Quick Links: Remembering Central Indiana Icons | Players in the Spotlight | Play Opportunities
This year has started off with a flurry of activity of all kinds at USTA Central Indiana! For those of you who are not already aware, we moved offices in March. We are now located at a nice office on East 98th Street, just off the northbound side of Keystone Avenue.
Our new address is:
USTA Central Indiana
3021 E 98th St, Suite 105
Carmel, Indiana 46280
Our phone numbers and other contact information remain the same. When COVID allows for free movement again, we would encourage you to stop by and see the new space.
There are also significant staff changes at our offices. After 10 years, Toby Gaynor accepted a position at the Midwest Section as the Section Adult League Coordinator. Karen Griffiths has taken on the District Adult League Coordinator role for Central Indiana. Karen and Toby have worked closely for much of the time Toby was DLC. Please join me in wishing them both the best in their new positions. I am confident they will both have continued success in these roles.
In addition, we have hired Cathy Rubey, long-time Healthplex pro and former high school coach for Cardinal Ritter, to be our Junior Coordinator. Cathy will be working with our providers that run youth programming and coordinating all of our JTT leagues.
Lastly, Jaxon Montague, USTA Central Indiana TSR, resigned from the position this month. We will be discussing the options for filling this role with the Midwest Section and I will be updating you in the future regarding this position. If you were working with Jaxon on any projects, please feel free to reach out to me regarding the next steps or status. We wish Jaxon well in all of his upcoming endeavors.
I am sad to report that April was filled with great sadness in the Central Indiana Tennis community.
Skip Trapp passed away suddenly last month. He was an integral part of our tennis family in Central Indiana. He was a part-time pro at Evansville tennis Center and the Rolling Hills Country Club. Skip was also the High School and Middle School coach at Harrison High School and a USTA official. Skip was well known to tournament players and parents. He especially enjoyed officiating for the younger divisions, taking the opportunity to teach our young players about sportsmanship and the rules of the game.
Skip is survived by his two children, Henry and Lucy, his wife of 14 years, Amy, and his parents and two sisters. A scholarship fund has been established for his children at Old National Bank. Please join us in honoring Skip and supporting this fund.
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of USTA Central Indiana legend, Ed Brune. Ed has been a tennis institution in the Indianapolis area since 1965 when he began his tenure as IRC Tennis Director. For more than 50 years, Ed was the club's Director, an active teaching pro and a high-performance coach. He also served as a USTA Central Indiana Board President and remained active in our organization as a member of the Past Presidents Committee
Ed's passion for tennis spanned his lifetime. Ed is survived by his wife Jane, three children, Doug, Tom and Kate and nine grandchildren. A Memorial Tennis Scholarship Fund has been established in Ed’s name. To donate to the fund, click here.
Lucy Loy and Sophie Hermann were the Champion and finalist, respectively in the Girls 18s. Emma Gu and Kathryn Wilson were the Champion and finalist, respectively, in the Girls 16s.
Other Junior Champions this spring include the Central Indiana World Team Tennis Team. They completed and won at the section event in March. Team members are Lucy Loy, Jones McNamar, Eli Mercer, Emma Brune, Aidan William and Lalia Anthony. They advanced to the WTT National Championships and came home as tournament Champions! Congratulations to this outstanding team!
Also, our JTT Slam winners will be playing locally in July at the Junior Team Tennis Sectionals. In the 18 & U Intermediates, Team Dziadosz will represent Central Indiana and in the 14 & U Intermediates, it will be 40 Love (Team Bergen).
We also had several Adult Players representing Central Indiana in the national spotlight at the NTRP National Championships in 2021. The Womens 3.5 Doubles team of Susan Akers and Marianne Vorhees, the 4.0 Doubles Champions Heidi Leonard and Angela Ostrowski, 3.5 Doubles Champions, Mark Boggs and Mike Daniels and, 4.5 Men’s winner, Craig Bottorf won their Sectional events and went on to NTRP Nationals in March.
Central Indiana also had three representatives in the USTA Midwest Combo Sectional. 8.5 men in addition to 6.5 and 7.5 women took part in the competition. Our 7.5 women lead by Lisamaria Burkhard out of Carmel Racquet Club took second place.
A series of NTRP tournaments began in April. Spread throughout the district, this will be the first dedicated series of events in Central Indiana. 3.0 – 4.0 players are the focus using a compass draw, limited entries per event, and a short time commitment (less than 4 hours per division.) Stops include Evansville, Pendleton, Indianapolis, and Lafayette. For a full listing, see Central Indiana’s Play Tennis tournament page here.
Adult League registrations continue to be strong. Make sure you check our website often for the division offerings. Also, in June, we will be registering teams for a Tri Level Flash League. This fun team format will be played over just two weekends in June and two in July. Watch for more information coming soon.
We are looking for a great summer season and the remainder of 2021. Hope to see you on the courts.
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