USTA Nebraska Team Heads to Tri-Level National Invitational

Besides the fun USTA league tennis can bring, for those with a competitive side the chance to have your team advance to a sectional championship - and even a national championship - is quite a motivator. USTA Nebraska had a team at the 2021 USTA League Tri-Level Invitational, captained by David Neese.

Neese’s team had a strong league season, going 5-2 on the year.  The team carried that momentum into districts, taking the championship against the team from Lincoln. Section championships left the team battle-tested as they took the title, but did so against a tough USTA Oklahoma team - winning in three tight matches.

“I feel we have a really good team and should be very competitive,” Neese said. “We went undefeated in the sectionals which were really surprising.We weren't sure we would win our local league or win the district match”

The team traveled to Surprise, Ariz. March 5-7 for a chance to bring home a championship trophy.  The team had a strong weekend of play, bringing home the runner-up trophy - and entered the final day of play undefeated. With seven players at the tournament, four players had to play every match - a very tall order.

Nationals is becoming old hat for Neese, but for several members of the team, this is the first experience on this stage. Neese attended national championships with three separate USTA league teams in 2019 and performed well. 

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s tournament did not look the same as years past, but the team was excited to play and see some quality tennis. One of the team’s members, Sam Palensky brought a national championship back to Nebraska with an USTA Nebraska 8.0 Mixed team in 2018. Hopefully the experience will help the members of the team new to the national championships get a taste of what’s possible.

The team traveled with seven members to Arizona - and it’s a family affair. Ben, Caleb and Sam Palensky are all brothers. Their athletic genes hope to serve them well as their fourth brother - Aaron - was an All-Big Ten Baseball selection and signed on to play with the New York Yankees organization in 2020. Another member of the team - Tyler Mancuso - is the Palensky’s cousin. Matt Eglseder and Kelby Deese round out the squad headed to Arizona. Other team members include: Scott Adams, Chris Foster, Adam Goutierre, Satya Maddipati, Nigel O’Mahoney and Ted Sherman. 

The group was ready and confident heading to Arizona. It’s been a trying year as five of the members traveling to the tournament were diagnosed and recovered from COVID-19. 

But tennis helps brighten the tough spots - and Neese was excited to take part in the tournament. 

“I love the fact that Tri-level gives me the opportunity to get to know more players from other levels,” he said.