At 92, Connie Bennett leads USTA Heart of America league team back to nationals

It feels like deja vu for Team Bennett, a 65 & Over 7.0 women’s team representing USTA Heart of America.

The team is headed back to USTA League Nationals for the first time since 2022, and this time, they hope to go further than they ever have before.

It may be the last hurrah for captain Connie Bennett, who has won several awards for her contributions to tennis over the years. At 92, she remains very active captaining league teams year-round. But, as one can imagine, this go-round means so much more.

“I have been involved with USTA HOA tennis for well over 25 years and have gone to nationals five times: twice as a playing captain and three times as a non-playing captain,” Bennett said. “This will be my second, and no doubt my last nationals, as I am now 92 years old.

“So you can only imagine how much this tournament means to me and how much tennis has contributed to my life. It is truly the sport of a lifetime.”

This year’s USTA Heart of America league team retains seven of the original 11 players from the 2022 nationals team, with four new players added to the roster. Per Bennett, this group has incredible synergy and the ability to go the distance in the national tournament.

“They fit our team like a glove,” Bennett said of the new players. “Success is always due to team chemistry, and this team certainly has an abundance of that.”

While this season wasn’t a cakewalk for Team Bennett, the squad did dominate the majority of its matches, winning all contests in two sets with the exception of one that went to a third-set tiebreak.

At the USTA Missouri Valley 65 & Over Invitational on June 12-14 at Overland Park Racquet Club, Team Bennett produced the same outcome. The squad won all six matches in two sets, save for one third-set tiebreaker.

It isn’t all competition for this team, however. Bennett shared that her players appreciate all the people they get to meet from across the country, coming together over the sport they all love. She and her team look forward to doing just that once again at nationals.

“We, like all the other teams from this entire country, look forward to meeting new people and competing against those that we consider to be the best tennis players at our level and in our age group throughout this vast country of ours,” Bennett said. “Meeting people from all over the U.S. is what makes this tournament so special for everyone in the tennis world.”

View the list of USTA League teams that have punched their ticket to nationals by clicking here.