Queen Anne Park USTA Team Goes to Sectionals — Again!

A team made of up of moms who started playing tennis a year and a half ago at local Queen Anne Park, are headed to USTA Sectionals  in Costa Mesa for the second year in a row this weekend.

The 3.0 team, which played 3 lines of doubles and 2 lines of singles this past spring, won the Los Angeles division again and so are moving on to the Sectionals.  The team was created by Morris Gardner, the Queen Anne Park tennis professional, who met the women while instructing their children, all students at St. Brendan School, in his weekly Juniors Clinic.

Gardner strongly believes that tennis is a family sport.  He saw the moms watching on the bench and wanted to teach them to play with their children because, as he says: “tennis is a game of repetition.”  The idea was to turn the mothers into hitting partners for their junior players so he formed the entry level/advanced beginners team. The mothers, many of whom had never played before, took to the sport. It was somewhat of a surprise to everyone. “I never expected it to become so competitive,” said Andrea Hutchman, Captain of the current team.

Gardner gives all the credit to the players. “They are quick learners and hard workers,”  he said, noting that they play in three weekly practices and weekend games. “They are a wonderful group of women who put in the time,”  he added. A 3.5 team was also created to accommodate the players whose winning record forced them to move up a level.  There are now a total of 33 players on the team and the Larchmont community will be rooting for them on the courts this weekend!