USTA Missouri 7.0 Mixed Team Makes Stunning Run to Nationals

“I felt like at that point people were better rested. We were playing outside, and we changed up the lineup a bit,” Kim said. “We ended up beating them 2-1. We were shocked. And that meant we were in the finals in the afternoon against the Nebraska team we lost to 2-1. They unexpectedly beat Oklahoma, who was expected to win. That’s what the prediction was.”

With two surprise teams remaining for the championship match, Kim decided to use the same lineup she went with in the semifinal victory. USTA Missouri’s No. 2 team lost while the No. 3 team picked up a win, meaning the championship match came down to the court featuring the tandem of Kim and Randy Blackburn.

“I had a good idea one team won and one team lost, so it was going to come down to that third court,” Kim said. “I was telling myself not to go down the rabbit hole. We were talking about clutch players the day before and what the term clutch player was. So that became our theme — that we are a clutch player. I kept telling myself that.

“Randy and I were just having a lot of fun. It’s our last match. I was joking with him. ‘What’s the worst thing? We lose.’ We were relaxed. And we had our fan club cheering us on. It was just Sunday tennis is what it was.”

After claiming the opening set 7-5, Kim and Blackburn were in good position to send their squad to nationals. With their teammates rooting them on from the sidelines and plenty of support from back home, Kim/Blackburn closed out the match with a second-set tiebreaker victory (7-5) to seal the deal.

“The element of wind was definitely of our benefit,” Kim said. “Because if you put your racquet up, the racquet was moving. That’s how much wind there was. Some short shots turned into drop shots with the wind. Shots that were supposed to go out stayed in. And then balls that were going into their racquet fell short. They missed at the net. Those combination of things allowed us to come out on top.”

The USTA Missouri six-person team featured Kim, Blackburn, Leslie Echols, Carolee Jones, Robert Jones and Steve Young. Every individual played in all six matches in Nebraska, as the group carried the bare minimum required to be eligible for a match.

“I’ve never made any national advancement. So I’m very proud of our team with just six players that made it through sectionals,” Kim said. “One injury would alter our whole game. You’d have to default a court. There were no backup players. You were it.”

The 40 & Over 7.0 mixed team will next play in USTA Nationals on November 11-13 in Surprise, Arizona. Kim started captaining last year and this is the second year of the team’s existence, though it’s a different mix of players this season compared to last.

Kim credited the families who made the trek to Omaha to support the group at sectionals — as well as family and friends in Springfield encouraging the group via texts and phone calls — for helping push the team forward.

“I feel like we made a lot of memories outside of tennis that helped us keep grounded and know what is important,” Kim said. “Winning is fun and winning is great. But ultimately on Monday you have to go back to work.”

While that reality sets in, the reality of the USTA Missouri group upsetting multiple teams en route to a Section Championship title and USTA National appearance continues to sink in.

“We had to deal with different elements that occurred during the tournament, which meant some people arrived at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning only having two hours of sleep,” Kim said. “Expectations of playing indoors instead of outdoors. Knowing we had no backup players. Cold mornings in the 50 degrees. Bugs called No-See-Um that were biting. And then the wind went. I feel like we proved ourselves to be clutch players.”

To read a previously published feature article on Hee-Sun Kim, click here.