The West Virginia Jr. Team Tennis competed at nationals.
The West Virginia District held their Annual Meeting on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Martinsburg, WV. The AceKickers, Junior Team Tennis winners from the West Virginia District and the Mid-Atlantic Section in 18s Advanced, were introduced and displayed their banner from Nationals.
COLLEGE PARK, MD—West Virginia is going to Nationals. The Mid-Atlantic 18-and-under Advanced Jr. Team Tennis Sectional Champions, the Ace Kickers from the West Virginia Eastern Panhandle JTT league captained by Cliff Jones, will advance to the 2009 USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Championships in Mobile, Alabama, later this year. The Ace Kickers won its title Aug. 8-9 at the Tennis Center at College Park.
CHULA VISTA, CA—Case Tolliver (Bluefield, W.Va.) is a National Rapid Rally silver medalist. He improved upon his bronze medal finish from last year. Daniel Baturyn (San Leandro, CA) won the gold medal in the 8-9 year old boys’ division in this Jr. Olympic Skills competition.
Case Tolliver, bronze winner at Nationals in 2008, will once again represent the WV District at Nationals. Tolliver (Bluefield, WV) was the winner in the 8-9 year old age group locally and regionally. As the East Champion, he will be competing against the Central Champion, Matt Munoz (Findlay, OH), and the West Champion, Daniel Baturyn (San Leandro, CA), for the National Championship. Good luck and congratulations.
The Sarver Tennis Club in Bluefield, WV, has been named one of the Top 50 Welcome Centers according to the Tennis Industry Association. Steve Sarver, a USPTA certified pro since 1975, owns the club and runs all USTA programs, including Tennis Welcome Center, Leagues, Jr. Team Tennis, and Cardio tennis. Adult and junior lessons are available, both private and group. The club is home to the Appalachian Youth Tennis & Education Foundation program for tennis instruction. Throughout the year USTA-sanctioned tournaments are held, along with offering back up for area high-school teams. Along with Sarver’s club, the Annapolis Area Tennis School in Annapolis, MD, has also been named a Top 50 Welcome Center.
Junior Team Tennis is currently registering play in the Eastern Panhandle, Beckley, and Morgantown. If interested in playing or setting up teams in your area, please contact the WV District office aliceann@westvirginiatennis.com for further information. Junior Team Tennis offers match play at various ages and levels with the opportunity for advancement to Sectionals and Nationals. Join today.
You're a competitor. Physically, you may be in the office or at home, but your mind is on court. You just love to play tennis. There's a name for people like you: USTA League Tennis player. USTA League Tennis is the country's largest recreational tennis league, providing organized, structured team matches for more than 600,000 men and women of all ability levels. Teams consist of either all women or all men, and because all teams are set up according to NTRP rating, you're always sure that you'll be facing off against someone of comparable ability. That keeps the competition lively and the atmosphere social, in a format that features two singles and three doubles matches per clash. We also offer mixed doubles leagues. And as part of a team, you've got a built-in support entourage that few pros can match. USTA League Tennis is open to men and women 19 years of age and older, and features local, area and sectional championships, culminating in a national championship.
Pete Deremer, the West Virginia University Club Tennis President, said the Tennis On Campus program is awesome. “Everyone from all of the USTA levels are supportive, helpful, and very active. WVU Club Tennis definitely would not be the same without it and the great staff that helped us along the way. I think that for the program is going down the right path. While it's different playing the World Team Tennis format, it's needed for tournaments or we would be playing the tournaments all week! Overall, I love it and try to support it as best as I can.” Deremer is recruiting more members for next year. “We are constantly looking for new members. Our goal is to lower membership fees, and get more people involved at the local level. With WVU having about 28,000 students, there are certainly more than 50 people who enjoy tennis. Recruitment will get really active early in the semester next year and we are going to try some new things.”
Jr. Team Tennis in on the rise in the Mid-Atlantic. With 1,779 players in 2008, we are already at 1,718 players in March. Mid-Atlantic Jr. Team Tennis Manager Elena Branker said the Section is 61 registrants away from bypassing last year’s total numbers. “We are growing very rapidly and still have the biggest season, summer, to go,” she added. “It should increase as the DC District and West Virginia District look to expand their leagues as well.” The Jr. Team Tennis concept emphasizes fun, fitness, and friends in intermediate and advanced divisions, competing in District, Sectional, and National Championships. To become a program coordinator or to join a team, contact Alice Ann Sarver (West Virginia) at aliceann@westvirginiatennis.com; Caroline Downs (Virginia) at caroline@virginiatennis.com; Alicia von Lossberg (Maryland) at avonloss@isiglobal.net; or Carmela Goodall (Washington, DC) at carmela_goodall@msn.com.
West Virginia senior Pete Deremer won the Sportsmanship Award and was presented with a Wilson K-Factor racquet. In West Virginia’s first year as a Tennis On Campus club team, Deremer said he has had a lot of fun. Before the tennis and baseball seasons were during the same time, so he didn’t play tennis. But his sophomore year in college, he picked it up again. His father, Greenbrier’s Terry Deremer, was happy that Pete started playing tennis. Terry always taught tennis and now Pete would ask him to play. West Virginia and James Madison earned Team Sportsmanship awards and were given Tennis Warehouse tennis bags and Wilson grips and strings.
