San Juan Tennis Teams win the Natiol Champions at USTA League

SAN JUAN MEN’S & WOMEN’S TENNIS TEAMS CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS AT

USTA LEAGUE ADULT 18 & OVER 3.0 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS TOURNAMENT

TUCSON, Ariz. – Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams from San Juan, P.R., representing the USTA Caribbean Section, captured the national titles at the USTA League Adult 18 & Over 3.0 National Championships held at the Jim Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday, Sept. 29.

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 participants in a few parts of the country in its first year, to over 820,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

Men’s 18 & Over 3.0

The San Juan men’s team team defeated the USTA Hawaii Section team from Honolulu, 5-0, in the Championship match. Earlier in the day, the San Juan team also defeated the USTA New England team from Worcester, Mass. 5-0 in the semifinals. They advanced this far by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

The team is captained by Hector Baez-Ramos and features players Gabriel O. Droz, Gabriel Oscar Hernandez, Carlos Zayas Velez, Carlos Rodriguez, Hector Luis Losada Colon, Giovanni Ortiz, Xavier Arnaldo Santos Morales, Fernando Figueroa Lozano, Edwin Andre Ramos Merced, Fernando Fernandez and Gerardo Silva.

The top four teams in order of finish are: USTA Caribbean (San Juan, P.R.), USTA Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii), USTA Southwest (Phoenix, Ariz.) and USTA New England (Worcester, Mass.).

Women’s 18 & Over 3.0

The San Juan women’s team defeated a team from Seattle, Wash., representing the USTA Pacific Northwest Section, 3-2, in the Championship match. Earlier in the day, the San Juan team defeated the hometown team from Tucson, 4-1, in the semifinals. They advanced this far by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

The team is captained by Adrian Hernandez and features players Zahira Marie Altieri, Stephanie N. Stoddard, Dulce Maria Cruz, Carel Rosado, Karina Veronica Baez, Claudia Rivera, Francine Babilonia, Virgin Casillas Rodriguez, Irmannette Torres-Lugo, Keissa Acevedo and Gabriela Acevedo.

The top four teams in order of finish are: USTA Caribbean (San Juan, P.R.), USTA Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Wash.), USTA Northern California (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and USTA Southwest (Tucson, Ariz.).

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. 

Beginning with the 2013 National Championship season, USTA League changed its structure and format. The change offers USTA League participants 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, visit www.usta.com.

#  #  #

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level, from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with more than 770,000 members, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking nine summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s national charitable foundation, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.

PHOTOS ATTACHED

Men’s Left to Right – Gabriel O. Droz, Gabriel Oscar Hernandez, Carlos Zayas Velez, Captain Hector Baez-Ramos, Carlos Rodriguez, Hector Luis Losada Colon, Giovanni Ortiz, Xavier Arnaldo Santos Morales, Fernando Figueroa Lozano, Edwin Andre Ramos Merced, Fernando Fernandez, Gerardo Silva (Photo Credit: USTA)

Women’s Left to Right – Zahira Marie Altieri, Stephanie N. Stoddard, Dulce Maria Cruz, Carel Rosado, Karina Veronica Baez, Claudia Rivera, Francine Babilonia, Virgin Casillas Rodriguez, Irmannette Torres-Lugo, Keissa Acevedo, Gabriela Acevedo (Photo Credit: USTA)

For more information, contact:

Sarah Houseknecht, BZA PR on behalf of the USTA – (212) 708-1677 / sarahh@bzapr.com