INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – A few games can make all the difference, especially at the 2012 USTA League 4.0 Senior National Championship being played this weekend at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
In Flight 6, Middle States, Texas and Pacific Northwest finished in a three-way tie for first place with 2-1 records. The Middle States team from York, Pa. advanced to Sunday’s semifinals by winning the fourth tie-breaking procedure – fewest total games lost.
Middle States lost 79 games, while Texas lost 84 games and Pacific Northwest dropped 89 games.
The three-way tie for first place in Flight 6 occurred when Middle Sates defeated previously-unbeaten Texas, 2-1 and Pacific Northwest slipped past Northern, 2-1 in the final round of flight play.
"It was amazingly close. It was a three-way tie and it came down to the last tiebreaker – games. Sets and everything else was even," said Middle States team Captain Randy Harbaugh.
"This is a big win for us. They (teammates) were all elated," he added. "We knew we had a lot of good players and if we played our game, we felt we could do well."
Sunday’s semifinals will begin at 7:30 a.m. (PDT), followed by the championship finals and 3rd/4th place matches.
WOMEN’S FLIGHT STANDINGS
Flight 1
Southwest (El Paso, Texas) (3-0)
Southern (Fort Smith, Ark.) (3-0)
Northern California (Los Gatos, Calif.) (2-2)
Mid-Atlantic (Washington D.C.) (1-3)
Caribbean (San Juan, P.R.) (0-4)
Flight 2
Southern California (Rancho Mirage, Calif.) (3-0)
Midwest (Chicago, Ill.) (2-1)
Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Wash.) (1-2)
Intermountain (Carbondale, Colo.) (0-3)
Flight 3
Middle States (Wilmington, Del.) (2-1)
Texas (Austin, Texas) (2-1)
Florida (Melbourne, Fla.) (2-1)
Northern (Minneapolis, Minn.) (0-3)
Flight 4
Missouri Valley (St. Louis, Mo.) (3-0)
Eastern (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)(2-1)
New England (Warwick, R.I.)(1-2)
Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii) (0-3)
MEN’S FLIGHT STANDINGS
Flight 5
Southern (Huntersville, N.C.) (3-0)
Caribbean (San Juan, P.R.) (3-0)
Mid-Atlantic (Virginia Beach, Va.) (1-2)
Eastern (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) (1-3)
Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii) (0-3)
Flight 6
Middle States (York, Pa.) (2-1)
Texas (Austin, Texas) (2-1)
Pacific Northwest (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho) (2-1)
Northern (Minneapolis, Minn.) (0-3)
Flight 7
Missouri Valley (Tulsa, Okla.) (3-0)
Northern California (Mountain View, Calif.) (1-2)
Southwest (Phoenix, Ariz.) (1-2)
Southern California (Pasadena, Calif.) (1-2)
Flight 8
Florida (Melbourne, Fla.) (3-0)
Midwest (Chicago, Ill.) (2-1)
New England (Amherst, Mass.) (1-2)
Intermountain (Boise, Idaho) (0-3)