be a wise decision, as Itay has been ranked among the top players of his country throughout his entire junior career.
At the age of 12, Itay was chosen to represent his country in the European Tennis Championship, held in the Czech Republic. During his junior years, Itay competed in the Israeli tennis tour, as well as the TE tour and the ITF tour, gaining a lot of experience and success, and visiting different countries. At the age of 14, he reached a career-high ranking of #142 in the U14 Tennis European tour.
Itay decided to combine his tennis journey and his education goals of studying finance and economics. He joined the men's tennis team of New Mexico State University, a D1 school competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Itay quickly felt at home at NMSU, as he found a great tennis program and school.
As a coach, Itay has gained experience while teaching at his tennis club in Tel Aviv, Israel. Over the course of two years, he has conducted tennis lessons for adults and kids of all levels, sharing the knowledge he has gained throughout the years.
"I am looking forward to bringing my work ethic, dedication, and commitment to the tennis program of Buck Hill Falls."  - Itay