Adult League Options Abound in USTA Missouri

With a strong contingent of interested players and plenty of legwork behind the scenes, USTA Missouri has seen a rise in the number of adult league offerings with more options on the horizon this fall.

Leslie Echols — USTA Missouri adult league coordinator — said her recent focus has been on the development of three mixed doubles leagues that are now up and running. Several mixed doubles partners compete in the SWMO Tennis Network that Echols helps run. So Echols pulled from that pool of players to help form some USTA league offerings.

Echols said the emergence of captains such as Hee-Sun Kim has aided in the recruitment of players and formation of leagues. One captain contacted Echols with interest in establishing an 18 & Over 8.0 league. Echols then reached out to Kim. Kim agreed to captain one of the teams and was instrumental in drumming up interest from other players.

“We were able to get two additional teams for an 18 & Over 7.0 league and two teams for a 40 & Over 7.0 league,” Echols said. “It’s just been kind of a quick explosion. We were in a time crunch if we wanted to send some teams to Sectionals. I felt really fortunate that so many people were excited to play.” 

Echols can be reached via email at lemotennis@gmail.com. She said anyone interested in joining or forming a league can fill out this questionnaire.

Echols recently scheduled a men’s and women’s all-day tri-level tournament that will be occurring Saturday, September 18 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. To learn more about that event, click here.

Other options later this year include a new women’s 3.0 league in Columbia. That league starts August 18 and runs through the beginning of October. Another Columbia-based mixed doubles 40 & Over league is in the works for the fall. That league — potentially eight weeks in length — will likely begin in September and conclude in early November.

Multiple players from both Columbia and Springfield have contacted Echols about launching men’s leagues in those areas. Echols said attempting to get men’s leagues off the ground will be USTA Missouri's next push. She is hoping to have those leagues up and running in September and October.

“If there are leagues people want this fall, we can set up some flex leagues,” Echols said. “If there is something players want, just let me know and I'll try to make it happen.”

District Championships

The 2021 USTA Missouri District Championships for women’s 40 & Over leagues at the 3.5 and 4.0  recently were completed at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. Both victorious teams advance to the USTA Missouri Valley Section Championships.

At  3.5, Leslie Bray’s Springfield-based squad defeated Donna Hoffman’s Columbia team July 17. Echols said it was “quite the nail-biter,” as the first two matches were tight and a third match was required. The third round featured split courts with an even number of games won, so the tiebreaker came down to the No. 1 doubles court.

In 4.0 action, on July 18, Kim Kilgore’s Joplin team beat Laurie Everett’s Columbia team in a competitive matchup. Kilgore’s squad will compete at the Section championships in Tulsa. And Bray’s team moves on to Section championships in Topeka. Both teams will be competing the weekend of August 26-29.