2025 Annual Awards & Hall of Fame

Our 'Night at the Net' annual awards ceremony was held Saturday, November 8 at Arizona Grand Resort and Spa to celebrate the best in Southwest tennis in 2025., as well as raise funds for our Southwest Tennis Foundation

The group of 2025 community tennis award winners joined our 2025 Hall of Fame class of Bruce Nichols and Carolyn Lane in being honored for their contributions on and off the court.  Candidates were nominated by USTA volunteers and members and voted upon by USTA committees or by popular vote. 

A hearty congratulations to our new award winners for all they have accomplished and do to help grow the sport of tennis. 

A list of 2025 Award winners and Hall of Fame bios is below. 

Junior Player of the Year (Male)
Gadin Arun—Paradise Valley, AZ

Arun was ranked right around the Top 25 in the country in Boys’ 16s singles in 2025, his first year in the 16 and under division. He captured an ITF Junior 60 event in both singles and doubles in Trinidad & Tobago, earlier this year and was chosen for the Southwest squad at the ‘Battle of the Sections’). He also won two Level 3 national singles titles this year, one in Las Vegas and another one in Tempe, AZ.

Junior Player of the Year (Female)
Maya Iyengar—Paradise Valley, AZ

Iyengar, a five-star recruit this in the class of 2026, reached No. 29 in the world in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings, competed at all four Junior Grand Slams in 2025 and reached the finals of the USTA Girls’ 18s Billie Jean King NationalChampionships, one of the best junior results in Southwest history. Iyengar also reached the qualifying singles draw at the US Open for the first time and has had one of the most successful girls’ junior careers in quite some time. 
 

Junior Sportsmanship Award (Female)
Japneet Kaur—Phoenix, AZ

Kaur is currently ranked No. 5 in the Southwest in Girls’ 16s singles (top 100 nationally) and has been a steady and friendly competitor for her entire junior career. She won the Arizona Girls’ State Division I singles title in her freshman year for Boulder Creek (Anthem, Ariz.) in 2024, and has had some quality results in 2025, including a doubles final two months ago at a Level 3 National event in Las Vegas. She also played the girls’ National 16s in San Diego and was a member of the USTA Southwest Battle of the Sections team this past summer. 

Junior Sportsmanship Award (Male)
Reid Bock—Paradise Valley, AZ

Bock is a quiet adversary who respects his opponents and is beloved by tournament staff and officials for the way he typically comports himself at events. He’s been ranked Top 20 in the Southwest in Boys’ 16s singles despite limited play opportunities, since he splits time in Phoenix, as he is currently attending a prestigious college-preparatory boarding school at Choate Academy in Connecticut.


Community Tennis Volunteer of the Year
Allison Bates—Flagstaff, AZ

Bates, the former USTA Northern Arizona league coordinator, has always been heavily involved in the tennis scene in her community. She works with Flagstaff Tennis Association (FTA) to help with the CTA's efforts,. she’s a board member of USTA Southwest, is the Chair of the Northern Arizona Regional Council, was a past local league coordinator for USTA Northern Arizona, adnd has been co-tournament director of the Flagstaff Open. 

Member Organization of the Year
Tucson Community Tennis Program—Tucson, AZ

Tucson Community Tennis Program annually serves hundreds of children in greater-Tucson with their four tennis-based programs (in-school, after-school, summer program, Junior Team Tennis). The organization is reliant on community support and has an annual budget of $100K, but also has incredible volunteer effort procuring equipment and donations as well as on-court coaching and mentoring.

Event of the Year
Tennis Enthusiast Action Movement Fundraiser —Albuquerque, NM

Tennis Enthusiast Action Movement (TEAM) is a group of tennis players in Albuquerque that get involved and volunteer to raise money for small, nonprofit organizations. For the last 9 years, TEAM has held a Tennis Scramble Fundraiser where the city's tennis community raises money for a good cause - with the charity changing each year. This year’s event was held at Lobo Tennis Club, and netted $12K for the Family Caregiver Center of New Mexico.

Tennis Ambassador of the Year
Liz Harrison—Silver City, NM

Liz is a high school coach (Silver City HS) who’s been a phenomenal advocate for tennis and youth sports. She runs summer programming for youth players, has worked collaboratively with the p*ckleball community to address court concerns, and found a creative way for a disabled student to participate on her high school tennis team in 2025. Through her efforts, Liz presented a strong case to Silver City Parks & Rec, which resulted in major improvements to the public courts, including newly-installed lights.

League Tennis Player of the Year (Female)
Denise Echeverria—Casa Grande, AZ

Echeverria played on a whopping 11 league teams and played in right around 50 league matches during the 2025 league season. Even more impressive was the amount of travel time Echeverria put in off the court, logging tons of miles driving back and forth between Phoenix venues and her home in Casa Grande to play regularly.

League Tennis Player of the Year (Male)
Juan Uraga—El Paso, TX

Uraga played on eight USTA League teams in the 2025 league season, captaining three of those squads (Mixed 40 9.0, 18 & Over & 40 & Over 4.5 men’s teams). Uraga has been a successful competitor, a good sport always, and is a doting tennis dad always on the go, supporting sons Ian and Matteo, both of whom are also very strong players.

League Tennis Captain of the Year (Female)
Candiss Crannell—Peoria, AZ

Crannell has been a truly consistent USTA League captain and player for more than two decades now, having a spot on 112 league teams since 2002, a good chunk of which she’s been the captain of. She served as captain of five of the six league teams she was on in 2025, is an excellent recruiter, has helped captain her husband’s teams, and was formerly a part of our captain-mentor program.

League Tennis Captain of the Year (Male)
Robert Burns– El Paso, TX

Burns, a former military man, runs his teams with a firm organizational hand, and his players understand the mission operationally and tactically. Burns has had a huge hand in the USTA League program that has thrived on the Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, welcoming new players into the fold. His 55+ Mixed squad also made USTA League Nationals this past spring.
 

Adult Player of the Year
Andrew Bogdanov– Prescott, AZ

Bogdanov, a wheelchair player from Prescott, reached his career high International Tennis Federation singles ranking in July of 2025 (No. 14 in the world). He has been on an incredible uptick each year since starting the game during Covid in 2020, and turning professional in 2023. This year, Bogdanov represented Team USA at the World Team Cup in Turkey, going 5-0 in all of his matches, won the German Open in singles, and played the US Open wheelchair event for the second time in three years.

High School Coach of the Year
Daniella Reidmiller—Sierra Vista, AZ (Buena HS)

A former college player from Peru, Reidmiller has been playing the sport for more than 25 years. She's currently the head boys' high school coach for Buena High School, helping the team make significant strides in her first couple of years coaching, to the point where Buena is now reaching sectional and state events. She's the owner/operator of a coaching/performance business called Tennis Unbounded, a frequent social media contributor as well as a volunteer for USTA Southern Arizona, giving an enthusiastic voice to small-town tennis.

Family of the Year
Gibson Family—Los Alamos, NM

Husband Travis and wife Lindsay are co-coaches of the Los Alamos High School tennis team and they have three teenage boys that love tennis as well and have participated in mid-school and high school tennis. Zach (15), Levi (14) and Luke (13) will all play together for the first time this season at LAHS, meaning the entire family will be involved at the same time. Travis and Lindsay are both longtime players, both coach middle school and JV teams at USTA Northern New Mexico events. More than anything, they’ve passed the love of the sport down to their sons.   
 

USTA Southwest President’s Award
Rick Goldwasser—Flagstaff, AZ

Goldwasser is one of the main teaching pros in the city of Flagstaff, and has helped form and cultivate a lot of the community offerings in the last two decades where there were none prior. He helped start and run high school programs, the National Junior Tennis and Learning chapter FACTS, and a lesson program for all levels, adult and junior. His deft personal touch, loyalty and concern for his students makes him a truly memorable coach.

2025 USTA Southwest Hall of Fame Inductees

BRUCE NICHOLS (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Bruce Nichols has built a tennis life defined by excellence, longevity, and love for the game. Nichols first made his mark as one of the best-ever Southwest juniors (No. 1 in every junior age group, most-ever SW junior tournament titles), before heading off to UCLA, where he became a standout for the storied Bruins men’s tennis program.

A co-captain his senior year, he helped lead UCLA to national prominence, was a champion on the 1976 team as a freshman, and captured the 1978 NCAA Division I doubles title alongside partner John Austin — a pairing that underscored UCLA’s powerhouse reputation during college tennis’ golden era.

After college, Bruce transitioned to the professional circuit, where he played World Team Tennis for the Houston Astronauts, competed at the US Open three times and had a world ranking inside 200 for doubles, and Top 300 for singles. His time on tour included appearances at major ATP and Grand Prix events, where he competed against many of the top players of his era.

A tried and true Phoenician, Nichols still competes regularly in national age group events, consistently performing at a high level. Nichols’ enduring passion for competition and sportsmanship makes him both a respected player and an inspiring example of lifelong athletic engagement.

CAROLYN LANE (Phoenix, Ariz.)

Lane’s prowess on tennis courts started at a young age in Phoenix at a fertile time in Southwest history, becoming a top flight junior that eventually made her way to play for the Arizona State Sun Devils, and eventually a short stint on the pro tour.
 
Lane’s junior career started in the 12s and included a Canadian Nationals title in the 14s.

She earned her way onto the Arizona State team in 1975, winning a varsity letter on the squad before embarking on the pro tour, competing at Wimbledon in 1977 and reaching as high as No. 142 in the world.

Lane realized a long pro career wasn’t in the cards, but has found fulfillment playing at top flight events across the USA winning numerous gold, silver and bronze balls, and has represented the US internationally at ITF World team events.