Midwest / Western Michigan

May News

May 08, 2023
Western Michigan Player’s Dominate at NTRP National Championships!

The results are in, and several Western Michigan players won or were finalists in the national championships!

 

Results:

18+ Doubles

  • 3.5 Men - Justin Rausch/Casey Tjalsma, Champions
  • 4.0 Men - Daniel Huan/Spencer Trnka, Champions

 

40+ Doubles

  • 4.0 Men - Ryan McFall/Steven Podgurski, Finalists

 

Congratulations to everyone that competed at the Midwest and National Championships.

National Tennis Month Events

We are celebrating National Tennis Month with lots of free or low-cost events throughout the district. Click here to find all of the events.

Wheelchair, Para Standing and Adaptive Tennis Training

More than 30 people attended a training event run by Lynn Bender and Jaime Oppenlader at Premier on April 18. Attendees learned about adaptive, wheelchair and para standing tennis through classroom and on-court lessons as well as getting hands-on experience teaching some of our players from around West Michigan.  

Grand Rapids Public Schools Middle School Program

This spring, we have more 30 kids from the Grand Rapids Public Schools out learning to play tennis. This is the first middle school program for the district and many of these kids are learning tennis for the first time. The program has grown tremendously since its start just last year. We want to thank our coaches Arlene and Brittany for running this program! 

Midwest Youth Team Tennis

We partnered with the Northwest Ottawa Recreation Authority to create a Midwest Youth Team Tennis Program for 3rd and 4th graders in the Grand Haven area. This unique “league” had teams from three different elementary schools play matches against each other in February and March. It was a great experience for these kids to join a team and play with their friends! If you would like to start one of these programs in your area, please contact Sydney at Sydney@midwest.usta.com.  

WMTA Hall of Fame Nominations Now Open!

The WMTA is now taking nominations for our Hall of Fame. This is the most prestigious award to honor the best of the best from Western Michigan. There are three categories:  Player, Coach and Distinguished Service. The induction for this year will be held in October at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.  

 

Click here for the link to nominate someone today.

Click here to see the WMTA Virtual Hall of Fame with our previous inductees.

Upcoming Tournaments

10 & Under Junior Circuit Tournaments 

Level 7 Tournaments

Level 6 Tournaments

Midwest Elevated Tournaments - Levels 3-5

National Level Tournaments - Levels 1-2

Adult Tournaments

Wheelchair Tournaments 

Para Standing/Wheelchair Tournaments

Junior Tournament Player Spotlights

Winners of the Level 7 and higher Tournaments in Western Michigan in March are below.

 

Level 6 - Premier 4/14

  • B14 - Krishaan Shah (East Lansing)
  • B16 - Callum Campbell (Grand Rapids)
  • B16 - Laksh Singh (Kalamazoo)
  • G14 - Aarna Betala (Kalamazoo)

 

Level 6 - Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness 4/22

  • B12 - Andrew Yang (Ada)
  • B16 - Sebastian Madlangbayan (Grand Rapids)
  • G12 - Evelyn Gingras (Grand Rapids)
  • G14 - Lilah Zaskowski (Rockford)

 

Level 7 - Court One Athletic Club 4/22

  • B12 - Kenneth Ge (Okemos)
  • B14 - Alexander Tsai (Okemos)
  • G14 - Erin Meiste (Allegan)

 

Level 7 - YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo 4/23

  • B12 - Kade Demaagd (Hickory Corners)
  • G14 - Emily Haskill (Holland)

 

Level 6 - Premier 4/28

  • B14 - Anish Komrisetty (East Lansing)
  • B16 - Sahaj Pakala (Okemos)
  • B18 - Sebastian Madlangbayan (Grand Rapids)
  • G12 - Angela He (Byron Center)
  • G14 - Aarna Betala (Kalamazoo)
College Bound Players from Western Michigan

We are compiling a list of all the players from Western Michigan that have signed with College Tennis Teams. See below for the updated list.

 

Alexander O’Brien - UMass Amherst

Colson Wells - University of Nebraska

Anna Vanderhyde - Holy Cross College

Olivia Kalee - Davenport University

Allison Wootton - Penn State - Harrisburg

Walter Ebert - Spring Arbor

Andrew Solarewicz - Boston College

Ethan Patrick - Hope College

Kelsey Walma - Hope College

Kamryn Dumas - Hope College

Sammy Yin - Trine University

Chloe Duckworth - Calvin University

Lucas Preston - Kalamazoo College

John Laxton - Alma College

 

Congratulations to all of these players!  And if you know of others that have signed with a team, please email Chris at Chris@wmitennis.com, and we will add them to the list!

District Team Cup: June 16-18

Western Michigan is once again looking for our best players to compete against the other districts in the Midwest! This year the 18s is co-ed like the 12s and 14s. The deadline is May 21. You must register in order to be selected and participate.  

 

Premier Update

As you may know, Premier is being bought by a non-profit and is looking for more donations to help reach their goal. Click here for the latest information and view past emails for the campaign.

Junior Team Tennis

The Junior Team Tennis District Championships are set for June 30 and are open to anyone to create a team! Here is the link for more information: JTT Championships. The winners of each division will receive a bid to the Midwest Championships.

Adult Leagues

The Spring/Summer League Session is underway and it is not too late to join a team. Check with your facility coordinator or Steve Mott at Steve@wmitennis.com if you need help finding a team.  

 

The Western Michigan League numbers for the 2023 Championship Season have already beat the 2022 season totals. Here are some more points for our current and upcoming leagues:

 

  • Registration for Spring/Summer teams ends June 11.  

  • The Spring/Summer session ends June 25.

  • Team Entry Forms for the Summer session are available now and due May 17.

  • Registration for Summer teams has started.

  • The Summer session starts June 25. 

  • Championship dates and venues are available on the Adult League Calendar. Click HERE to review the Adult League Calendar.

TOURNAMENTS NEAR YOU

PROGRAMS NEAR YOU

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