Latest News and Photos - Midwest Regional - Oklahoma City, OK

14 and under - 1st place - Allegan Netters - USTA Midwest Section

18 and under - 1st place - Lafortune - USTA Missouri Valley Section

14 and under - 2nd Place - Travis Pointe Tornados - USTA Midwest Section

18 and under - 2nd Place - Ark City/Winfield - USTA Missouri Valley Section

Sportsmanship Awards
14 and Under - Boy: Hayden Sabatka - CO Summit GTC/CACI
14 and Under - Girl: Claire Surma - Brainerd Team Tennis
18 and Under - Boy: Parker Andrus - North Canyon Swim and Tennis Club
18 and Under - Girl: Kassia Adamson - North Canyon and Tennis Club

14 and under Sportsmanship Award Winner - Girl: Claire Surma from Brainerd Team Tennis

14 and under Sportsmanship Award winner Hayden Sabatka - CO Summit GTC/CACI

18 and Under Sportsmanship Award winners Kassia Adamson (left) and Parker Andrus - both from North Canyon Swim and Tennis Club

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Saturday, October 1
Day 2 of the 2005 USA Team Tennis Midwest Regional Championships is in full swing!


Orange Crush for Katrina Relief
Team “Orange Crush” from Littleton, Co. representing the USTA Intermountain Section held a fund raiser to help offset expenses for their trip to Oklahoma City. Half of the proceeds went to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund via NRPA. The all-girls team ran a junior mixer with food, prizes and a raffle. Team members ran drills while feeding and supervising 60 players and they were able to generate over $1,000! Way to go girls! The team is comprised of seven girls, five of which are returning Regional Champions from last year's 14 Intermediate team. When Colorado did not have a 14 Advanced-Division, they opted to play the 18 Intermediate level and took second place at Sectionals.

Allegan Netters - Small Town, Big Tennis
Allegan is a small town located in the southwest part of Michigan. The team lives in a rural community with a city population of 4,900. Their school has 12 tennis courts 4 of which are lighted. Allegan doesn’t have the luxury of any indoor courts and the closest indoor facility is 40 miles away. They depend on a summer rec. program that generates over a hundred kids to play tennis during our summer break. At the top of this program is a very dedicated coach, Gary Ellis, who has taught thousands of kids the love of the game for over thirty years. Many people are amazed that this little town can create so many good teams and players. Because of Ellis’s tireless hours of work to create a model program – it has been a huge success.

The Allegan Netters have seven kids that have stuck together from the program. The kids play together, joke together and work hard on and off the court for one reason – their love of tennis! They come from several different backgrounds and have very different personalities, but when they are on the court they are very serious about winning. They showed this last year by qualifying for Regionals in Oklahoma and placing second. Now this year it is their goal to return to Oklahoma After winning our local qualifier and getting second at the sectional in Indianapolis the work has just begun to make their way to Oklahoma City.

The kids and parents thought of many ways to generate money for the trip. It’s not an easy task to generate $7,000.00 in five weeks. The kids went door to door for pop cans. They had a two day garage sale with donated items from the community. The also went door to door to solicit donations. Their efforts culminated with a car wash and a tailgate party at the High School Football game. Everyone was committed to the cause because it is such a privilege to play in Oklahoma. The kids sent special thank you notes to everyone who donated their time and money and this proved to be a great experience for everyone involved.

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Friday, September 30th
The 2005 USA Team Tennis Midwest Regional Championships are underway in Oklahoma City, OK! Teams from the Midwest, Missouri Valley, Northern and Intermountain Sections will be in competition. For detailed information about this event, click here.

First Time is a Charm!
This was Brainerd's first year participating in the Northern Section USA Team Tennis Sectional Tournament. Since they had not experienced the tournament before, they didn’t know what to expect but were extremely excited to play. After 5 matches played on day 1, they knew that every point counted and were hoping to earn enough points to compete on day 2. When the results were tallied, they had won their flight and earned the chance to compete on day 2! What a day it would be. They knew that the first place team would go to the Regional Championships, but never really put "two and two together" that if a true second place match were played, that team would also be invited to the Regional Championships. As they competed on second day of the tournament, they again focused on doing their best and playing "game by game". Brainerd would lose in the semi-final match to Moore Lake, the eventual champions. After playing for and winning their third place match, they were informed of an opportunity to play for a true second place spot. Team coach Lisa Salo stated, "I told the team that this match was the "frosting on the cake"...they had already earned a third place finish and we were so proud of our team's efforts and competition throughout the two days. I did not realize that winning the true second place match would allow us a trip to Regional Championships...I just thought we'd get a slightly bigger plaque or medal."

Each player went out for what they thought was their final USA Team Tennis match of the summer. Coach Salo told them to play as well as they could and to have fun. Lo-and-behold, when the matches concluded, they had captured second place and were on their way to the Regional Championships! Lisa stated, “We were elated and felt that our two days of tennis had been well worth every point!” After the tournament directors presented the team with their medals, they said, "...and Brainerd....we wish you the best of luck as you represent our section in the Midwest Regional Championships in Oklahoma City!" The entire team was stunned and were looking at each other in disbelief. Coach Salo asked, "What? We get to go to Oklahoma City??" The tournament directors smiled and said, "yes, or course you do!"

Brainerd Team Tennis

Player Fights Through Blisters, Heat Showing Extraordinary Team Leadership at Sectionals

Emily Nelson

Every player on the Brainerd Team Tennis team contributed to the teams second place finish, but one player really stood out in her extraordinary effort throughout the two day Northern Sectional Tournament. Emily Nelson played singles and mixed doubles for all but one of the matches. Overall, she played 15 sets of grueling, competitive tennis. Midway into the second day, she started to battle blisters on her feet. She did not want to stop playing, nor did she complain, but instead wanted to keep contributing to the team as hard as she could. Her team and spectators were so impressed by her leadership and her desire to give it her all, even though she was hurting. As she competed in the mid-day heat in her final few sets, she continued to display the same intensity and sportsmanship. They are all so proud of Emily and what she did to help the team win!