SaddleBrooke Tennis Club Team to compete in USTA Sectionals

Top, left to right: Rich Reiner, Dewayne Nichols, Jim Abrahamson, Liam Flynn, Rich Wantuck, Joe Schullik and Bob Johnson. Not shown are Al Bush, Dave Johnson, Al Kacer, DeWayne Nicholes, Rich Reiner and John Serle.

Top, left to right: Rich Reiner, Dewayne Nichols, Jim Abrahamson, Liam Flynn, Rich Wantuck, Joe Schullik and Bob Johnson. Not shown are Al Bush, Dave Johnson, Al Kacer, DeWayne Nicholes, Rich Reiner and John Serle.

From top left: Mandy Leith, Carol Bidwell, Captain Mary Jo George, Barb Eisenberg, Liz Meisegeier, Leila Smith, JoAnn Bosworth, Co-Captain Sandi Stohl, Ellen Efron, Diane Boyer, Mary Hlushko, Sue Hagerty and Peggy Shea. Not shown are Lee Rock and Susan Goebel.

From top left: Mandy Leith, Carol Bidwell, Captain Mary Jo George, Barb Eisenberg, Liz Meisegeier, Leila Smith, JoAnn Bosworth, Co-Captain Sandi Stohl, Ellen Efron, Diane Boyer, Mary Hlushko, Sue Hagerty and Peggy Shea. Not shown are Lee Rock and Susan Goebel.

Cheer and throw your hats in the air. Two STC 3.5 teams have advanced to USTA Sectional matches that will be held in sunny El Paso, Texas, this fall. The Ladies 55 plus team is captained by Mary Jo George and Sandi Stohl. The men’s team is headed by Joe Schullik and Jim Abrahamson.

The men had their work cut out for them. Playing tennis at team competition levels is challenging enough under ordinary circumstances. To those conditions add the fierce combativeness of the clubs against which they played. How best to describe the level of competition? Consider that of the 27 matches played by the men’s team; almost half had to be decided by tiebreakers of which the Schullik-Abrahamson team won eight. No less than four of the meets were actually decided by hard fought third set tiebreakers. That’s tough tennis. Congratulations to Rich Reiner, Dewayne Nichols, Jim Abrahamson, Liam Flynn, Rich Wantuck, Joe Schullik, Bob Johnson, Al Bush, Dave Johnson, Al Kacer, DeWayne Nicholes, Rich Reiner and John Serle.

Mary Jo’s team also had a tough schedule. They won eight out of ten matches and played Himmel, winter season winner, in a close contest that gave the STC team the right to travel to El Paso this fall where they will compete in the USTA Southwest Sectionals: Mandy Leith, Carol Bidwell, Captain Mary Jo George, Barb Eisenberg, Liz Meisegeier, Leila Smith, JoAnn Bosworth, Co-Captain Sandi Stohl, Ellen Efron, Diane Boyer, Mary Hlushko, Sue Hagerty, Peggy Shea, Lee Rock and Susan Goebel.

Congratulations, ladies. And good luck in El Paso.