Teams from California, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, and New Jersey win national championship titles at WTT Rec Finals in Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (November 6, 2011) – Recreational tennis teams from California, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, and New Jersey captured national championship titles at the World TeamTennis Rec League National Finals, which concluded Sunday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. A field of 54 recreational tennis teams representing 15 states, competed for national championship titles in 12 divisions during the three-day tournament.
The teams advanced to the national finals by qualifying from their respective division in eight WTT Rec League national qualifying tournaments held throughout the year. Corporate League teams qualified by winning their local league.
All matches were played using the WTT format, a fun, fast-paced coed team format that encourages equal contributions from both genders. A team has a minimum of four players, two men and two women. The WTT format uses five or six no-ad sets: men’s and women’s doubles, men’s and women’s singles and one or two sets of mixed doubles.
For more information on World TeamTennis or the WTT Recreational League, visit www.WTT.com/recleagues or call 866-PLAY-WTT.
3.0 DIVISION: The Racketeers of Irvine, Calif., won their first WTT National title with an undefeated run through the 3.0 Division. The Racketeers wrapped up the weekend with a 36-11 win over Thomson Reuters of St. Paul, Minn., on the final day of competition. 808-Love of Waipahu, Hawaii, finished second with a 3-1 round robin record. Team members of The Racketeers are Megan Woods of Tustin, Calif.; Chris Noto (captain) of Irvine, Calif.; Hellen Nguyen of Santa Ana, Calif.; Greg Mittenhuber of Irvine, Calif.; Gloria Mar of Agoura Hills, Calif.; and Ann Lesser of Irvine, Calif.
3.5 DIVISION: Fresno Tennis Club of Fresno, Calif., won the 3.5 Division title with an undefeated 5-0 round robin record. It was the first WTT national title for Fresno Tennis Club, led by captain Dave Colby of Kingsburg, Calif. Team Lights Out of Greenville, S.C., finished second with a 4-1 record.
Team members of Fresno Tennis Club are Pat Pope of Clovis, Calif.; Ben Kuo of Fresno, Calif.; Jeff Klippert of Fresno, Calif.; Marion Elder of Fresno, Calif.; and Dave Colby (captain) of Kingsburg, Calif.
Team members of the runner-up Team Lights Out are Will Welborn of Spartanburg, S.C.; Kirsten Metzler of Mauldin, S.C.; Donna Lowrey of Greenville, S.C.; Patrick Culbreth of Spartanburg, S.C.; Sonja Broderick of Greenville, S.C.; David Broderick (captain) of Greenville, S.C.; and George Auger of Greenville, S.C.
4.0 DIVISION: The MotherFugers of Kansas City, Mo., outlasted PB Tennis Club of Encinitas, Calif., 25-21, in a rain-shortened championship final to win the 4.0 Division. Team members of MotherFugers are Whitney White of Kansas City, Mo.; Natasha Milberger of Shawnee, Kan.; Bryan Milberger of Shawnee, Kan.; Scott McCulloch of Lees Summit, Mo.; Leticia Lugo of Shawnee, Kan.; Jeff Lacy of Kansas City, Mo.; Robyn Kleweno of Overland Park, Kan.; Amy Hatch of Kansas City, Mo.; Ryan Fuger (captain) of Kansas City, Mo.; and Andy Brez of Kansas City, Mo.
The Phanatics of Simpsonville, S.C., defeated Pachauri of St. Louis, Mo., 21-19 to finish in third place.
4.5 DIVISION: Balboa Tornados of San Diego, Calif., captured their first WTT National Championship by posting a 5-0 round robin record in the 4.5 Division. The Tornados outdistanced opponents 152-115. The Tornados were led by captain Mary Gunset of San Diego, along with team members Ken Simpson, El Cajon, Calif.; Doug Ronney, San Diego, Calif.; Lisa Naumu, La Jolla, Calif.; Melinda Murray, San Diego, Calif.; John Jeffries, San Diego, Calif.; Stepanka Hastings, El Cajon, Calif.; and David Gill, San Diego, Calif.
Hot Critical Mess of Coronado, Calif., finished second in the 4.5 Division, followed by Victorious Secrets of Kansas City, Mo.
SENIOR 3.5 DIVISION: Love Players Senior 3.5 of Miami, Fla., edged Bangers & Mash of La Jolla, Calif., in an exciting championship final, 27-26 to win the Senior 3.5 Division for the second consecutive year. Love Players Senior 3.5 upset Aces4Kids of Los Angeles in the semifinals to advance to the title match. Captain Lavenia Ferguson of Novelty, Ohio; led her Love Players Senior squad to the win along with teammates Linda Yusman Wirth of Miami, Fla.; Vivian Vila of Miami, Fla.; Bill Mixson of Miami, Fla.; Susan Parkhurst of Miami, Fla.; and Gregory Perrin of Maple Heights, Ohio.
Bangers and Mash were 0-3 in round robin action but pulled off a big upset in the semifinals with a 36-20 win over the top-seed Wild Wild Aces of Indio, Calif. Members of Bangers & Mash are Mike Rodley of San Diego, Calif.; Judy Rockland of San Diego, Calif.; Mike Hasan (captain) of La Jolla, Calif.; Paivi Burke of La Jolla, Calif.; and Robert Burke of La Jolla, Calif.
Aces4Kids defeated Wild Wild Aces to finish third in the division.
SENIOR 4.0 DIVISION: Lob Squad of Middletown, N.J., captured their first national title in the 4.0 Division with a 5-0 mark in round robin action. Led by captain Eileen Goss, Lob Squad dominated the division, outscoring opponents 166-113 over five matches. Lob Squad closed out their undefeated run with a 35-22 win over Amarillo Senior Slammers in their final match of the weekend. Joining Goss on Lob Squad are Craig Wood of Toms River, N.J.; Stephen Van Voorhis of Sea Girt, N.J.; Cynthia Palermo of Red Bank, N.J.; Kathleen Molyneaux of Sea Girt, N.J.; David McIndoe of Toms River, N.J.; and Peter Eno of Interlaken, N.J.
WTT Senior Crew of Virginia Beach, Va., finished second in the Senior 4.0 Division.
SENIOR 4.5 DIVISION: The Diehards of Long Beach, Calif., won the first-ever Senior 4.5 Division title with a 29-27 victory over Killer Beez of Hidden Hills, Calif. The Diehards were 3-0 in round robin action then topped the KC Scrappers of Kansas City, Mo., in the semifinals, 30-25.
Team members of the Diehards are Liz Wood (non-playing captain) of Long Beach, Calif.; Mike Vieane of Long Beach, Calif.; Cheryl Smith of Anaheim Hills, Calif.; Mark Mihalco of Seal Beach, Calif.; Mary Meister of Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; Marianne Hartshorn of Long Beach, Calif.; Alex Glowacki of Long Beach, Calif.; Steve Eperthener of Long Beach, Calif.; and Gail Bancroft of Tustin, Calif.
Killer Beez team members are Linda Beisswanger (captain) of Hidden Hills, Calif.; Jeff Richards of Agoura Hills, Calif.; Joe Prado of Calabasas, Calif.; Wendy Pillar of West Hills, Calif.; Diane Perryman of Encino, Calif.; Kristine Grant of Bell Canyon, Calif.; Barry Feldstein of Simi Valley, Calif.; David Dreben of West Hills, Calif.; and Karen Cohen of Encino, Calif.
SUPER SENIOR 3.5 DIVISION: Love Players Super Senior 3.5 of Miami, Fla., are the 2011 WTT Super Senior 3.5 Division champions after posting a 3-2 round robin record. It was the second national title of the weekend for three members of the Love Players Super Senior 3.5 team who also played on the Love Players Senior 3.5 squad – Lavenia Ferguson of Novelty, Ohio; Susan Parkhurst of Hialeah, Fla.; and Bill Mixson, Miami, Fla. The captain of the Love Players Super Senior 3.5 team is Pete Roscia of Miami, Fla.
SUPER SENIOR 4.0 DIVISION: For the second year in a row, captain Jane Maloy and her KC Masters team from Kansas City, Mo., won the Super Senior 4.0 national title. The KC Masters and Team Davis of Encino, Calif., both finished with 4-1 round robin records. However KC Masters won the title with a 32-13 victory over Team Davis in the final match on Sunday.
KC Masters team members are David Rigg of Gladstone, Mo.; Jane Maloy (captain) of Smithville, Mo.; Mike Maloy of Smithville, Mo.; Kathy Loepp of Kansas City, Mo.; Larry Leonard of Prairie Village, Kan.; Muriel Hull of Kansas City, Mo.; Gail Gregory of Fairway, Kan.; and William L. Cook of Prairie Village, Kan.
CORPORATE DIVISIONS:
Three first-time champions took home the titles in the three Corporate League divisions.
Corporate 3.5 Division: Target Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn., outgunned USG&E of Miami, Fla., 33-18, to win the Corporate 3.5 Division title. Target won all three of their round robin round matches then dispatched New York State Agency Aces of Cohoes, N.Y., 32-20 in the semifinals.
Target Corporation team members are Ravi Pilla of Bloomington, Minn.; Jonathan Piepho of Minneapolis, Minn.; Marlo Lewis of St. Paul, Minn.; Steve Kelsven (captain) of Minneapolis, Minn.; Cindy Hanson of Ham Lake, Minn.; and Paige Bromen of Minneapolis, Minn.
Corporate 4.0 Division: The Corporate 4.0 title went to Donchka Travel of Beverly Hills, Calif., who were undefeated over the three-day event. Donchka Travel was 4-0 in round robin action, including a key victory over runner-up Wells Fargo Advisors of St. Louis, 33-21.
Donna Wolfe of Beverly Hills, Calif., is the team captain of Donchka Travel. Other team members are Elaine Symonds of Los Angeles, Calif.; Steve Davis of Beverly Hills, Calif.; Richard Petherbridge of Van Nuys, Calif.; Susan Montgomery of Culver City, Calif.; Christina Markey of Beverly Hills, Calif.; and Hans Lavik of Redondo Beach , Calif.
Corporate 4.5 Division: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney of Miami, Fla., dominated the Corporate 4.5 Division, winning their first national title with a 4-1 round robin record. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was captained by Emiliano Lorenzini of Miami, Fla. Other team members are Andi Steinacker of Miami, Fla.; Josefina Gorostiaga of Key Biscayne, Fla.; Cecilia Fillol of Key Biscayne, Fla.; and Marcelo Borrelli of Miami, Fla.