(1964 – )
A precocious player who had a penchant for late-match heroics, Kenton Jernigan was, along with Mark Talbott, Ned Edwards and John Nimick, a member of the quartet of Americans who dominated U.S. squash in the 1980s. A Newport, Rhode Island native, he reached the finals of the Nationals in 1982 while a senior in high school; he won the National Juniors that same winter. In an unprecedented feat of dexterity, Kenton took both the National Hardball Singles titles and the brand-new National Softball titles in 1983, 1984 and 1985; he also won the National Softball Singles, the S.L. Green, in 1992. One of the most dominant intercollegiate players in history, Kenton lost just a single college match in his four years at Harvard, winning the National Intercollegiates in 1983, 1984 and 1986 and leading Harvard to four straight National team titles. Kenton played on the U.S. National Team at the 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1991 World Championships and also spent summers on the international softball tour, earning a world ranking of 65. As a hardball pro, he won the Tournament of Champions in 1991 and was ranked #2 on the hardball tour in 1989. On the left wall in doubles, Kenton teamed with Jamie Bentley to be the dominant tandem of the early 1990s, winning five Johnsons, one North American Open, two Cambridge Clubs and three Elites (the last in 1995 with Jeremy Fraiberg).
