Five teams from across the section represented USTA Eastern in the 2018 Junior Team Tennis (JTT) National Championships, held Nov. 1-4 (for the 14 and Under divisions) and Nov. 8-11 (for the 18 and Under divisions) at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla. The Championships serve as the grand finale to the JTT season where the 16 best squads from across the country in each division converge to battle it out on the court.

At the championships, the 16 teams in each division are divided into groups of four, or flights. The teams within each flight play against each other for the right to advance to a playoff bracket. The teams with the best record in each flight advance to the National Championship Playoff to determine 1-4 place finishes. The teams who came in second at the end of flight competition advance to a separate playoff to determine 5-8 finishes, and so on.

In the 14U intermediate division, Eastern’s MatchPoint Tennis Magic (from the Southern Region) finished second in their flight and fifth overall, defeating teams from Northern California and Hawaii in their playoff bracket along the way.

In the 14U advanced division, Eastern’s Harlem Junior Tennis and Learning and New York Junior Tennis & Learning Team Huber (both from the Metro Region) came in second in their respective flights. Team Huber took sixth place overall, while Harlem finished right behind in seventh.

In the 18U intermediate division, Eastern’s LOB-sters (from the Western Region) placed third in their flight, then took out teams representing the Midwest and Florida en route to a ninth place finish.

In the 18U advanced division, Eastern’s Sportime Acers (from the Northern Region) came in third in their flight and finished twelfth overall.

Perhaps most impressively, Eastern teams took home two of the eight Sportsmanship awards at the end of the tournament. The Sportsmanship award is bestowed to one boy and one girl from each division who received the most votes from his or her opponents for displaying exemplary sportsmanship.

Antonio Marsallo, of the LOB-sters, won the Boys Sportsmanship award for the 18U intermediate division, while Ricky Dartawan, of the Sportime Acers, won the Boys Sportsmanship award for the 18U advanced division.

Flip through the gallery below to see photos of Team Eastern at the championships.