Locals set to compete for national crown

After winning their respected divisions at the recent USA League Tennis Intermountain Sectional Championships in Salt Lake City, three local tennis teams will soon be competing in the national championship round of the largest adult recreational tennis league in the world.

The USA League Tennis National Championships are scheduled for Thursday through Oct. 24, in Palm Springs, San Diego, Los Angeles and Tucson, Ariz. The championships, which will decide the No. 1 recreational tennis teams in the country, are broken into six playing levels from 2.5 to 5.0 and one open level.

The Red Rock 3.5 women's team consists of Madonna Alberts, Irene Arambula, Teresa Bowman (captain), Mary Clifford, Anne Evans, Betty Hale, Gretchen Hau, Eileen Marasco, Cherry Marshall, Lynne Miller, Vickie Monroe, Allison Prues, Melissa Santoli, Shari Spencer, Susan Tighi, Patricia Throwbridge and Anita Wilbur. They will compete Oct. 12-15, in Tucson.

The Desert Palm 3.5 Men's Team will compete Oct. 12-15, also in Tucson. It is comprised of Michael Bubbins, Victor Cardoza, Ray Eccleston, Mike Garvin, John Harrigan, Scott Howard, Erik Krischner, Alan Long, Chris Miller, Pete Mueller, Brian Parker, Kris Penny, Keith Pickford, Vincent Pizzi, Howard Tubin (captain) and Bryan Yeager.

From October 5-8, the Summerlin 4.5 Men's Team of Mike Arnau, Jeff Barber, Dave Cox, Rod Dunnett (captain), Richard Haskins, Joe Higgins, Mark Hoesel, Kevin Janison, Bryan Kyle, Dan Martinsen, Jim Peterson and Robert Strimling will compete in Tucson.

The USA Team Tennis for Youth Section Championships were also recently held in Salt Lake City. The event brought together 138 players from Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming and Utah and consisted of winners from each state's local USA Team Tennis for Youth season.

The Tennis 2000 Team of Las Vegas reached the finals in the White II division (ages 14 and younger). The team's players included Jessica Dangerfield, Julia Baltas, China Rose Gumiensky, David Nichols, Andrew Craven and Ryan Bowman.

Tip of the Week -- Maybe you spent several hundred dollars three years ago for a great new racket. Don't be afraid to replace the frame when it becomes worn out, just because you paid a lot for it when you bought it.

Almost all rackets today are made from some combination of graphite and other composite materials. These rackets are made of thousands of very small, very stiff fibers. Each time you hit the ball, some of these fibers break. When you break a string, the racket will briefly change shape, breaking even more fibers.

The end result is that after a certain amount of time, the frame will start to become "fatigued" or even "dead." This will happen sooner if you play very often, hit the ball with a lot of force or break a lot of strings.

If you want to do justice to yourself and your enjoyment of the sport, once a racket reaches this "fatigued" point, it is time to retire it for a new frame.

USPTA Professional Tom Sullivan has been the director of tennis for Canyon Gate Country Club since 1995. Sullivan can be reached at 363-0303.