Tennis Program

The Tennis Program at Episcopal consists of a co-ed Middle School team, a Girls Junior Varsity team, Boys Junior Varsity team, a Girls Varsity team, and a Boys Varsity team.  The teams practice at the tennis center on the Knight Campus.

The Tennis Program is led by Program Director Dede Allen, who is also the Girls Head Coach. The Boys Varsity team is coached by Jake Nash. The girls’ tennis team has won seven straight District Championships while the boys have won four of the last five championships.

About the Coaches

Dede Allen has been coaching for more than twenty years, nine of them at Episcopal. She is currently serving as the tennis program director and head girls varsity coach.  In her time at ESJ, Coach Allen has won six district championships in a row, two regional championships, and made it to states twice. She was the recipient of the John Ryan Coach of the Year Award.  Before joining the Eagles, Coach Allen served as the coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. While there, she finished second in the ACC and received the ACC Coach of the Year award. Coach Allen attended the University of Missouri where she played in the “one” spot in singles and doubles.  Coach Allen also spends time as a training coach for the USTA U10 Tennis program.

Jake Nash is in his 17th year as a teacher and coach at Episcopal. He coached boys and girls JV tennis together for 6 years before he switched to just the JV Boys coach. This will be his fourth year as head coach and program director of the Varsity Boys team.  They are coming off of stellar season, qualifying for the team state tournament for the first time in 4 years. He has also been part of the Cross Country and Soccer programs as both a head coach and assistant.