Texas, Mid-Atlantic Win 40 & Over 3.5 Nationals

The Mid-Atlantic women’s team and the Texas men’s team captured the respective titles at the USTA League Adult 40 & Over 3.5 National Championships.

A Texas team captained by Jason Freeman won a third national title in this championship season by virtue of the victory at the OKC Tennis Center.

The roster, which calls the Homer Ford Tennis Center in Houston home and consisted of Greg Wiley, Hugo Palencia, Jeffrey Kennedy, Trey Greco, Brad Beinart, Steven Briggs, Edsel Esquivel, John Lu, Chuck Broussard, Tin Dang, Thomas Rapson, Richard Patton, Pin Chiu, Greg Leiker, Ivan Muller-Sierra and Garrett Van Osdell, defeated teams from the Florida and Pacific Northwest sections to take the title, with a pair of identical 3-2 scores.

On the women's side, captain Christopher Lee's team from Montgomery County, Md. went nearly perfect in the knockout rounds to seal victory.

After a 5-0 win over Donna Wilson and Dali Mihajlovic's Midwest team in the semifinals, the Maryland-based team beat Jenny Burton and Jennifer McNabb's team from Brentwood, Tenn. by a 4-1 score in the final. 

"We had the privilege of qualifying for both 18 & Over and 40 & Over 3.5 Nationals, which were two weeks apart,” said Lee. “After finishing in sixth place at the 18 & Over championships, we came back with a new goal. Our plan was to win it all and have fun while doing it.

"We will remember Oklahoma City forever. We will cherish these memories with our fellow champions, who’ve become much more than teammates."

The winning roster consisted of the following players: Evelyn Chan, Anne Sherman, Michele Brammer, Angela Thorpe, Wannapa Siriamnuaypas, Bernadette Walker, Jina Lin, Julia Latein-Kimmig, Donna Fitzgerald, Joanna Tice, Sharon Huang, Rani Jeeva Nguyen-Khoa, Hiromi Vecerek, Ann-Lee Chen, Stacey Carey, Bree Bell, Laura McInerney, Mesanie Lee, Rebecca Stewart and Angela Lee.