ABOUT US

Wes Atiyeh, Director

Wes Atiyeh is a licensed real estate broker and has been a REALTOR and residential
specialist in the Richmond area for more than 25 years. Wes is a graduate of The
Collegiate School and the University of South Carolina, in Marketing and
Management and he earned his Masters degree from the University of Richmond in
Sports Management. Before settling down in Richmond, Wes worked in the
National Football League for the Atlanta Falcons.
For 20 years, Wes coached the Varsity Boys and Girls Tennis Teams and was part of
many girls LIS and State titles along with the first of five in a row Prep League titles
in school history for the boy's teams.

Wes has been the driving force for the creation of the foundation and has long
envisioned hosting local tournaments and events to help the greater Richmond
tennis community.  Something his mother did back in the 70's and 80's for the Mid

Atlantic Lawn Tennis Association.  

When the Williams-Bollettieri Tennis Center on the campus of the Collegiate School
opened in 2010, the dream became more viable. Meeting and working with Houston
Barrick, the current Head Men’s Tennis Coach at the University of Richmond, the
dream became a reality. In October 2018, the first annual Spider Invitational took
place. The tournament was well received by college coaches, players and the
spectators that took part. In its first year, the tournament hosted fourteen Divison-1
collegiate teams, with eighty-eight players participating from across the region.

Houston Barrick, Tournament Director

Houston is currently in his 2nd  year as Head Men’s Coach at the University of Richmond.
In his first season at the helm, the spiders made the semi-finals of the A-10 tournament
before falling to cross-town rival VCU. In addition, three of his players were named to
the All-A-10 team. Prior to being named the coach at UR, Houston was the Associate
Head Coach at VCU for five seasons. During his time with the Rams, Barrick saw VCU
reach four Atlantic 10 Championship matches, and capture the 2017 A-10 title.
 
Houston’s first experience in the Commonwealth came as a player where he played for
the University of Virginia. Barrick helped the Cavaliers to three National Indoor team
championships during his four years in Charlottesville. A four-year starter at Virginia,
Barrick was a two-time team captain and posted a 60-0 record in the ACC over his four
seasons. He played as high as No. 1 in both singles and doubles at UVA and helped the
Cavaliers to a 140-6 record during his career. Individually, Barrick finished his time at
UVA with a singles record of 102-31 and doubles record of 115-34. A two-time NCAA All-
Tournament Team selection, he was also named the 2010 ACC Tournament MVP and
was selected to the All-ACC first team following his senior season. Barrick ranked as high
as No. 2 in doubles competition and No. 50 in singles. An outstanding student, he was
also a member of the All-ACC Academic Team in 2009 and 2010.