A small band of seasoned men’s tennis players from the Los Angeles Tennis Club made history last week as the only team from the storied LATC to win the right to compete in a national USTA tennis tournament for non-professionals. They won their sectional division earning a spot among 17 men’s teams from around the country to compete in the weekend tournament in Orlando, Florida where they played two rounds of matches each day.
In the end, the team landed 10th out of 17 but the real victory came in competing with some of the best players in the country. Team captain Jesse Young reported to fans at home the results of the final day of competition. The team had lost the first round on Friday but won the second round of matches.
“The intrepid lads from Los Angeles suited up and were on the green clay before the dawn turned the skies over Orlando pink to match our uniforms. Against an undefeated and veteran team from Georgia, clay court masters, We countered slice with slice, lob with lob and threw everything we had at them, but came up just short. Gary and Jeremy took line 1 to a tiebreaker and lost 10-8. Jesse and Humberto fell 4 and 0, with many multiple deuce games. And John and Andy fell 2 and 3, for a sweep for Southern that catapulted them into first place.
In the noon match against some dudes from Buffalo, Andy and Jesse won at line 1, 6-4, 6-4. Jim Hardy and Humberto lost 2 and 3, leaving Rob and John out on the court to decide the outcome. Unfortunately, they won the first set, lost the second, and with the fans from both teams cheering, they fell in the tiebreaker.
So, LATC returns home tomorrow having fallen just short of the glory, but full of pride in our accomplishments and armed with vital experience that will help us return again and emerge victorious.
Thank you to everyone for their support of our team.” – Jesse
Patty, You do such a great job. Thanks for keeping us informed. Best, Grace