Berks County Tennis Association announces 2023 Hall of Fame class

Brian Smith, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

May 27—Former Wilson standout Cara Wirth and the Emkey family of Wyomissing comprise the 2023 Class of the Berks County Tennis Hall of Fame, the Berks County Tennis Association has announced.

Wirth and the Emkey family will be honored at the BCTA's Night of Champions Gala/Awards event on June 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Robesonia as part of the Conrad Weiser Hits for Hope Tennis Tournament.

Wirth, a 2012 Wilson grad, is the only high school player in Berks history to win four straight county singles and doubles titles, and was a four-time Berks Player of the Year. She also won two District 3 Class 3A singles titles and was a four-time PIAA qualifier. She reached the state quarterfinals as a junior and senior. Wirth went on to play collegiately at James Madison.

Dr. Ronald Emkey and Judith Emkey and their seven children — sons Christopher, Daniel, Gregory, Stephen and David, and daughters Jennifer Vogel and Denise Audi — have been an integral part of the Berks tennis community for more than 40 years.

The Emkeys helped start the Holy Name tennis program, building the courts for the Blue Jays. All seven children played for the Blue Jays — Gregory (1995) and David (2003) won Berks boys singles titles — and went on to play in college.

The family also has owned and operated Spring Valley Athletic Club in Sinking Spring, and has hosted the Ellesse Pro Tennis Challenge event at the Emkey Tennis Garden in Wyomissing since 2020. The tournament benefits the City of Reading (COR) tennis program.

Also being honored at the Night of Champions will be the recipients of the BCTA Merv Heller Memorial Scholarship: Reading High's Ashley Retana and Kutztown's Jacob Keller. The scholarships honor Heller, the former USTA president from Wyomissing.

In addition, the Berks high school Players of the Year — Conrad Weiser's Emma Perkins, picked for the third straight season; and Exeter's Teddy Snyder, selected for the second year in a row — will be recognized.

The Night of Champions is held on the penultimate night of the Hits for Hope Tennis Tournament, which runs from June 12-18 from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. each day. The tournament is the largest in the state and third largest on the East Coast. Over the last 12 years, it has averaged between 230-300 players per year.

This year's event will benefit the Gootter-Jensen Foundation, the aim of which is to defeat sudden cardiac arrest through increased awareness, education, scientific research and the distribution of AEDs.