USTA Missouri Planning Adult Tri-Level League

Leslie Echols — new USTA Missouri adult league coordinator — has been in discussion with captains and players to generate excitement and interest for the potential addition of a tri-level league.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to get this together and get a tri-level league going,” Echols said. “I would love to send a team from USTA Missouri to the invitational in Kansas City — fingers crossed for that.”

Echols said the tri-level league would likely begin in late August and occur at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. With Echols being based in Springfield, she hopes to create the league there and then later branch out to other pockets within USTA Missouri.

This tri-level league would be a women’s-only offering, though Echols said she has had several male players reach out to her with interest in participating in an adult men’s league. While there aren’t currently any men’s league offerings, Echols said the tri-level league featuring some men’s teams would be a logical fit.

Women and men interested in participating in the tri-level league should contact Echols via email. She can be reached at lemotennis@gmail.com

Tri-level league teams are comprised of a pair of 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 players who participate in doubles action. While there can be a lineup of 3.0/3.5/4.0 players, Echols noted that configuration isn’t eligible to advance to USTA Missouri Valley Section Tri-Level Invitationals.

It is Echols’s hope to get enough teams participating for the league champion to then be eligible for advancement to the section invitational. That event is scheduled for October 15-17 at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City.