USTA Missouri 65+ Women’s Team Progresses to Nationals
Ann Vogel — longtime USTA Missouri captain and awards chairwoman — recalled fellow district captain Huong Doan leading two teams to USTA Nationals. First, in 2012, Doan’s 50+ 7.0 women’s team earned a bid to Nationals. Then, in 2014, Doan repeated the feat with her 55+ 7.0 women’s squad.
Doan’s achievements empowered Vogel and helped her realize Nationals was attainable. Vogel and her dear friend, Ann Samuelson, took a team to a 65+ Invitational in Overland Park, Kansas in 2014. As Vogel watched the victorious team joyfully celebrate a title, her desire to lead a squad to Nationals was only solidified.
At the 2023 USTA Missouri Valley 65 & Over Invitational in Overland Park in July, Vogel’s dream was realized. Her 7.0 women’s crew went undefeated — including a key win over 2022 champ USTA Heart of America — to punch a ticket to USTA Nationals.
“You just kind of hold your breath to make sure that’s what really happened,” Vogel said of the clinching moment. “We’ve been in that tournament for so many years, almost since its inception. We knew so many of the people and organizers. They were happy for us because they know how hard we had worked.”
Much like her first appearance at the invitational in 2014, Vogel thoroughly enjoyed watching the winning team celebrate its crowning moment.
“How would you be if you won the lottery?” Vogel said. “It was just total joy.”
Vogel said there was plenty of pressure — the final match in particular — as her squad battled with a spot to Nationals in the balance. Vogel called it a complete “team effort,” as two of her players sacrificially sat out the last match to help ensure the strongest competitors were on court.
Vogel’s team will participate in the USTA League 65 & Over 7.0 National Invitational on January 26-28, 2024, in Surprise, Arizona. Vogel’s entire team sans one player will make the trip to Arizona to represent the district and USTA Missouri Valley on the national platform. In her first-ever Nationals appearance, Vogel will be strictly captaining.
“This is the first year I haven’t played,” she said. “I want the team to win. Other players are younger and better. I’ve been having some hip issues. It just wasn’t the right time to go. It was the right time for us to win.”
Vogel’s team was the first of two from USTA Missouri to go undefeated en route to USTA Nationals this year. Debbie Pell’s 40 & Over 3.5 women’s team did the same.
“In the past two years more local teams have gone to Nationals, paving the way for the USTA Missouri District to represent USTA Missouri Valley. We are so proud to be that first 65+ team,” Vogel said. “It is obvious when some players just click with each other and have the momentum to go for the win. The ladies this year stepped up to the plate.”
Two members of Vogel’s team likewise played on Pell’s squad that competed at USTA Nationals in Tucson, Arizona in early October. That duo shared their experience and insights with Vogel’s team to better prepare the crew for their pending trip to Surprise.
“Every time we see each other, we all high five and say ‘We’re going to Nationals’ or ‘Nationals, here we come,’” Vogel said. “We’re working on uniforms. It’s a community. A team is a community and almost like a family.”
To read a 2022 USTA Missouri feature article on Ann Vogel, click here. To view the full list of 2023 USTA Missouri Valley Section Championship winners, click here.
Related Articles
-
![Visit the National Qualifiers page]( "Two teams from USTA Missouri advanced to the USTA League National Championships in 2025: an 18 & Over 3.5 women's team and a 40 & Over 7.0 mixed team.")
National QualifiersDecember 16, 2025Advancing to nationals marked a milestone for USTA Missouri, as a team from Columbia and a squad from Springfield competed among the country's best. Read More -
![Visit the Teaching Through Tennis page]( "Prospective PE teachers attending the University of Central Missouri went through a school training to better understand the sport of tennis.")
Teaching Through TennisDecember 02, 2025A USTA-University of Central Missouri partnership empowers future educators to teach tennis confidently, giving rural districts new programming and students positive experiences. Read More -
![Visit the Outstanding Official Award page]( "Kelly Hayes is USTA Missouri's Outstanding Official award winner for 2025.")
Outstanding Official AwardOctober 27, 2025From tennis player to becoming an official in record time, Kelly Hayes’ passion for fairness and community shines through in her award-winning first season of officiating. Read More
Sign up for our Newsletter
Download the USTA App
