Eastern 4.0 team claims championship title at 2025 USTA League National Championships

What’s cooler than winning one USTA League national event? Winning two USTA League national events. 

Fresh off co-captaining her 4.0/3.5/3.0 tri-level team to victory at the Tom Fey Tri-Level National Invitational earlier in the spring, Megumi Smillie helped lead her 40 & Over 4.0 Women’s squad—based out of Ridgewood, N.J.—to a national title during the second week of action at the 2025 USTA League National Championships, held October 17-19 at the Scottsdale Ranch Park Tennis Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

“It’s an incredible and almost unbelievable achievement,” Smillie said of her second triumph in six months. “At the same time, I truly believe this team earned it. We worked tirelessly together. It feels like we accomplished something most people only dream about.”

And they did it in Jannik Sinner-esque fashion, no less. Through the round robin stage of the tournament, the Eastern group claimed 18 of 20 courts to easily advance to the semifinals, collecting emphatic wins over contingents from USTA Florida, home favorites USTA Southwest, USTA Middle States and USTA Hawaii. Up against both Florida and Hawaii, they recorded immaculate 5-0 victories. (The 40 & Over 4.0 Women’s division plays one singles court and four doubles courts per match.) Even when they lost, their opponents were made to work; the two courts the Eastern squad did surrender extended to third-set match tiebreaks.

“They delivered an incredible performance, giving everything they had and playing completely without fear,” Smillie said of Clark and Shiro. “Even after losing the first set and falling behind in the second, they refused to back down. They fought their way back, forced a tiebreak, and then went on to win the third-set tiebreak. It was an absolutely unforgettable moment. Pure grit, pure heart, and one of the most thrilling matches I’ve ever witnessed.”

After the dramatic semifinal victory, the Eastern contingent again displayed the dominance that propelled them to the top of the leaderboard earlier in the tournament. Battling athletes from USTA Southern, Smillie and Shiokawa dropped just one game against their opponents, as did singles player Erin Murphy in her court, and Wendy Boiardi and Susan Lee notched a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 win to ensure that the championship hardware would fly back to New Jersey.

“Winning at this level was truly a dream come true,” Smillie said. “I’m beyond grateful to have earned two national championship titles in 2025! [But] it just felt amazing to be there with my teammates, all of us sharing the same goal, the same drive.”

As well as a couple beverages.

“The most fun part for me was celebrating,” Smillie added. “Those drinks tasted extra good after winning!”

Smillie and co. weren’t the only players from the Garden State claiming a spot on the podium during Week 2 of USTA League National Championships. Around 350 miles away at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California, Eastern’s 40 & Over 3.0 Men’s squad—from Westfield, N.J.—finished as runners-up in their own division. Like their counterparts in Scottsdale, the men’s crew also notched a 4-0 record to earn a spot in the semifinals. The secret to their success?

“Hitting high balls the other team didn’t like, right into the brilliant sun,” remarked captain Ed Poole.

Of course, strategy only accounted for part of the equation. Poole additionally noted that he fielded an experienced team prepared to meet the moment and rise to the occasion.

“Don Augylius, Marc Benou and Leo Rinaldi had been to National events with me in the last few years,” he said. “[In the past,] they may have taken on a lesser role. This time, I needed them, and they delivered. I was very proud of their development.”

Others, too, displayed MVP moments. Vin Behl and Richie Jain went undefeated the entire weekend, while Mario Castro Martinez recorded several signature wins in singles, including in the semifinal against USTA Texas. In the end, Poole’s players barely missed out on claiming the title, losing 2-3 to strong competition from USTA Pacific Northwest. Still, the captain was extremely proud of how far they had come. This was a team, he explained, that wasn’t even supposed to make it to Nationals.

“Over the summer, we lost our first match at USTA Eastern League Sectional Championships,” he recalled. “It wasn’t close. We were left for dead. But a miscue by the team that beat us gave us a sliver of hope to advance. We rallied and won a chance to advance on the very last court [we] contested. Leo and Andre Sutrisno came back in three sets to secure our spot at nationals. But the team that lost our opening round sectional match and the team that finished second nationally have little in common, except the names. These guys have a very strong constitution and great character. They are very fine competitors. I’m very honored to have captained and watched their growth.”