Midwest

Awards



Each year the USTA Midwest section enjoys selecting its award winners; individuals and organizations dedicated to growing, developing and servicing the sport of tennis at every level of the game.

 

We are thrilled to see more and more people participating in tennis, and we're grateful to our honorees who will receive these awards. It is their contributions that make our sport more fun and accessible to everyone.

 

Any individual may nominate a Midwest Section member or organization for an award. Nominations are closed at this time.

 

Midwest Awards:

 

Cap Leighton – Teaching Professional Award

This award recognizes the teaching professional who contributes to tennis in his or her community beyond his or her livelihood. This person contributes freely to promote involvement in tennis for players of all levels and ages and assists in developing tennis programs and participation in these programs.

 

Frank Dowling – Outstanding Umpire Award

This award recognizes a person who has displayed outstanding attributes as an umpire in the USTA/Midwest Section for at least five (5) years.


League Volunteer Award

This award recognizes the USTA League Volunteer that has provided leadership and has made a significant contribution to the growth and enhancement of USTA League play within their District and the USTA/Midwest Section. 

 

Wallace Holzman – Junior Male Player Award

This award recognizes the outstanding 16 or 18 and under age-division male player for the highest standards of tennis accomplishments, character, conduct, sportsmanship and amateurism.

 

Helen Shockley – Junior Female Player Award

This award recognizes the outstanding 16 or 18 and under age-division female player for the highest standards of tennis accomplishments, character, conduct, sportsmanship and amateurism.

 

Curt & Lynn Bender - Wheelchair Performance Award

This award recognizes a volunteer, wheelchair player, teaching professional, or coach who has made outstanding contributions and has demonstrated excellence in the sport of wheelchair tennis. This individual has shown evidence of dedication to improving, advancing, and promoting wheelchair tennis in his or her community with the USTA/Midwest Section. 

 

NJTL Chapter Award

This award recognizes the outstanding NJTL Chapter in the USTA/Midwest Section that has demonstrated continued excellence in recreational tennis. The USTA/Midwest Section NJTL of the Year criteria includes quality of on-court programming, quality of off-court programming, interaction with the local parks and recreation departments, and contributions to the local community.

 

Community Tennis Association Award

Established in 1981 and presented annually by each Section to recognize outstanding service by a Community Tennis Association to its members as well as local community and to the game of tennis.

 

Organization of the Year Award

Established in 1981 and presented annually by each Section to recognize outstanding service by a Member Organization its members and to the game of tennis.

 

Mel Bergman – Section Diamond Service Award

The USTA/Midwest Section's most prestigious award, the Mel Bergman Award, is given in recognition of continuous and distinguished service to the USTA/Midwest Section in an unselfish, dedicated manner for ten years or more. Mel Bergman, an extremely dedicated volunteer, was a President of the USTA/Midwest Section who served on the USTA Executive Committee.

 

Family of the Year Award

This award is presented to the family in the USTA/Midwest Section that has contributed the most toward tennis through the years. The family members are all involved in tennis serving their local area or District in promoting and perpetuating the development of tennis on all levels.

 

Stanley Malless - District Diamond Service Award

This award is presented to a volunteer for distinguished service in his or her District. The award especially honors the individual who has contributed to the development of tennis programs from the grass roots up for five (5) years or more. Stanley Malless, who has contributed a great deal to tennis from the grass roots to the national level, was President of both the USTA/Midwest Section and the USTA.


USTA/Midwest Tennis and Education Foundation – Heart for Community: The Margaret Ruemanapp MTEF District Award

This award recognizes a USTA/Midwest District Executive Director who exemplifies Margaret Ruemanpp’s innovative, inclusive spirit and her commitment to growing the game of tennis for entry-level youth players with an emphasis on serving those with disabilities, from underserved communities, and or those economically disadvantaged.

Anyone can nominate an ED, and the monetary award of $1,000 will be paid out to the District.

 


 

Some of our awards are named after prestigious players from the Midwest. Read more about their backgrounds below.

 

Cap Leighton – Teaching Professional Award

Harry A. Leighton (DOB, unknown – 1966): Harry “Cap” Leighton was a well-known Chicago Teaching Professional and player who wanted to change the level of tennis in his community. Cap coached at Senn High School and the River Forest Tennis Club in Chicago, Illinois. He was also part of the staff at DePaul University and spent time coaching at the Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana as well. Cap wrote and contributed to multiple books and literature regarding tennis instruction in the 1940s and 1950s. Coach Leighton developed instructions for beginners and was an earlier adopter of age-based instruction and competition. Cap divided different age groups (15 to 18-and under) to junior players so they can compete in their own level by increasing three groups (14, 16, and 18 and under). This gave the junior players a better opportunity to play against their own size.

 

Helen Shockley – Junior Female Player Award

Helen (nee Fulton) Shockley (1914 – 1983): Helen Shockley won the National Girls' 18 Singles title in 1932 and was ranked number one in the country for Girls 18s. She also won the Canadian National Junior Championship. In 1936, she was ranked sixteenth in the United States. Helen was a 1937 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Music, and later became known as Chicago's "First Lady of Tennis.” She organized events in the Chicago-area for more than 40 years and is responsible for the feed-in consolation that she developed and introduced in 1962; she also developed the Chicago Junior Excellence Programs. Shockley served as the Executive Director of the Chicago District Tennis Association and served on several United States Tennis Association committees. She was inducted into the Chicago Hall of Fame in 2004.

 

Bender Family – Performance Wheelchair Award

Lynn Bender (1971 – ) and Curt Bender (1962 – ): Lynn and Curt Bender from Western Michigan have been passionate volunteers with the USTA since 2000. Lynn embraced the wheelchair tennis coaching and teaching components and then met her husband, Curt. Curt Bender has been a wheelchair tennis athlete and advocate since 1992. Curt and Lynn’s experience includes running the Grand Rapids program and an ITF/USTA sanctioned tournament for 13 years. Their son Jaden has grown up around the sport, active on and off the courts growing the game as a player and instructor. In 2014, the Benders won the USTA Western Michigan Family of the Year Award. The Bender Family encompasses the dedication and true desire to develop the game of wheelchair tennis. This award recognizes a volunteer, wheelchair player, teaching professional, or coach who has made outstanding contributions and has demonstrated excellence in the sport of wheelchair tennis. The recipient has shown evidence of dedication to improving, advancing, and promoting wheelchair tennis in their community with the USTA Midwest.

 

Wallace R. Holzman, Sr. – Junior Male Player Award

Wallace R. Holzman, Sr. (1903 – 1967): Born in 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wallace Holzman, Sr. was a successful business executive who was instrumental in running the Junior Davis Cup for the Western Tennis Association (now USTA Midwest) with Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Famer Tom Price. Mr. Wallace’s twin sons (Wallace “Wally” R. Holzman, Jr. and Robert Holzman) went on to become nationally ranked junior tennis players. The Holzman Family personally knew Cincinnati tennis legends Tony Trabert and Bill Talbert, and they were neighbors who frequently played tennis with Michigan’s NCAA Champion Barry McKay. Wallace R. Holzman, Sr. passed away unexpectedly in 1967. His son, Wally, presented the National Junior Davis Cup in his dad’s honor in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1968.

Skip Advertisement

Advertisement

Related Articles

  • Central Indiana
    Awards
    September 18, 2023
    Award information for Central Indiana tennis Read More
  • Visit the Awards page
    Northwestern Ohio
    Awards
    December 08, 2022
    Tennis awards for players, providers and organizations in Northwestern Ohio. Read More
  • Visit the Awards page
    Chicago
    Awards
    August 25, 2022
    The Chicago District is recognizing a number of people/organizations that have made contributions to the tennis community in the Chicagoland area. We want to hear who should be considered for these awards from you! Read More