Damon Lopez-O'Dwyer is the Head Pro and Director of Tennis at Triangle Tennis Club. He has been with Hamptons Tennis Company for over 20 years and has vast experience teaching players of all ages and abilities. Damon played college tennis for Hamilton College, a member of the NESCAC conference, where he was captain of the team. Damon has worked at top tennis clubs all over New York and in the UK at the Cambridge Lawn Tennis Club in England.
Since 2005 Damon has been the Head Coach of the boys Varsity Tennis team at the Trinity School in New York––a team that has won four consecutive Ivy League titles and in 2016 won the Mayor’s Cup as the top team in the city. Damon has worked with Division I and top Division III recruits, sending players in recent years to play for college programs at Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University and Williams College. Damon spends his offseason as a freelance writer and has published articles in Inside Tennis Magazine.
Szabin Pusztay was born in Budapest, Hungary where he started playing tennis at the age of 4. He began his competitive career at the age of 9 and was ranked in the top 5 nationally in Hungary in the U12s, U14s, U16s and U18s.
Szabin was recruited to play college tennis in the United States, first for Alabama State University where he was named to the SWAC All-Tournament Team in each of his two years with the program. At Alabama State he was both a conference champion and conference runner-up. Szabin then went on to play for Newman University where he was a two-time conference finalist and named to the Heartland All-Tournament Team. In addition to his collegiate tennis accomplishments, Szabin distinguished himself as a student-athlete by making Dean’s List in all four years of his education.
As a coach, Szabin has worked with players of all ages and abilities both in Hungary and in the United States. Recently he spent a season at Future Stars in Purchase, NY where he worked with both recreational level juniors and tournament players. He has also been an assistant director of the junior development program at Brookhaven Country Club! Szabin is returning for his fourth season at Triangle Tennis Club.
Elias was born and raised in La Rioja, Argentina. He was introduced to the sport of tennis at the age of 8, and went on to play national competitions, ITF events and COSAT tournaments, reaching a ranking of #30 in Argentina and #2 in his state La Rioja (U16).
In 2015, Elias committed to William Woods University in Missouri where he helped the Owls to a program high of NAIA #5 ranking. Elias was a three-time Conference Champion (AMC Conference) and made 3 national tournament appearances with the OWLS.
Elias graduated in 2018 with a double major in Finance and Accounting. After graduation he became the tennis graduate assistant for Heidelberg University in Ohio where he coached the men’s and women’s tennis teams and earned an MBA degree.
Elias has experience working as a teaching pro at various clubs in California, Pennsylvania, and New York . In January 2021, he was hired by Newberry College in South Carolina to be the full-time assistant coach for the Men’s and Women’s tennis team. Elias is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) and a member of the intercollegiate tennis association (ITA). Elias is returning for his third season at Triangle Tennis Club.
Grégoire Balenci is from Paris, France where he started playing tennis at age 8. He quickly became a top 10 ranked junior in France in the under 14s and was coached for three years by Gregory Carraz, a former ATP #54 world ranked player.
As a NCAA Division I college tennis player for Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Grégoire has won WAC conference awards in both singles and doubles (2016-2017-2018).
As a teaching pro, Grégoire has experience working with players of all ages both in France and in the United States. He is a member of Paris’ most prestigious tennis club, Lagardère Paris Racing near Roland Garros, where he has spent several seasons teaching adults and juniors both in groups and private lessons.
Grégoire has also worked for three years at the French Open on the interview desk as a member of the tournament’s media team. Greg, is excited to be returning to Triangle Tennis Club this summer!
Riccardo is from Bari, Italy. Over the past decade, he has competed in ETA and ITF tournaments worldwide, achieving a ranking as high as 390 in the world. Throughout his tennis journey, Riccardo received coaching and training from Raffaele Gorgoglione and Valentin Florez (500 ATP) at Tennis Club Bari, Italy.
He currently represents Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee as a tennis player. Riccardo initially played for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville for two years before making the transfer to Belmont.
Riccardo is known for his outgoing nature as both a coach and player, he takes pleasure in hitting with individuals of all ages, ranging from juniors to adults. In his leisure time, he finds great enjoyment in playing Padel, golf and soccer.