|  | | | | Rec Teams Win Titles at WTT Rec League Nationals | |  |
by Rosie Crews11/8/2007
Recreational tennis teams capture titles at WTT National Finals in Indian Wells
(NEW YORK, N.Y. - November 8, 2007) -- Teams from California, Missouri, Maryland,
Virginia, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada and Puerto Rico captured national championships at the World TeamTennis Rec League Nationals presented by Advanta this weekend at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. It was the first national championship title for all 10 teams.
A record 51 recreational tennis teams from 16 states, Puerto Rico and Canada battled for national championship titles in ten divisions. This was the largest National Finals’ field in the event’s 13- year history.
For the first time, the WTT National Finals went green with host sponsor FirmGreen Energy donating renewable energy credits and greenhouse gas emission offsets to help WTT reduce its carbon footprint for the event. Tournament participants were introduced on a FirmGreen “green carpet” which was made of recycled tennis shoes, and Gatorade bottles from the tournament were recycled.
Teams advanced to the national finals by either qualifying from their respective division in six WTT Rec League national qualifying tournaments or by winning their local Corporate League. The weekend kicked off with a clinic hosted by WTT co-founder Billie Jean King.
All matches used the WTT format, a fun, fast-paced co-ed 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.
Paraiso, led by Roberto Leal of San Juan, Puerto Rican, captured the 3.0 Division title with a 5-0 round robin record. This was the first win for a team from Puerto Rico in Finals history. Paraiso dominated the second place squad, The Grand-OK “Let” Homies of Broken Arrow, Okla., 36-13, in their only meeting of the weekend.
Four teams tied for the top spot in the 3.5 Division with a 3-2 record, but We Hate Late of Woodland Hills, Calif., took the title with the best winning percentage. There was less than .5 percentage point difference between the four teams. Emily Bonnett captained We Hate Late.
The Magic Show of Kansas City, Mo., rolled through the 4.0 Division with a perfect 5-0 mark. Runner-up Just 4 Fun was one of three teams to post a 3-2 mark but finished second based on their winning percentage.
Captain Julie Juliani of Studio City, Calif., led Aces Up to their first national title in the 4.5 Division. Aces Up was undefeated in round-robin action, posting a 4-0 record to edge out Team Calabasas of Hidden Hills, Calif.
Fun Fun Fun of Silver Spring, Md., and Fresno Tennis Club of Kingsburg, Calif., tied at the top of the Senior 3.5 Division with 4-1 records. Fun Fun Fun captured the title based on their 29-16 win over Fresno Tennis Club. Bob Medbery is the captain of Fun Fun Fun.
Beach Nuts of Virginia Beach, Va., dominated the Senior 4.0 Division with a 5-0 record. The Beach Nuts, captained by Connie Bolling, outpaced opponents 152-106 over five matches to win the title. Bay Park Breakers of San Diego, Calif., finished second with a 4-1 record.
The Corporate Division titles were captured by teams from Florida, California and Minnesota. Grand Slammers of Boca Raton, Fla., went 5-0 to win the Corporate 3.5 Division title. Boston Scientific-Latitude of Brooklyn Park, Minn., finished second with a 4-1 record.
After finishing second one year ago, Sports Explorers 4.0 of Los Angeles, Calif., won the Corporate 4.0 title. Team captain Lisa Thomas led the squad to a 5-0 round robin record, edging out Royal Caribbean & Celebrity Cruises of Miami, Fla., at 4-1.
Boston Scientific – Heart Strings topped the field in the Corporate 4.5 Division. The Minneapolis-based squad was led by captain Mathan Krishnappan. Pallenburg Wealth Management of Ottawa, Canada, finished second.
Rob Kinas of Las Vegas, Nev., led the Las Vegas Longshots to the Open Division championship. The Longshots dominated, outscoring opponents 104 to 29 over three matches. Merrill Lynch International of Miami, Fla., finished second in the Open Division.
For full results from the WTT Rec League Nationals or more information on World TeamTennis, visit www.WTT.com or call 866-PLAY-WTT.
|