Serving Tennis in Baldwin, Greene, Morgan & Putnam
Counties
LOTA NewsBriefs – JUNE 2017
STATE WINNERS !
By Rick Cook
The LOTA-USTA 3.5 Men’s 55+ team wins
it all! Congratulations to Captain Mark Watkins’
guys - Roger Fields (co-captain), Scott Joris, Luis
Henao, Bob Sanders, Dan Quinn, Erik Jorgensen,
Rick Cook, Keith Dillon and Cliff Sheppard!
There were 3 groups at the 3.5 level.
Teams in our group were - 2 from Atlanta, 1 from
Athens and 1 was Southern Crescent which is
Peachtree City.
The team played 2 matches on Friday, one
on Saturday, and one Sunday morning to complete
our group play. We won each of our first 3 matches
2 -1 and in the final group match, we won 3-0.
It should be noted that one of the teams in
our group was captained by a man who took a team
all the way to win USTA Nationals several years ago
and the current team still included a number of
members from that team.
The semi’s featured 3 teams from Atlanta
and our LOTA team - the “David and Goliath”
scenario. We won 2-1 and advanced to the finals
where we played (again) the former national
championship team from Atlanta.
At the Monday morning finals, LOTA wins
2-1 to bring home the gold!
“We had tremendous team cooperation,
switching partners and lines with everyone
really turning it up and playing at a high
level!”
– Captain Mark Watkins
NEXT – THE SECTIONALS!
September in Asheville, NC.
OTHER TEAMS @ STATE!
LOTA-USTA Mixed Doubles are forming now!
It looks like we will field two 18 & over 8.0 teams
and three or four 40 & over teams. The 8.0 teams
will play a 3-day tournament format and the 7.0 teams
will play on Tuesday/Thursday evening. We still need more captains!!!!!
LOTA
Nights
Friday night, May 12, LOTA sponsored FRIDAY NIGHT
MIXED DOUBLES AT THE LAKE CLUB. About 25 players
of all levels enjoyed LOTA-provided beer and pizza. LOTA
had a display extolling the virtues of LOTA membership
and signed up some new members. Doug Keipper hosts
the Friday evening event and it’s a great time to meet new
players, socialize and have fun. LOTA is looking for other
tennis events in the 4-county region to support!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!!!!
NOV
10-12
Yes, Virginia, there will be a LOTA Classic.
Don’t miss out. Beat those turkeys across the net from
you. Tell them Thanks after Giving them a whipping!
Stuffing the ball down their throats! Gobble up the details
when they come this fall!
HAVE YOU HEARD??? There’s going to be a special new
T-Shirt provided for every volunteer at LOTA events this
year! Contact Mary Wise for info - [email protected]
FRIENDLY REMINDER
LOTA is the official Community Tennis Association for the USTA in
Greene, Putnam, Morgan and Baldwin Counties. Both your LOTA and
USTA memberships must be current to play in the USTA. Contact
Karen Bernardy or Rick Cook at [email protected] for details.
Barbara Voyles & her 3.5 Women’s 65+ Team
The LOTA Ladies 3.5 55+ team went 2-3. They had
5 tiebreaks and were within a few points of beating
the team that finished second at that level. Joy
Graden went 4-0 and Liz Hiatt went 3-2.
Check Website for Scores,
Rules & Latest Info
WWW.LOTATennis.com
Support Our Sponsors!!!
OCONEE CLEANERS
Karen Bernardy’s 4.0 Women’s 55+ Team
LOTA-USTA Women 3.5 team in Savannah
(From Left) Liz Hiatt, Stephanie Coleman, Gail
Watkins, Catherine Moore, Sharon Kaple and Joy
Graden (Not Shown – Captain Ellen Shea & Toni
Horne who played on this team and the 65+ team!!!)
Stop in to see Scott and
tell him LOTA Sent You!!
1210 Commerce Drive, # 112
Greensboro - (706) 453-0602