Eight teams from USTA Southern earned a bid to play in the national championship round of the largest adult recreational tennis league in the world by winning the 2016 USTA League 40 & Over Southern Sectional Championships.
Louisiana and Tennessee lead the tournament with two champions and one finalist. Georgia had the most teams in the finals, with one winner and three finalists.
Champions and finalists were:
|
Level
|
Champions
Hometown,
Captain/Co-captain
|
Finalists
Hometown,
Captain/Co-captain
|
|
Men’s 3.0
|
Mandeville/Covington, LA
Damon Morise, Mackie Gallagher
|
Columbus, GA
Scott Sawyer
|
|
Men’s 3.5
|
Lake Charles, LA
Rusty Cart
|
Pelham, AL
Van Imbraguilo, Chris Fields
|
|
Men’s 4.0
|
Bluffton, SC (A)
Jonathan Watkins
|
Hendersonville, TN
Phillip Trammel, Bruce Kirby
|
|
Men’s 4.5
|
Hoover, AL
Bill Lawrence, Rick Gaynor
|
Louisville, KY
David English
|
|
Women’s 3.0
|
Nashville, TN
Jennifer McNabb, Kathryn Robeson
|
Louisville, KY (A)
Lori Cook, Sarah Strause
|
|
Women’s 3.5
|
Brentwood, TN (A)
Hillary Cooper, Jennifer Davis
|
Mandeville/Covington, LA
Kelly Wollfarth, Sehlley Sisson
|
|
Women’s 4.0
|
Columbus, GA (B)
Brandee Murrah
|
Marietta, GA (A)
Dallas Otterlee
|
|
Women’s 4.5
|
Raleigh, NC
Shelly Kirkpatrick
|
Sandy Springs, GA
Michelle Levery, Melissa Nodvin
|
Matches were played at Asheville Racquet Club Downtown (tournament headquarters), Asheville Racquet Club South, Aston Park Tennis Center, TC Roberson High School and the Asheville School.
This is the fourth consecutive year the city has hosted the annual tournament.
This year’s tournament drew the top 80 teams consisting of 850 players from the USTA’s nine states. Players must be 40 years of age or older at any time in 2016.
Champion teams will have the opportunity to compete for the USTA League National Championships during October in California and Arizona.