Milford Indoor Tennis USTA League At Nationals

Milford Indoor Tennis hosts many USTA leagues during the year, this year the women’s 4.0 league “Team Extreme” made it to nationals in Tucson, AZ. Jeff Gocke, managing partner and owner of Milford Indoor Tennis sponsored the team’s trip. Prior to leaving, the team was hosted by a new restaurant in Bridgeport, O’Shea American Grille. When the owner saw an article in the paper about the team, he called the club and invited the whole team for dinner and drinks. Christine Featherston, adult program coordinator at the club and player on the team, was quoted as saying, “For a new restaurant to reach out to us and offer to treat 27 women to dinner and drinks was amazing. The food was great, but most of all, they went above and beyond with their hospitality which made us feel very special.” Out in Tucson the team won their first match against the Southwest 3-2, next they played the Mid-Atlantic Virginia Beach and the team lost 2-3 in a tough match against a team that eventually went on to the finals. Team Extreme’s final match was played against Northern California and it was lost 1-4 which prevented them from moving on in the tournament. One of the team’s players, Sara Ramey played #1 singles and won all three of her matches. Val Collison of Trumbull, CT serves as the manager of Milford Indoor Tennis and has played on this team for the last 5 years. Val is noted by saying “We had great team spirit and support for each other both on and off the courts during the tournament. It was an amazing experience going to nationals and something I personally have been trying to make it to for the last 15+ years. We’ve always been close, but could never quite get there.”  The team arrived a day early to practice and adjust to the conditions which were quite different.  Playing in the heat of 90+ degrees and at a higher altitude proved to be quite a challenge. Team Extreme host players from all over New Haven and Fairfield counties. Given the success of the team this year, they will be forced to “bump-up” and play at a 4.5 level next season. If you are interested in learning more about USTA League play please contact the club at (203) 876-1776. O’Shea American Grille is located at 2770 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport and is a great family spot and offers a variety of meals all under $10. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and are all organic.

The names for the picture are:

Back row from left to right:   Patricia Moore, Val Collison, Linda Fothe, Jan Aviner, Maureen Ferguson, Wendy Levine; Front row from left to right: Eileen Frattaroli, Shay Preneta, Christine Featherston, Monique Rutledge, Polly Edwards, Lisa Bevilacqua (captain), Sarah Ramey, Diana Weller, Giuliana Montenegro, Leslie Wolf, Eileen Stirling and Marylou Ramery. Unable to make the trip: Gail Carroll, Carol Davis, Linda Durakis, Barbara Fries, Connie Goodman, Julie Mooney, Misao Naito, Teresa Panico, Beverly Sullivan.