The CLC YMCA Lord of the Strings tennis team represents the New England region at the U.S. Tennis Association League National Championships Nov. 7-8 in Surprise, Ariz. Front row, from left: Logan Neale, Laurie Green, Emily Gregory, Ashley Field, and Hilary Bulmar. Back row, from left: Dennis Johnstone, David Hart, John Gregory, and Peter Fenton. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Tennis Association)
The Lord of the Strings coed adult tennis team competed at the U.S. Tennis Association League National Championships Nov. 7-8 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz. The nine-person team was eliminated from the Mixed 18 & Over 6.0 Division tournament at the conclusion of the first round after winning one match and losing three. The Caribbean (Puerto Rico) team won the tournament, and Intermountain (Utah), a team that Lord of the Strings squared off against, was the runner-up.
Based out of the Central Lincoln County YMCA in Damariscotta, the Lord of the Strings team qualified for the national championships by winning the New England sectional championship on June 22 in Simsbury, Conn. It was the first time a CLC YMCA team had won a USTA sectional championship.
There were 14 sectional champions competing in the Mixed 18 & Over 6.0 Division at the national championships. According to the USTA, there are 751 teams with 11,693 players across the country that competed this year in the same division as the Lord of the Strings team.
“We were so proud to make it to the final hundred or so players from around the country that qualified for nationals,” said team member Laurie Green.
After training twice a week Damariscotta for the past four months in preparation for the national tournament, the team members began arriving in Arizona on Nov. 5 in order to acclimate to the hot weather. The squad used funds donated by local sponsors Bred in the Bone and The Contented Sole, fundraising through GoFundMe, and monies raised through community efforts like a CLC YMCA tournament to rent practice time and attend a clinic on Arizona tennis courts and to hire a professional coach for their final preparations.
“So many people including family, friends, the tennis community, the YMCA and local businesses stepped up and supported us in a variety of different ways,” said team member Emily Gregory. “Our team is extremely grateful.”
Dennis Johnstone, of the CLC YMCA Lord of the Strings team, tracks down a shot while Ashley Field guards the net during the U.S. Tennis Association League National Championships on Nov. 8 in Surprise, Ariz. (Photo courtesy U.S. Tennis Association)
Lord of the Strings squared off against the top Texas, Eastern, Intermountain, and Southern California teams. All nine of the players on the roster who made the trek to Arizona played in at least one match during the tournament. Each match against a regional opponent consisted of three separate mixed doubles matches that were played simultaneously on adjacent courts at the complex, which contains 25 tennis courts.
“The competition in our bracket was tough and we did not make it to the final four, but two of the teams that we played advanced,” said Gregory. The Lord of the Strong split its two matches on Nov. 7. The team lost to Texas 3-0 in the morning with pairings of Ashley Field/ Dennis Johnstone, Emily Gregory/ David Hart, and Logan Neale/ Peter Fenton. The match against Texas was closer than the score might indicate, as two of the three matches went into close, third set tiebreakers.
The team beat Southern California 2-1 in the afternoon with the pairings of Field and Johnstone, and Green and John Gregory each winning a match, while Hilary Bulmar and Fenton lost theirs.
“Although it was very hot, the heat didn’t play as much of a factor as the clear blue sky and the shining sun,” said Gregory. “The sun was intense and blinding at times, and the sky was bright blue without clouds so it was easy to lose the ball in the air, but we eventually adjusted.”
David Hart nails a return shot for the CLC YMCA Lord of the Strings team during the U.S. Tennis Association League National Championships on Nov. 8 in Surprise, Ariz. (Photo courtesy U.S. Tennis Association)
The squad lost both of its matches on Nov. 8, but put up a strong fight as they went down swinging. The team lost 3-0 to the Intermountain team from Utah, the eventual tournament runner-up, with the pairings of Field/Johnstone, Emily Gregory/Hart, and Laurie Green/ John Gregory. In the afternoon, pairings of Emily Gregory/Johnstone, Neale/ Fenton, and Green/John Gregory were swept 3-0 by the Eastern region with matches going to tiebreaker sets.
“It was absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Gregory. “There was something special about traveling with the team to a state of-the-art USTA facility where we played and watched tennis all day and then gathered as a team for dinner at night. We were already a close team, but this brought us even closer.”
Although nine players competed for Lord of the Strings in Arizona, the other half of the team did not make the trip. The full roster lists 18 players ranging in age from 30 75 who have played together for at least a few years. In addition to those who made the trip to Arizona, Lord of the Strings includes Julie Faure, Alison Hanley, Mark Hymbaugh, Wendy Jackson, Pixie Lauer, David Light, Patrick McManus, Philomena Ostapchuck, and Cindy Moore Weigel.
“I think we represented our community very well,” said Gregory. “People at the tournament loved our lobster hats and our positive energy. We even had a USTA official mention how he could tell how proud we were to represent Maine and New England.”
