2024 USTA Southwest Awards Handed Out

Twenty three USTA Southwest Award winners and two new members of the Section's Hall of Fame Class were recently honored at our 2024 Annual Awards and Hall of Fame Ceremony, Nov. 2 in Scottsdale. 
 

The group of 2024 Award winners (calendar year) and Hall of Fame class of Kristien Shaw-Ziska and Kathrin Keil Sieberth was also part of a larger weekend gathering of USTA Southwest volunteers that devised strategy and plans for the sport in our region in the coming year. 

Congratulations to our new award winners for their efforts and contributions to the sport. 

2024 USTA SOUTHWEST AWARD WINNERS

All -Junior USTA Southwest Team
Maya Iyengar—Paradise Valley, AZ

Iyengar played a heavy travel schedule this year, and ascended to just inside  the Top 40 in the world in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. She won the doubles title at a professional ITF/USTA $15K event in San Diego in June, and qualified for the Junior US Open. 

Anjani Vickneswaran—Surprise, AZ

Vickneswaran had quite the 2024, reaching the finals of an ITF 60 in Corpus Christi in singles, won the Girls’ 16s singles title at the Southwest Junior Closed, played for the Battle of the Sections squad over the summer, lost in the finals of the Girls’ 14s Easter Bowl, and has a Top 30 ranking in the country.
 

Gadin Arun—Paradise Valley, AZ
Arun was ranked No. 2 in the country in Boys’ 14s singles and No. 1 in doubles in 2024 before aging up to 16s. He reached the singles finals of the Boys’ 14 Nationals (and won doubles), the semifinals of the Boys’ 14s Clay Courts (and finalist in doubles), was boys’ 14s finalist at  the 2024 SW Junior Closed,

Vessa Turley—Scottsdale, AZ
Turley has been doubles-dipping all year, winning five doubles crowns on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2024 (with a 24-2 record). She captured the 2024 USTA Girls’ 18s National Doubles Championships in Orlando (and won the 2023 in Girls’ 16s). She also was a doubles finalist at this year’s Southwest Junior Closed.

Hi’ilani Williams—Tucson, AZ
Williams captured this year’s Southwest Junior Closed Girls’ 18s singles and doubles title this summer, and is currently ranked around Top 30 nationally in that division (and No. 1 in the Southwest). She competed for Team Southwest on the Battle of the Sections squad as well. 

Junior Sportsmanship Award (Girl)
Hi’ilani Williams—Tucson, AZ
Williams’  is a fierce competitor on and off the court, and is known for her affable nature at events,  Her fellow event participants and tournament officials always have nice things to say about her even-keeled temperament, her kind disposition and the way she battles her opponents to the finish line with complete respect.  

Junior Sportsmanship Award (Boy)
Lincoln Baldonado—Glendale, AZ
Baldonado was a joy to be around in the eyes of his fellow competitors and tournament staff running the events he played. Last year, Baldonado finished runner-up at both boys’ singles and the team Arizona High School state Division 1 events. He’s now playing college tennis at St. Mary’s University (Texas).

Junior Excellence Award
Lyla Middleton—Rowe, NM
Middleton has been on a tear for two years across the country, winning five USTA National championship gold balls, playing her first pro event in 2024, was ranked No. 1 in girls’ 14s singles at the start of the year, and is already ranked No. 2 in the country in Girls’ 16s after recently aging up.

Community Tennis Volunteer of the Year
Arturo Fierro - Las Cruces, NM
Fierro has only been in Las Cruces for a couple of years, but has made an immediate impact, as the co-coordinator of Las Cruces Tennis Players Association’s Tennis 123 starter program, helped launch the USTA Flex League, is a middle school coach, USTA League captain and started a program to introduce tennis at the Las Cruces Boys and Girls Club.

Member Organization of the Year
Lobo Tennis Club—Albuquerque, NM
This 12-court (6 indoor, 6 outdoor) private member club in Albuquerque, fields an abundance of community play, including USTA League teams, adult and junior tournaments, the Tennis on Campus squad, the Lobo Player Tennis Academy (junior high performance) and summer camps. Memberships and lessons are highly affordable, especially for a club with so many offerings.

Event of the Year
Hoy Automotive Level 4 Touurnament —El Paso, TX
This tournament was a true team effort that was both a community and financial success. Held at El Paso Tennis Club in May 2024, this event had 344 participants in a variety of NTRP and Open divisions, running more than 450 matches over five days. The tournament had a committee that took on a variety of roles (marketing, experience, fundraising) and really knocked it out of the park.

Tennis Ambassador of the Year
Sam Morrison—Phoenix, Arizona
Sam took up tennis almost a year ago, and started an Instagram account called ‘Baseline Conversation’ that has over 75,000 followers. The account is an intimate and almost-daily journey of his quest to learn tennis. It immerses followers in Sam’s tennis lifestyle, and highlights the struggles and joys of learning and competing in the sport. Sam has had some incredible experiences already in the sport, and has become a true ”tennis influencer.”  

High School Coach of the Year
John Hew—Liberty High School, Peoria, AZ
Hew’s the quintessential do-everything coach, but also organizes USTA high school team matches outside of the season for his girls, and consisently adds to their experience outside of practice and playing. In 2024, he took his squad to Arizona State matches, as well as the Arizona Tennis Classic professional challenger event. His team has qualified for state the last three years, and plays a top schedule. Hew's coaching duties extend to managing the team's social media page and getting sponsorships.
 

Adult Player of the Year
Carolyn Lane—Phoenix AZ
Lane has posted some stellar results in 2024 in women’s national events, including winning two USTA national championship doubles gold balls in Women’s 65s and two silver balls this year with partner Patricia Purcell (St. Louis, Mo.). She also represented the United States at the ITF World Team Championships, helping the women’s 65s team earn the title at that event in Antalya, Turkey.
 

Tournament Director of the Year
Jake Worseldine—Sedona, AZ
Worseldine ran four junior L6 and one L5 junior event in the Northern Arizona area in 2024, in addition to several special club and charity fundraisers, like the Serve For Freedom benefit event for the 1000 Cranes Foundation, a charity working against human trafficking. Worseldine is an experienced tournament director who knows how to create a fun vibe at his events.

USTA League Facility of the Year
Prescott High School -  Prescott, AZ
This six-court facility serves the Prescott High School tennis team, but also serves the community and the USTA League program. Recently significant upgrades were made to the facility, and the USTA Serve Tennis booking platform the facility uses allows captains to make court reservations and manage open court times more easily.

League Tennis Player of the Year (Female)
Angeline Haase—Glendale, AZ
Haase took up the sport a few short years ago but has quickly made up for lost time, turning it into a daily obsession, a large part of which has become participating in USTA Leagues and events. She played on 19 league teams in the 2024 season, and has played on a whopping 92 teams since starting in 2018! She also plays on other non-USTA Leagues around the Valley.

League Tennis Player of the Year (Male)
Craig Abney—Phoenix, AZ

Abney spent plenty of hours in 2024 on court for USTA League Tennis, playing on 19 teams , three of which made USTA Southwest Section Championship events (18 & Over Adult, 40 & Over Adult, Mixed Championships). He played 101 league matches in 2024. Abney has been a league mainstay since starting in 2003, playing on an eye-popping 187 league teams in that time!

League Tennis Captain of the Year (Female)
Nicole Heath—Surprise, AZ
Heath captained six of the nine teams she played on in the 2024 league calendar year, including  18 & Over Adult and Mixed teams (one of which is playing at League Nationals in Surprise this weekend). She is also the president of Surprise Tennis Club, a social tennis group dedicated to assisting players with new opportunities to partake in the game, with a special emphasis on USTA League Tennis. She started playing the sport just a couple of years ago.

League Tennis Captain of the Year (Male)
Jim Briggs—Albuquerque, NM
Briggs played on seven different USTA League teams in the 2024 season, captaining five of those, including multiple league types (18 & Over, 40 & Over, 55 & Over and Mixed). Players on his team love his captaining style, and speak in glowing terms of his ability to field a competitive team, while keeping it organized, fun, and keeping all team members involved in important decisions.
 

Ginger Renouard Volunteer Spirit Award
Linda Cobbs —El Paso, TX

Cobbs’ involvement in tennis in El Paso has stretched past four decades and her quest to bring tennis to adaptive populations is as strong as ever. 

A former USTA League player who made the rounds in the community, Cobbs’ enduring service to the game has netted her much positive acclaim. She was our Community Tennis Volunteer of the Year in 2013, our Dianne Miller Courage in Tennis Award winner in 2015, and she was named a recipient of the prestigious USTA national Eve Kraft Service Award in 1998 for her work with adaptive players (Wounded Warrior program, Special Olympics, wheelchair players).

Physical challenges have set Cobbs back the last handful of years, but her love for tennis and volunteer spirit remains a constant.

Dianne Miller Courage in Tennis Award
Tammy and Travis Collins—Albuquerque, NM

Travis and Tammy had an unfathomable outcome as parents in early January, as their son Christopher Ryan Collins took his life at 20 years old.

The couple turned their incalculable grief into a special mixed doubles fundraiser event called “Serve it Up for Life,” that became a showcase for Breaking the Silence New Mexico, a non-profit chapter dedicated to suicide awareness and prevention.

The memorial celebration event for their soon was held in late June at Jerry Cline Tennis Center, had 88 players, food trucks, music, and raised over $14K for the chapter. More than anything the couple found a way to use their unending love for their child and the sport they love  ...and transform it into something positive and beautiful.

USTA Southwest President’s Award
Chris Howard—Prescott, AZ
Howard’s impact in the tiny tennis town of Prescott has been felt since he moved there in the early 1980s. He’s held virtually every role imaginable in the city, including tennis columnist for the Prescott Courier, high school coach, college coach, tennis club manager, adult and tournament player, stringer, and what he’s most known for being, a tennis teaching professional.

He’s one of the founding members of the Prescott Area Tennis Association, is still a nationally-ranked player in his age group, and remains one of our most effective and influential advocates for the sport in the Southwest.

USTA SOUTHWEST HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES 2024

KRISTIEN SHAW-ZISKA
Shaw-Ziska was an incredible junior player in Southern California, winning 10 USTA national championships in singles and doubles, before embarking on a pro career at 17 years old in 1969. She was the youngest player on the circuit when she turned pro, and became an immediate threat, winning the Virginia Slims (now WTA Tour) Rookie of the Year Award.

Shaw-Ziska (who was better known then as Kristien Shaw-Zemmer) played all the major events on tour, and reached a career high ranking of No. 10 in the world in 1977.

Her left-handed, forward-moving game was her signature, and she reached the Wimbledon 4th Round twice (1973, 74), and the US Open 3rd Round twice (1973, 75). She had wins over many of the top Tour players of her day, including Rosie Casals, Francoise Durr, Betty Stove and Virginia Wade. Her top result in a Grand Slam was a semifinal appearance in Mixed Doubles in 1977.

She fell in love with the city of Phoenix after playing with the World Team Tennis franchise here in 1975, and has been a Valley resident ever since. She retired from the Tour at 27 years old in 1979, and became the tennis director of the Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale until 1983. She spent another decade teaching and coaching privately, including coaching stints with players on the WTA Tour. She also helped teach over 50 juniors in the Southwest to state and national rankings, and has since dabbled in exhibitions and other events and causes locally that help give back to the sport that made her name. 

KATHRIN KEIL-SIEBERTH

Keil-Sieberth is one of the best female juniors to have ever come out of the Southwest.
As a junior player hailing from Albuquerque, Keil was the top girl in the Southwest in every age division in the mid to late 1970s, and held a top 3 ranking in the country through almost her entire junior playing career.

She won three junior USTA National championship singles title (16s Indoors, 16s Hard Courts and 18s Internationals), the prestigious Ojai Tennis Tournament in Girls’ 18s and played internationally as a junior, reaching a Top 5 world ranking and reached the Junior US Open final in 1980. 

Keil went on to UCLA for college, and was an immediate sensation,   She played No. 1 singles for the Bruins, and was an All-American in 1981 and 1982. She played the US Open in 1981 as an amateur, drawing Chris Evert-Lloyd in the first round.

Keil’s career was short-lived, as injuries quickly mounted and forced her to retire at 22 years old. She had wins over some of the Tour’s biggest names in her brief professional career, including victories over Anne White, Betsy Nagelsen, Carling Bassett, Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Lisa Bonder, and Kathleen Horvath.

She came back on Tour for a couple of years in the mid to late 1980s and reached a career high ranking of No. 55, and competed in all four Grand Slam events. She played adult USTA events into her 30s and was No. 1 player in the country in women’s 30 singles. She taught tennis for 25 years as USPTA Elite Professional in California, Texas and Louisiana.