Rogers, Ark. Team Win's National Crown
The women’s team from Rogers, Ark., representing the USTA Southern Section captured the national title at the USTA League 2.5 Adult National Championships held at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3.
The Rogers team defeated a team from Oakland Calif., 2-1 in the Championship match. Earlier in the day, the Rogers team defeated a team from Caguas, Puerto Rico, 2-1 in the semifinals. They advanced this far by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.
The team is captained by Beth Clark and features Kiki Hoener, Paula Kaufman, Carolyn Gilmore, and Alysia Treece and plays at the Shadow Valley Country Club in Rogers, Ark.
The top four teams in order of finish are: Southern, Northern California, Caribbean and Eastern.
Southern wild card from Mandeville, La. finishes second
The men’steam from Mandeville, La.representing the USTA Southern Section finished second at the USTA League 2.5 Adult National Championships held at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3.
The Mandeville team lost to a team from Salt Lake City, Utah, 2-1 in the Championship match. Earlier in the day, the Mandeville team defeated a team from Westfield, N.J., 2-1 in the semifinals. They advanced this far by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.
The team is captained by Kirk Wesson and features Hud Brand, Ryan Fanguy, Benjamin Kennedy, Joe Roy, and Mark Grayson.
The top four teams in order of finish are: Intermountain, Southern, Caribbean and Eastern.
Lafayette, La.'s 3.5 senior men earns third place
The 3.5 senior men's team from Lafayette, La. and representing USTA Southern defeated Texas 3-0 to earn a third place finish at the USTA 3.5 Senior National Championships in Indian Wells, Calif. The championships were played Oct. 8-10.
The team led by captain Gabe Fortier lost the semifinal match to Hawaii 2-1. Hawaii went on to win the national crown over New England.
This year’s USTA League 2.5 Adult National Championship has drawn the top 29 teams (12 men’s and 17 women’s) from throughout the nation.
Atlanta team wins 5.5 tournament
The 5.5 men's Southern team from Atlanta defeated Middle States 2-1 to win a competition against other USTA section winners.
The team that plays out of the Midtown Athletic Club overcame four match points against USTA Florida and another in their defeat of Texas. The team that also has won two city championships in the top level of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Associaiton (ALTA) downed USTA Southern California in the semis.
Using the same lineup throughout the event -- Junaid Hossain (singles), Marcus Hurtig/Mark Odgers (#1 doubles), Vanaka Gunawardhana/Brendan Zackey (#2 doubles) -- the team was undefeated. Jesse Lindsley serves as captain.
Many team members also play on the 5.0 men's team that also won the USTA League Southern Section Championships.