YORK WOMEN CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS AT USTA LEAGUE 6.0 SUPER SENIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
York’s National Championship Team
SURPRISE, Ariz., April 21, 2013 – The women’s team from York, Pa., representing the USTA Middle States Section, captured the national title at the USTA League 6.0 Super Senior National Championships held at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.
The York team defeated a team from Annapolis, Md., 2-1 in the Championship match. Earlier in the day, the York team defeated a team from Austin, Texas, 3-0 in the semifinals. They advanced this far by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.
The team is captained by Rita Ward and features team members Linda Fitz, Anna Mae Schriver, Ermie Conner, Nancy Yohn, Deb Waltimyer, Deborah Ann Mitzel, Carol Shapiro and Carol Gongola. The team plays at the Wisehaven Tennis Center in York.
The top four teams in order of finish are: USTA Middle States (York, Pa.), USTA Mid-Atlantic (Annapolis, Md.), USTA Pacific Northwest (Yakima, Wash.) and USTA Texas (Austin, Texas).
This year’s USTA League 6.0 Super Senior National Championship has drawn the top 19 teams, with 7 men’s teams and 12 women’s team from all over the United States.
USTA League celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2010. Since its inception in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 participants in its first year, to over 820,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.
USTA League was established to provide adult recreational tennis players throughout the country with the opportunity to compete against players of similar ability levels. Players participate on teams in a league format, which is administered by the USTA through its 17 Sections. The league groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels, ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). USTA League is open to any USTA member 18 years of age or older. It features Adult and Mixed Doubles divisions, as well as a Senior Division (age 50 or older) and a Super Senior Division (age 60 or older).
Beginning with the 2013 National Championship season, USTA League changed its structure and format. The change offers USTA League participants among three age categories (Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over and Adult 55 & Over and Mixed 18 & Over) to better align participants with players their own age. The restructuring guarantees more frequency of play opportunities at more appropriate age groups.
Head Penn Racquet Sports is in its 26th year as official ball of USTA League.
For more information about USTA League or the USTA as a whole, visit www.usta.com.
—Dana Gordon
Tennis Atlantic 