Eastern Team Wins Third at Nationals

Ultimately, they capitalized on the opportunity, winning all three of their matches (one singles and two doubles) against Intermountain to finish in the top three. 

“It was amazing the way they bounced back,” Bradley said. “I thought that was great to see, the lack of dwelling and the acknowledgment of the business that still needs to be done...everybody kind of regrouped and recentered. We wanted third, and we did not want fourth. We had to shift our goals pretty quickly, but we were really mindful about it.”

Even if they weren’t used to tough losses, it wasn’t the first time the Lovebirds displayed resilience; at their League Regional Championships earlier in the summer, the team fought off two match points to ultimately survive and advance to Sectionals. That result had everyone “jumping around like kids,” said Terminel.

“If we lost one of those two points we would have been out of the whole thing,” she said. “It was very dramatic. And we overcame that. So when that happened, it was truly amazing.” 

For Bradley, the Lovebirds’ dream season—from regionals to sectionals to third in the country—is validation that he can build a team from the ground up. As a young coach, he too was making his first trip to USTA League Nationals. “I was there for a lot of these players’ first tennis clinics, or first tennis clinics in many years,” he said. “That felt really great, that I was able to help people find their game and find their rhythm.”

One of those people was Terminel, who, astoundingly, only really picked up the sport a year prior. She actually grew up playing soccer in Mexico City and continued to play socially when she moved to New York. Beginning to feel like she was outgrowing it, she started looking for a physical activity that was a little less rough on the body but that could still provide a really robust workout. She participated in some tennis clinics at the New Rochelle Racquet Club, and before long, a friend invited her to try USTA Leagues. Terminel initially joined up because she loves the thrill of competition. Ultimately, she ended up getting something much larger out of it.

“I made new friends," she said. "Not just acquaintances, but friends. We had a lot of fun in between [matches]! We had amazing dinners, great wine nights, great adventures. At Nationals, we had the chance to explore Scottsdale. [Playing Leagues] was just like what our coaches told us: ‘It's about having fun. It's competing, it's sportsmanship. It's getting better [at the game], but having fun while doing it.’”