Southern teams shine at USTA League Championships

Women’s Adult 18 & Over 3.0 League National Champions, Baton Rouge, La., Co-captains Laura Hottles and Alexis Oliver

Cherie Welch, Tara Comardelle, Grace Courville, Claire Wicker, Chelsea Payne, Susan Doherty, co-captain Laura Hottes, co-captain Alexis Oliver, Missy Peairs, Ellen Pino, Heather Day and Heather Layrisson of the Southern section came in first place in the Adult 18 & Over 3.0 Women League National Championship at the Scottsdale Ranch Park & Tennis Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, defeating USTA Caribbean 4-1.

Women's Adult 55 & Over 6.0 National Champions, Nashville, Tenn., Captain Laurie Farris
Southern (Nashville, Tenn.) defeated New England 2-1.

Finalist

Men’s Adult 18 & Over 3.5 Finalist, Brandon, Miss., Captain Bryan Howell

The Jackson, Tenn. team finished in second place, falling to the Intermountain team in the Adult 18 & Over 3.5 Men’s League National Championship. Bryan Howell was the captain. They played at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center in Surprise, Ariz. Team members included Trey Clark, Reed Wade, William Goodwin, Niven Walker, Daniel Pendleton, captain Bryan Howell, Daniel Phyfer, Jacob Mcilwain, Kellon Lawrence and William Mellon.

Men’s Adult 55 & Over 8.0 Finalists, Atlanta, Captain Tom Denmark
Left to right, front, Albert Nelwan, Mike Harrison, Captain Tom Denmark, Joseph Wickham, Walter Hutt, Antonio Laracuente, (back) Blair Dean, Curt Seymour, Bill Cousar, Byron Farmer and James Wendel of the Southern section came in second place in the Adult 55 & Over 8.0 League National Championship at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.

Mixed Adult 18 & Over 10.0 Finalists, Atlanta, Co-captains Kim Raley & Evgeniy Vinogradov

Back L- R: Jesse Ferlianto, Gereon Heitmann, Nicolas Howe and Co-Captain Evgeniy Vinogradov. Front L-R: Randi Schuler, Victoria Traynor, Madison Cook, Clare Raley and Captain Kim Raley. Not pictured: Zach Jennings

Third-place teams

• Women’s Adult 18 & Over 4.5, Third, Charlotte, N.C., Captain Wendy Parker, defeated Northern California 3-2
• Women’s Adult 40 & Over 4.0, Third, Nashville, Tenn., Co-captains Ann Marie Flynn and Ashley Saliba, defeated Intermountain 3-1
• Men’s Adult 40 & Over 3.5, Third, Laurens, S.C., Captain Ike Dickey, defeated Florida 2-2
• Men's Adult 40 & Over, 4.5+, Third, Marietta, Ga., Rushan Samarasinghe and Rodney Milson, defeated Northern California 4-0
• Men’s Adult 55 & Over 7.0, Third, Southport, N.C., Co-captains Rodney Payne and James Parker, defeated New England 2-1
• Men’s Adult 40 & Over 3.0, Third, Jackson Miss., Captain Warren Biddle, defeated Texas 4-0

Fourth-place team

• Men’s Adult 18 & Over 4.0, Fourth, Baton Rouge, La., Captain Michael Cane
• Mixed Adult 18 & Over 8.0, Fourth, Huntsville, Ala., Captian Cristy Presson