Eric Emerick was a 1982 graduate of Colonie Central High School. While at Colonie High, Emerick was All-Metroland quarterback, but in 1986 suffered a devastating injury in an automobile accident. As a quadriplegic, Emerick, persevered in sports to become a tennis champion. In 1995, he won the U.S. Tennis Association National Indoor Doubles Wheelchair Championship and in the following year, he won the same championship while adding the singles championship. In 1996, he also won the U.S. Open quad singles championship. Emerick has operated a freelance desktop publishing company in his home. He was inducted into the Colonie Central High School Hall of Fame in 1997.