USTA Missouri Valley unveils new Junior Advisory Panel

Eleven talented juniors from locations scattered throughout the section have been selected as inaugural members of the USTA Missouri Valley Junior Advisory Panel.

The panel—which was formally announced during the first USTA Missouri Valley Junior Tennis Talk of 2025, which can be viewed here—will help shape and enhance the section’s junior programming efforts.

“The launch of the Junior Advisory Panel stands out as a career highlight for me,” said Beth Azan, USTA Missouri Valley manager of junior competition. “Engaging with the panel members has been delightful. This exceptionally talented group is enthusiastic about fulfilling the panel’s goals and positively impacting the USTA Missouri Valley junior tennis community. I feel privileged to be part of this journey and am thrilled to see their achievements.”

Members of the 2025 USTA Missouri Valley Junior Advisory Panel are:

• Christopher Long (Chair) / USTA Heart of America

• Skye Madatali (Chair) / USTA St. Louis

• Aiden Bush / USTA Heart of America

• John Paul Dillon / USTA Oklahoma

• Scarlet Gates / USTA Heart of America

• Diya Gupta / USTA Heart of America

• JohnPaul Huston / USTA Oklahoma

• Rhana Kang / USTA Nebraska

• Evie Lunsford / USTA Oklahoma

• London Marsh / USTA Oklahoma

• Reagan Miller / USTA Oklahoma
  
  

Panelists are slated to serve on the pilot committee for a one-year term. If the panel is approved to continue beyond 2025, the application process will open to both current members and new candidates. Criteria for inclusion on the 2025 panel included such qualifications as a minimum GPA of 3.2, no code of conduct report on file within the preceding six months and recent participation in Level 3-5 section tournaments and/or involvement on a Junior Team Tennis squad.

“The Junior Advisory Panel aims to achieve three goals,” Azan said. “To give direct feedback to section staff and volunteers for enhancing the products available to our junior players, to earn community service hours through volunteering in the tennis community and to participate on subcommittees focused on providing grassroots education and support in two key areas—sportsmanship and team events.”

Joining Azan as staff liaisons to the panel are Caitee Margenthaler, USTA Missouri Valley junior play coordinator, and Tara Williams, USTA Missouri Valley manager of community tennis and Junior Team Tennis. USTA Oklahoma Executive Director David Minihan will serve as district liaison. Azan credited the addition of Margenthaler to the USTA Missouri Valley staff in 2024 as key in the panel’s development.

“I can’t wait to see the impact of the new Junior Advisory Panel,” Margenthaler said. “I believe in this group of players and know that they are going to do great things.”

“I’m thrilled to be a part of the launch of the Junior Advisory Panel for USTA Missouri Valley in 2025,” Williams added. “These talented young players truly represent the best of our section, on and off the court, and I’m excited to see the impact they’ll have on the future of tennis.”

The implementation of the panel came at the same time as USTA National pursued a similar arrangement. Azan said Alex Cercone—who spent the last eight years working in USTA junior competition and the junior competitive pathway—generously shared the building blocks that helped USTA National create its comparable panel.

Azan had held onto the idea of forming a panel of junior players since she began in her role with USTA Missouri Valley three-plus years ago. She said the timing was right to take the plunge and open applications for the initiative toward the end of 2024.

“My intention was to connect our junior athletes, who are our loyal customers, with section staff and volunteers,” Azan said. “I believed it was crucial for the success of future tournaments and their structures to receive input and guidance from those who are immersed in the tennis scene—our junior tennis players.”

The USTA Missouri Valley Junior Advisory Panel will convene virtually every six weeks, excluding July and August. The panel features two subcommittees that will meet more frequently based on their specific objectives and will provide updates to the panel during scheduled calls.

For additional USTA Missouri Valley junior tennis resources, click here. To watch the Junior Tennis Talk that unveiled the panel—and all future Junior Tennis Talks occurring throughout 2025—click here.