Tennis players make impact

Local athletes win titles at prestigious national tournament

Top, Chrissy Uriarte of Las Vegas, left, was champion in the girls 16 singles division of the 2007 USTA Intermountain Summer Sectional, and Mary Anne Macfarlane of Ogden, Utah, was a finalist. Kristofer Yee of Las Vegas, left, was champion in the boys 14 singles division, and Keaton Cullimore of Sandy, Utah, was a finalist.SPECIAL TO VIEW Top, Chrissy Uriarte of Las Vegas, left, was champion in the girls 16 singles division of the 2007 USTA Intermountain Summer Sectional, and Mary Anne Macfarlane of Ogden, Utah, was a finalist. Kristofer Yee of Las Vegas, left, was champion in the boys 14 singles division, and Keaton Cullimore of Sandy, Utah, was a finalist.SPECIAL TO VIEW Advertisement

More than 500 junior tennis players competed at the annual United States Tennis Association Intermountain Summer Sectional tournament in Denver on June 12-17, and there were plenty of Las Vegas area players making an impact at what is considered the largest and most prestigious USTA tournament of the year.

Southern Nevadans who won championships at the event include: Pascal Nilsson of Las Vegas in the boys 12 singles event; Gabrielle Smith of Henderson in the girls 12 singles; Kristofer Yee of Las Vegas in the boys 14 singles; Chrissy Uriarte of Las Vegas in the girls 16 singles; Nilsson and Nicholas Mahlangu of Henderson in the boys 12 doubles; Kimberly Yee of Las Vegas in the girls 12 doubles; and Tiffany Taveres of Las Vegas in the girls 14 doubles.

Other local athletes going all the way to the finals included: Yannik Mahlangu of Henderson in the boys 12 singles; Stan Breland of Las Vegas in the boys 16 singles and doubles; Hadrien Saperstein of Las Vegas in the boys 14 doubles; Jeff Vongman in the boys 16 doubles; and Uriarte in the girls 16 doubles.

The Intermountain Section is one of 17 sections of the USTA, including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. For more information, visit www.usta.com.