First-year USTA St. Louis Squad Has Standout Season

Within one year of the majority of its members learning tennis, the Ward Stars 2.5 women’s team rolled to a 10-2 record and captured the USTA St. Louis District League Championship. The Ward Stars — captained by childhood best friends Brooke Cusumano and Ellie Straub — will represent USTA St. Louis in USTA Section Championship action August 19-21 in Oklahoma City.

The team got its start — and name — last summer when several players connected with Terry Ward, owner of Frontenac Racquet Club and Woodsmill Tennis Club. He invited the group to try out some doubles to see whether they enjoyed the sport.

“We were all pretty terrible. I can say that with some confidence,” Cusumano said. “It’s not like we’re amazing now, but at least we can place the ball. A lot of people on the team had just moved to St. Louis or come back from living somewhere else. Ellie moved from New York. I moved from D.C. We were like, ‘Oh, yeah, we should try tennis.’”

Though their first crack at tennis didn’t net sparkling results, the group of players started participating in clinics and collectively began improving their game.

“Everybody just became obsessed with it,” Cusumano said. “Everyone was like, ‘This is the best thing ever.’ It’s just really fun. It’s social. It’s exercise. It’s a good environment. Everybody got so addicted.”

Bitten by the tennis bug and with Ward’s encouragement, the group decided to join a USTA St. Louis league in fall 2021. After standout regular seasons in both the autumn and spring, the Ward Stars put a bow on a fantastic inaugural year by winning the 2.5 women’s district title in early June.

“It was such a great group of ladies who we played against — everybody was super nice and welcoming,” Cusumano said. “None of us knew the rules too well, so they were very nice about explaining them. It was a really, really fun entry into a new sport.”

The season didn’t come without its growing pains, though.

“We definitely had people go to the wrong location,” Cusumano said. “That was funny.”

The Ward Stars had a fall match on a day none of its players could attend. Instead of simply rescheduling the contest — which the team wasn’t aware it could — the group no-showed while the opposing team showed up. A player on the other team said her squad would make up the match, with one hilarious caveat.

“She said, ‘Fine, I’ll make up the match. But all you ladies are coming to weed my yard after as payment for doing this,’” Cusumano said. “We’re like, ‘OK, fine, we’ll come weed your yard.’ That same lady at the district said, ‘If your team beats mine, you’re buying me a beer.’ We beat them and did. It makes things fun for us. She said, ‘You have to play with your left hand because I’m double your age.’”

Cusumano called the moment her team claimed the district championship “indescribable.” She said players who won’t be partaking in the section championships are still making the trek to Oklahoma to hang out, have fun and cheer on the squad that weekend. When the team gets together, tennis is the dominant conversation topic.

“It’s all we talk about,” Cusumano said. “‘All right, guys, when are we playing tennis next? What are we doing this summer? What are the doubles things we’re going to set up?’ We even started a league with our boyfriends — we’ll play mixed doubles. It’s spiraled into so many things, created so many friendships. I love the girls on the team. We have such a good team of people.”

Cusumano said the tight knit group is going to continue playing together as best they can this fall with everyone’s rating improving a tick. With members progressing at a similar speed, the Ward Stars will be able to have one team participate at the 3.0 level and another play at the 3.5 level. Before those tweaks occur, though, the team is looking forward to wrapping up its first competitive year together in Oklahoma.

“A lot of people pick up golf late in life. I’ve played golf my entire life. I played golf in college,” Cusumano said. “They would always be like, ‘Oh my god, Brooke, it’s so cool you played golf in college. You get to go to all these great courses. It’s just so luxurious. I’m so jealous.’ And I’m like, ‘What’s so great about golf? Golf sucks. It’s so boring. You walk 18 holes. Whatever.’

“And now I totally get why people get that bug. It’s like this bug inside of you. And I think all the girls on our team have it. It’s just this fun, addictive thing where you can make all these new friends. You can be with additional friends. It’s transferrable to everybody. It’s so much joy.”