The final four USTA National League champions were crowned on Sunday at the USTA National Campus as the Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/7.0/8.0/9.0 Championships came to a conclusion. While Southern came into the day with a chance to take home all four divisional crowns, it was actually Missouri Valley which won multiple titles (8.0 and 9.0) on the day. The Caribbean Section came away with the 6.0 team trophy while Southern earned the win in the 7.0 competition.

Despite being the only of the four 6.0 semifinalist to enter the day with a loss, Pacific Northwest (Eastside Tennis Center – Kirkland, Wash.) upset top seed Southern (Cedar Bluff Racquet Club – Knoxville, Tenn.) 2-1 to advance to the final. Pacific Northwest used straight-set victories by Zheng Mu and Michele Lalime (6-4, 6-2) on court one along with Rajesh Singh and Tracy Qi (6-3, 7-5) on court three to move on. In the other semifinal, Caribbean (Independent – Puerto Rico) had little trouble dispatching Northern (Life Time Fitness-Bloomington South – Bloomington, Minn.) by a 2-1 margin. The Caribbean squad lost just seven games in the two positions where they prevailed, with Nestor Centeno and Sylvia Lopez teaming up at line two for a 6-2, 6-1 win to go along with Ana Campoo and Hendzon Martinez-Rodriguez’s 6-2, 6-2 effort at line three.

Caribbean was intent on giving Pacific Northwest any hope of springing another upset on the day. The dominating duos from the semifinals produced once again. Centeno and Lopez raced through the matchup at the top spot 6-1, 6-1; Martinez-Rodriguez and Campoo were also in control of court two right away, winning 6-2, 6-2. At the third spot, Arnaldo Cruz and Araceli Medina put the finishing touches on an impressive sweep by surviving in a match tiebreak, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0. Southern bested Northern, two victories to one, to claim third.

Top-seeded Hawaii Pacific (Keehi Lagoon – Honolulu) breezed past Caribbean (Independent – Puerto Rico) on courts one and two to move into the 7.0 championship dual. Jeremy McQuat and Mary Ann Esteban came through 6-2, 6-4 at line one; Donald Geil and Suzanne Kariya-Ramos prevailed 6-2, 6-2 in the second position. Joining Hawaii Pacific was Southern (Germantown Country Club – Memphis, Tenn.) after they bested Texas (The Club at Sonterra – San Antonio) in a team match that featured three lopsided contests. It was Texas claiming the first position 6-0, 6-2, but Southern’s Jeff Yearwood and Paula Potts countered by taking line two without dropping a game; Stephen Christides and Sonya Dunn delivered the clinching 6-0, 6-4 result on court three.

A tightly-contested 2-1 final went the way of Southern. The squad out of Memphis claimed all three opening frames before Hawaii made a push to turn the tables late in the dual. Yearwood and Potts got through in straight sets on court one, but it was anything but easy, with the set scores being 6-4 and 7-6. Yearwood and Christides were extended to 7-5 in their first set on court two, but managed to win that and ride the momentum to a comprehensive 6-1 second set. The Hawaii Pacific tandem of McQuat and Esteban prevented the shutout by rallying on court three, 3-6, 6-0, 1-0. Caribbean posted a sweep of Texas to earn a third-place finish.

Missouri Valley started their quest for the 8.0 crown with a 2-1 defeat of Southern (City of Benton – Benton, Ark.) in the semifinal round. Dennis Lonzarich and Leslie Shipp took care of the top spot 6-2, 6-2 while Brandon Willett and Dawn Ver Steeg hung on to the matchup on court three 6-1, 6-4. Missouri Valley retired on court two with the score standing at 2-6, 5-3. The other semifinal saw Southern California (Whittier College Richard Ettinger Tennis Center – Whittier) post a 3-0 sweep over Intermountain (Independent – Nevada). Southern California duos got off to quick starts, taking all three first sets. Khin Aye and Vincent Nguyen took care of court one 6-1, 6-2; Joel Tabura and Ann Pham bested their opponents at the second spot 6-1, 6-4. At line three, Woodie Tran and Levinhduc Nguyen capped off the sweep 6-3, 3-6, 1-0. It was the lone sweep amongst all semifinal duals.

Identical score lines on courts one and two powered Missouri Valley to the divisional title over Southern California. A shakeup to the Missouri Valley lineup paid off, as Justin Despotovich and Kathryn Lindsey slid up to the top position where they won 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, the new pairing of Willett and Leslie Shipp produced a victory by the same margin to clinch the crown. Tran and Levinhduc Nguyen took court three for Southern California, putting the final score at 2-1 in favor of Missouri Valley.

In one of the most competitive semifinal encounters, Missouri Valley (Lafortune Tennis Center – Tulsa, Okla.) held off Southern (Capitano’s Tennis & Athletic Center – Metairie, La.) by a 2-1 final score line to advance to the 9.0 final. Southern battled their way to a win at the top spot – 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 – but they let a lead slip away on court two as Missouri Valley’s Jennifer DeSpain and Andy Brown rallied 3-6, 6-3, 1-0. It was much easier for Kelly Pearson and Doug Stone at line three, where they prevailed 6-2, 6-2. The all-California clash in the other semifinal also could have gone either way. Each team cruised at one spot, with Northern California’s Yuko Akagi and Ranjit Narayanan turning in a 6-1, 6-1 effort on court two and Southern California claimed line three 6-2, 6-1. On the decisive court, Northern California’s Silvana Gold and Myles Uyema failed to close out the top spot in straight sets but steadied themselves in the match tiebreak for the 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 triumph.

In the final, Missouri Valley was once again in a hole after Northern California took the first sets at lines two and three. Akagi and Narayanan hung on to win on court two by a 6-2, 6-4 margin; however, Gold and Uyema could not put away their opponents at the third spot. Meanwhile, Missouri Valley’s Yolande Platvoet and Richard Alexander handled line one 6-1, 6-4. That result put all the focus on the match tiebreak at line three, where Pearson and Stone took advantage of Gold and Uyema’s missed opportunities to capture the clincher for their team, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0. Southern was able to rebound in the third-place playoff, defeating Southern California 2-1.

A full listing of all team results in each division can be found at the following links: 6.0 division; 7.0 division; 8.0 division; 9.0 division.

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 players in a few parts of the country in its first year to more than 900,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

USTA League was established to provide adult recreational players throughout the country with the opportunity to compete against players of similar ability levels. Players participate on teams in a league format, which is administered by the USTA through its 17 sections. The league groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels, ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). USTA League is open to any USTA member 18 years of age or older.

For more information on the 2018 USTA League National Championships, click here.

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

SEMIFINALS

6.0 Division

Pacific Northwest def. Southern 2-1

Caribbean def. Northern 2-1

7.0 Division

Hawaii Pacific def. Caribbean 2-1

Southern def. Texas 2-1

8.0 Division

Missouri Valley def. Southern 2-1

Southern California def. Intermountain 3-0

9.0 Division

Missouri Valley def. Southern 2-1

Northern California def. Southern California 2-1

FINALS/THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFFS

6.0 Division

Caribbean def. Pacific Northwest 3-0

Southern def. Northern 2-1

7.0 Division

Southern def. Hawaii 2-1

Caribbean def. Texas 3-0

8.0 Division

Missouri Valley def. Southern California 2-1

Intermountain def. Southern 2-1

9.0 Division

Missouri Valley def. Northern California 2-1

Southern def. Southern California 2-1