Tennis Briefs(5): Florida Award Nominations, NCAA Results, More

2015 USTA Florida Tennis Award Nominations Open

The USTA Florida Awards Committee has announced the nomination process for the 2015 USTA Florida Awards opened on May 15.

The awards will be presented at the USTA Florida Annual Meeting and Tennis Celebration on Nov. 20-22, 2015. All nominations must be submitted on the Official Nomination Form:

“No nominations will be accepted after June 30, so go online now, and don’t let that special Florida volunteer or organization go unrecognized,” said USTA Florida staffer and Awards Committee liaison Lynne Salus.

The 2015 awards will be presented in the following categories:

SERVICE AWARDS

Hall of Fame — (Administrative and/or Player)
Merit Award — (Male)
Merit Award — (Female)
Tennis Family of the Year
Volunteer of the Year

RESOURCES DIVISION AWARDS

Member Organization of the Year
Official of the Year
Outstanding Media Excellence

COMPETITIVE TENNIS AWARDS

Bobby Curtis Junior Tournament of the Year
Junior Competitive Coach of the Year
Albert Carrington Balink Award (Junior Player of the Year)
Al Mills Memorial Adult Tournament of the Year
Female Player of the Year (Adult/Senior Division)
Male Player of the Year (Adult/Senior Division)
Wheelchair Player of the Year (Adult/Senior/Junior)
USTA League Tennis Coordinator of the Year

COMMUNITY TENNIS AWARDS

Junior Team Tennis Volunteer of the Year
USTA ‘Tennis on Campus’ Coordinator of the Year
USTA Florida School Tennis Award
10 and Under Tennis Volunteer of the Year
Community Tennis Volunteer of the Year
Jimmy Gantt Memorial Award (junior player who has overcome a physical impairment/injury)
Diversity Achievement Award

Click here to nominate an individual or organization today!  For award questions, please email JoAnn Zirpoli at penn2@aol.com.

‘Try Tennis Free’ at PlayTennis.com Offers ‘Tennis Concierge’ Widget

The PlayTennis.com website, the tennis industry’s collaborative central portal for bringing people into tennis, has been upgraded with new features and functionality to further boost play during the tennis-industry-wide “Try Tennis Free” campaign in May.

New and returning tennis players who go to TryTennisFree.com or PlayTennis.com can quickly and easily search for these tennis providers to find out where they can get into the game for free. Nearly 2,000 tennis facilities and teaching pros are offering Try Tennis Free sessions in their communities throughout the month of May and beyond.

The “Tennis Concierge” widget will quickly return results on tennis locations and tennis organizers in local communities. There also is a new rating function so consumers can rate facilities and programs.

For tennis facilities and teaching professionals, updating program and facility information on the website has been streamlined, and there’s also a live chat feature for instant answers about the site and its functionality. In addition, providers have access to new marketing collateral so they can advertise and support Try Tennis Free in their local communities.

“Like the game itself, PlayTennis.com and the Try Tennis Free campaign are dynamic and exciting,” says Tennis Industry Association Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. “Together with the USTA and our industry partners, we continue to collaborate on our shared goals to increase the number of tennis players, fans and consumers.”

For more info, to find play opportunities as a player or to update your facility’s offerings and information, go to www.PlayTennis.com.

2015 Tennis4Cancer Tournament in June at Fleming Island

Eagle Harbor Tennis just outside of Jacksonville will once again pledge its support to fight cancer by hosting its fifth annual Tennis4Cancer Men’s and Women’s Doubles Championships on June 26-28, 2015.

“The tournament is put on by dedicated Eagle Harbor residents and volunteers, and attracts players from around the Northeast Florida area,” says event chairman James Ellisor. “This year’s tournament will once again benefit the American Cancer Society of Orange Park and the Rotary Club of Orange Park Sunrise Charities.”

The tournament has donated over $89,000 to the two charities over its four-year history.

The cost of entry is $75 per player before May 31, 2015 and $90 thereafter.  Tournament organizers are capping the event at 300 players this year. The tournament will feature player gifts, prizes, raffle drawings, food, drinks and a player party.

Registration must be done via the tournament website at www.tennis4cancer.org.

USF Men, Florida and Miami Women Exit NCAA Tournament

The three men’s and women’s teams in the NCAA Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division I championships exited the event over the weekend, but not before first setting some schools records.

The No. 18-ranked University of South Florida’s historic season came to an end with a 4-1 loss at No. 2-ranked Baylor. It was the first-ever Sweet 16 appearance for the USF men who finished the season with a 21-7 win-loss record, also winning a second consecutive American Athletic Conference crown.

“Three years ago this program was No. 75 in the country and wasn’t even thinking about the NCAA tournament,” head coach Matt Hill said. “Last year these guys made the NCAA tournament and fell a little short. This year to make it to this stage and push the No. 2 in the nation means we’re moving in the right direction.”

The team of Roberto Cid/Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz won at No. 3 doubles for USF, but Baylor won the overall doubles point. In singles unranked Oliver Pramming for USF captured the team’s lone point with a 6-3, 6-2 upset over No. 58-ranked Max Tchoutakian.

The No. 5-ranked Florida Gator women experienced a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to No. 4 Vanderbilt in the women’s round of 16. UF led 3-1 and just needed to win one of the remaining three singles matches in action, but junior Brianna Morgan lost to Vanderbilt’s Frances Altick in straight sets, UF freshman Peggy Porter lost to Ashleigh Antal in three, and freshman Josie Kuhlman lost in the final match on court in three to Vanderbilt’s Astra Sharma after leading with an early break in the third set.

The Gators had earlier lost the doubles point when, tied at one match all, Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock lost the deciding tiebreaker after leading 5-3.

The No. 15-ranked University of Miami women’s team fell to No. 2 North Carolina in the Sweet 16 by the score of 4-1.

UNC swept the three doubles matches for the doubles point, then dominated in singles, excluding Miami’s No. 4 player Lina Lileikite who beat UNC’s Whitney Kay 7-5, 6-2.

For more info or to check out the latest results and draws go to www.ncaa.com.

Florida’s Herman Leads Junior Team at Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup

Chris Herman

Chris Herman of Gulfport, Fla., along with Casey Ratzlaff (Wichita, Kan.) and Connor Stroud (Spindale, N.C.) will lead the U.S. Junior Team at the 2015 BNP Paribas World Team Cup. They will join top wheelchair tennis participants from across the globe on May 25-31, 2015 at Ali Bey Resort Manavgat in Antalya, Turkey.

The World Team Cup, essentially the Davis Cup and Fed Cup of wheelchair tennis, will include 52 teams representing 28 countries competing on red clay.

Jason Harnett (Irvine, Calif.) will coach the U.S. Junior Team. Another Floridian, Paul Walker of Lakeland, will coach the U.S. women’s team.

The U.S. junior team finished fourth last year, but upset the No. 1 team in the world from the Netherlands in round-robin play.

For more info go to www.itftennis.com/wheelchair/tournaments/world-team-cup/overview.aspx.