2019: A Year In Review

As 2019 rolls to an end, we have many accomplishments this year to be proud of at USTA Nebraska. Let’s look back at some of what we’ve been up to: 

Many of our players have represented us at the national level, including four USTA league teams at the USTA League National Championships, eight Nebraskans competing in the NTRP National Championship, Nancy Samson and Haley Waggoner in the USTA Adaptive National tournament, and Lincoln native Jack Sock in the US Open and the Davis Cup. Official Lisa Rieff also represented Nebraska while in New York officiating the US Open. 

Nebraska was host to some large-scale events including a USTA League Section Championship and the International Priest Tournament, as well as community-level events such as a Community Tennis Workshop, the 4th Annual Tennis Volunteer Day, and the Omaha Adult Holiday Open. 

Community tennis was a big emphasis in Nebraska this year as we named a new USTA Nebraska community chair, signed many new school partnerships, supported growing programs like Woods Tennis Center’s ACEing Autism.

College tennis flourished as Kim Gradoville, the College of St. Mary’s (Omaha) college coach was named the USPTA division coach of the year and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found success in the USTA Missouri Valley Tennis on Campus Fall Invite. 

We saw a lot of success in Junior Team Tennis, hosted many Smashers tournaments, added over 200 new League players, and played tennis in many formats including Adult Social League, Team Tournament, Team Challenge, Flex Leagues and shortened tournament formats.

Finally, we capped off the year with the USTA Nebraska Hall of Fame and Awards banquet on November 3rd, where we recognized the tennis contributions of many deserving award winners. 

We look forward to another year of growth and many more tennis opportunities in 2020. USTA Nebraska could not celebrate these successes without all of those who contributed to Nebraska tennis this year.