Congratulations 2014 USTA Northern Award Winnersassets.usta.com/assets/650/15/Northern_Exposure_Dec._2014.pdfCongratulations 2014 USTA Northern Award Winners DECEMBER 2014. Our facility

Congratulations 2014 USTA Northern Award Winners

DECEMBER 2014

Our facility features:

7833 Highway 65, Spring Lake Park, MN 55432 • 763-231-3109 • www.publicindoortennis.com

Skylight

t5 fluoreScent lighting

Mylar inSulation

energy efficient Mechanical

• 130’ indoor tennis courts (professional distance)

• 50’ high ceiling

• Natural light during the daytime

• No membership required/no guest fees

• Adult & junior drills, lessons & programs

• Racquet stringing & repair

• Ball machine

• Ability to reserve & pay for courts online

1st “Green” Air supported structure in the twin cities!

PublicIndoorTennis FP Ad2.indd 1 10/1/14 10:57 AM

N RTHERN EXPOSUREUSTA Northern Welcomes 2015-16 Board of Directors

Congratulations to the following members who have been named to the Executive Committee of the 2015-16 USTA Northern Board of Directors. All begin their two-year

term on January 1, 2015.Kathleen Lundberg is the new President of USTA Northern.

Lundberg, of Minneapolis, has been a member of USTA for over 20 years and is in her fifth term on the USTA Northern Board. She has supported a variety of events such as the Boston Scientific Pro Women’s Tennis Classic and the Aquatennial Plaza Tennis Classic for a number of years. She also has been very active in the Corporate Tennis Challenge, WorldTeam Tennis and has played on USTA summer and winter teams. Lundberg also served as a volunteer with Urban Tennis (now InnerCity Tennis). Now a consultant, Lundberg had been with the Guidant Corporation and Boston Scientific for over 20 years as the Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer.

Roshan Rajkumar of St. Louis Park, Minn., moves from President to the Section Delegate position. Rajkumar has been a USTA member since 1985 and a member of the USTA Northern Board of Directors the past eight years, serving as the Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Council in 2009-10. He was appointed to the USTA National Diversity & Inclusion Committee for 2013-14, and he will serve as a newly-appointed member to the USTA National Nominating Committee in 2015-16.

Liz Hamburg of Rapid City, S.D., is in her first year as the First Vice President of the organization and eighth year as a member of the Board of Directors. She started playing tennis at age 35 and now plays 4.0 USTA Leagues. She has been a member of the Jr. Tennis Council and High Performance Committee. She is a tennis committee member at Arrowhead Country Club in Rapid City, S.D., after serving as an Arrowhead Country Club Board Member and Tennis Committee Chair and is a member of the Black Hills Tennis Association, after serving as President.

Scott Boyer, of Rochester, Minn., is in his first year as Vice President of the Executive Committee. A former Director of

Player Development for USTA Northern from 1997-98, Boyer is serving his second stint on the Board of Directors (previously serving from 2000-04) and has served on the Junior Tennis Council since 1998. He is a Regional and Sectional Training Center coach and has served as the head coach of the USTA Northern Boys 18s Team Tennis squad. He is currently a member of the USTA National Junior Tennis Council and Sportsmanship Committee and was part of the USTA Professional Players Rules Committee from 2002-04.

From Valley City, N.D., Susan Kringlie joins the Executive Committee as the new Secretary after serving as the Chair of the Community Tennis Council. Kringlie is entering her third term on the Board of Directors and just completed her second term as the Chair of the CTA/NJTL Committee and as a member of the Awards Committee. She has been a tennis player since elementary school and won the North Dakota State Doubles Championship in 1991. She was a founding member of the Valley City Community Tennis Association and the North Dakota Tennis Association. She is also a Valley City Park Board Commissioner.

John Wilcox, of Edina, Minn., continues in his role as Treasurer. Entering his fifth year on the Board, Wilcox is hopeful that his two new metal knees will improve whatever modest rankings he might earn playing tournaments. He was involved with mergers and acquisitions, working most of his career with Honeywell. Wilcox holds degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago Law School.

Twelve additional people have been selected to serve as At-Large Members for 2015-16 including Susan Allen (Shakopee, Minn.), Mehdi Benyebka (Minneapolis, Minn.), Matt Boughton (Eau Claire, Wis.), Jessie Daw (Sioux Falls, S.D.), David Fishbaine (Minnetonka, Minn.), Justin Gaard (Minnetonka, Minn.), Dan Halvorsen (Sunfish Lake, Minn.), Tim Kurtt (St. Paul, Minn.), Brian McCoy (Shoreview, Minn.), Lars Ranger (Edina, Minn.), Mike Vidmar (St. Paul, Minn.) and Julie Whitaker (Dellwood, Minn.).

2015-16 USTA Northern Board of Directors

Front Row (from L to R): Jessie Daw, Treasurer John Wilcox, Secretary Susan Kringlie, Vice President Scott Boyer, President Kathy Lundberg, Section Delegate Roshan Rajkumar, First Vice President Liz Hamburg, Susan Allen

Back Row (from L to R): Julie Whitaker, Matt Boughton, Mike Vidmar, Tim Kurtt, David Fishbaine, Dan Halvorsen, Mehdi Benyebka, Brian McCoy

Not Pictured: Justin Gaard, Lars Ranger

www.northern.usta.com 3

4 magazine DECEMBER 2014

President’s Message

U STA Northern’s Mission State-ment is “To pro-

mote and develop the growth of tennis.” Northern’s leader-ship and staff believe a healthy, fun and safe community for all tennis players, officials, fans and coaches helps our Section live this mission.

When Northern’s leadership and staff learned recently of allegations re-garding inappropriate contact between a tennis coach and a minor junior tennis play-er, we began discussing what Northern can do to support anyone abused in our sport.

As the governing body of tennis, it is our hope to provide frequent and ongoing infor-mation, training and resources to our mem-bers, partners and providers. Northern was a leader in helping the national organiza-tion create guidelines in trying to ensure the safety of our youth and minor players. In creating “Safety, Security, and Sensitivity – Recommended Guidelines for Youth Ten-nis Programs,” Northern and the USTA, as a whole, recognized it takes everyone’s best efforts to ensure our Section and our sport is safe for all those participating in it.

Further, the USTA is partnering with the

United States Olympic Com-mittee (USOC) in adopting their SafeSport program rec-ommendations concerning mis-conduct in sport. With the help of the USOC, we created “Safe Play Conduct, Policies & Guide-lines” that strictly prohibits in-appropriate conduct as outlined in the document. Further, in Northern and across the USTA,

all Junior Team Tennis coaches and team managers, as well as officials, must pass a background check, complete a thirty-five (35) minute “Safe Play” video, which can be found on the USOC’s website, and read Youth Protection Policies and Procedures for USTA Junior Team Tennis.

Let us all remember that together We Are Northern, and together we stand in trying to keep our Section healthy, fun and safe.

Roshan RajkumarUSTA Northern President

USTA Northern Adopts Anti-Bullying PolicyUSTA Northern supports an environ-

ment for participation in tennis conducive to the enjoyment of the sport that is free from threats, harassment and any type of bullying behavior.

A USTA Northern program partici-pant (including players, coaches, volun-teers, etc.), parent or spectator who engages in any act that constitutes bul-lying - including physical, emotional and the use of electronic communications (i.e.cyberbullying), harassment or threat-ening behavior intended to harm others through any written, verbal, physical or electronically-transmitted expression di-rectly to the intended or through a third

party, is subject to appropriate disciplinary action including, but not limited to:

• Suspension Points• Suspension• Permanent Suspension• Referral to Law Enforcement

OfficialsThe severity and pattern of the behav-

ior or threats and/or result shall be taken into consideration when disciplinary deci-sions are made.

To report those who are in violation of the above policy, please contact Mike Goldammer, USTA Northern Executive Director, at [email protected] or 952-358-3284.

N RTHERN EXPOSURE

1001 West 98th Street, Suite 101Bloomington, MN 55431

(952) 887-5001 • (800) 536-6982Fax: (952) 887-5061

STAFF DIRECTORY

Kristi Bushinski (952-358-3280) Junior and Officials Programming Assistant [email protected]

Pat Colbert (952-358-3283) Assistant Executive Director/Director of Junior Competition [email protected]

Mike Goldammer (952-358-3284) Executive Director [email protected]

Brandon Jackson (952-358-3291) Director of Junior Teams [email protected]

Becky Johnson (952) 358-3295 Twin Cities Leagues Assistant [email protected]

Carolyn Kramer (701-238-1515) Tennis Service Representative – North & South Dakota [email protected]

Nancy Lundberg (952-358-3286) Director of Adult Competition [email protected]

Tricia Moorhead (952) 358-3292 Junior Teams Assistant [email protected]

Lisa Mushett (952-358-3282) Director of Marketing and Communications [email protected]

Christine Nickels (952-358-3290) Director of Community Tennis [email protected]

Kelley Okerman (952-358-3287) Director of Twin Cities Leagues [email protected]

James Poehler (952-358-3281) Controller [email protected]

Vanessa Sexton (952-887-5001, ext. 0) Executive Assistant [email protected]

Sandy Smith (952-358-3288) Director of Membership & Sales [email protected]

Tony Stingley (952-358-3289) Director of Training and Outreach [email protected]

Carol Thies (952-358-3285) Adult Competition Assistant [email protected]


Community Tennis Workshop Helps everyone to Play Your Way

Over 110 community tennis leaders, representing 53 unique organizations attended the USTA Northern Community Tennis Workshop, November 21-22 in Bloomington and

St. Paul, Minn., to learn, share and be inspired about ways to grow tennis in their local communities. The theme of the workshop

was “Play Your Way” and featured presentations from prominent speakers, including London-based 10 and Under Tennis expert Mike Barrell with evolve9, cooperative roundtable discussions, the Section Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, a Play It Forward Mixed Doubles social and much more.

2014 Community Tennis Workshop AttendeesKevin Allan Bismarck Mandan Tennis AssociationPat Allar Kids Team TennisSusan Allen Shakopee Tennis AssociationGlenn Allsop Athletic Institute of ExcellenceJeff Anderson Faribault High SchoolChad Anderson Serving Youth TennisJenny Arnfelt Shakopee Tennis AssociationJoan Baker USTA NationalJeff Baill USTA Northern BoardMike Barrell evolve9Del Bauers Niceshot TennisLori Beath Saint Paul Urban TennisMehdi Benyebka USTA Northern BoardLee Bergstrom Cook County Tennis AssociationBrian Biernat USTA Northern BoardBecky Blue Brandon Tennis AssociationMatt Boughton Eau Claire YMCAScott Boyer Rochester Athletic ClubTom Boulay Saint Paul Urban TennisJudy Brodahl Kids Team TennisChris Bushaw Rochester Athletic ClubBecky Cantellano Saint Paul Urban TennisLarry Cantine Milbank Area Community Tennis AssociationDan Carlson Carlson TennisJim Dahl Milbank Area Community Tennis AssociationJessie Daw Aberdeen CTARobb DeCorsey Minnesota Tennis Coaches AssociationGreg Emerson Altoona Middle SchoolRichard Engelstad Minnesota Tennis Coaches AssociationLea Favor Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterDavid Fishbaine USTA Northern BoardWilliam Flynn Brookings Tennis AssociationErin Frost-Elshami Huether Family Match PointeJoyce Gavino USTA Northern Grants CommitteeMike Geffre Crookston Tennis AssociationSara Gettman USTA Northern BoardCraig Gordon Life Time Fitness – LakevilleRobert Graham Madison Tennis AssociationSue Gregor USTA Northern Grants CommitteeAlexander Grothe Saint Paul Urban TennisNeal Hagberg Tennis & Life Camps at GustavusDan Halvorsen UMN / Lifestyle Design Inc. / PowerCubed IncLiz Hamburg Black Hills Tennis AssociationKatrina Hanenberg Bismarck Parks and RecreationScott Hanover USTA Missouri ValleyKelly Hansen City of BurnsvilleKent Helgeson Huether Family Match PointeSue Hunt USTA NationalAllison Hutchens Montevideo Girls Tennis/Community EducationJason Jamison USTA NationalAnn Jindra Richfield RecreationCurt Johnson Niceshot TennisDanny Kantar Life Time Fitness – FridleySusan Kringlie Valley City Tennis AssociationErik Kringlie Valley City Tennis Association

Tim Kurtt USTA Northern BoardKen Landro Senior Tennis Players ClubGreg Lappin Life Time FitnessScott Larsen Traveling Tennis CampsEmma Larson Choice Health & FitnessShannon Larson Serving Youth TennisBridget Lindeman Minneapolis Parks and Recreation BoardKathy Lundberg USTA Northern BoardMike Lunka Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterAmanda Lunsetter Wahpeton Public School DistrictAndrew Lunsetter Wahpeton Public School DistrictChristian Maki Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterBrian McCoy Life Time Fitness FridleyLee Meier Crookston Tennis AssociationJameson Miller Perham TennisAngelina Momanyi Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterRod Morasch Bismarck Parks and RecreationBrigid Nault City of Vadnais HeightsKelley Nelson Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterSteve Paulsen Edina High SchoolDilcia Pederson InnerCity TennisJon Pickett Eau Claire YMCA Indoor Tennis CenterJohn Pratt University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis CenterRoshan Rajkumar USTA Northern BoardCharley Ravine MAP for NonprofitsSadie Reiners Hastings Community Tennis AssociationFord Rolfsrud Minnesota Tennis Coaches AssociationLisa Salo Brainerd TennisMark Schneider City of Cottage GroveClay Sollenberger Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterSamantha Smart Merritt InnerCity TennisDavid Stingley Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterMarc Stingley Fred Wells Tennis & Education CenterScott Sundstrom Life Time Fitness – FridleySabine Tetzloff Rochester Athletic ClubSong Thao InnerCity TennisJason Thiner Fargo South High SchoolBarbara Thomason Park Rapids Tennis AssociationMary Thompson Westward Ho Country ClubJeremy Thompson Courts Plus Community Fitness CenterChristin Thurston USPTA Northern DivisionMichael Torres North Metro Tennis AssociationPat Tuma New Brighton Parks and RecreationPaul Vang InnerCity TennisMike Vidmar USTA Northern BoardSloan Wallgren City of Mendota HeightsOmar Warfa InnerCity TennisNicole Weedman Eden Prairie Parks and RecreationJulie Whitaker USTA Northern BoardJohn Wilcox USTA Northern BoardTim Wynne Choice Health & FitnessJohnny Yang InnerCity TennisColby Youngquist Wahpeton Public School DistrictLes Zellmann St. James Tennis Association


USTA Northernaward Winners

C ongratulations to the following individuals and organiza-tions who were honored at the 2014 USTA Northern An-nual Awards Banquet November 21 at Minnesota Valley

Country Club in Bloomington, Minn.

Albert Teeter Adult Sportsmanship AwardBarb Livick, of New Brighton, Minn., was the winner of the Albert Teeter Adult Sportsmanship Award given to the adult player who best displays fairness, is generous, is a gracious winner and good loser. Livick started captaining USTA Northern League Teams in 2002, and has captained more than 35 teams dur-ing that time, playing on all. Her main focus is to make sure everyone on her

teams and the court enjoys playing tennis.

Jerry Noyce Junior Sportsmanship AwardColton JohnsonTaylor of Apple Valley, Minn., is the Boys winner of the Jerry Noyce Junior Sportsmanship Award given to the junior player who not only displays the finest qualities of sportsmanship during tournament play, but who also demonstrates exemplary conduct away from

the court. A senior at Apple Valley High School, JohnsonTaylor plays high school, USTA junior tournaments and USTA Junior Team Tennis. He has won several Level 6 junior tournaments and is ranked #39 within USTA Northern for Boys 18s. Also a long time Junior Team Tennis player, JohnsonTaylor won the 18U Intermediate Boys Sportsmanship Award at the 2013 USTA Northern JTT Section Championships.

Jessie Aney of Rochester, Minn., is the Girls winner of the Jer-ry Noyce Junior Sportsmanship Award. The senior, who will at-tend the University of North Carolina next year, is the top-ranked 18-year-old in USTA Northern and currently ranks fourth nation-ally. Aney earned a bronze ball at the 2014 National Clay Courts and won the USTA Northern US Open National Qualifier Wom-en’s Singles Championship in June. Last March, she won a gold ball, going undefeated at the USTA Spring Team Championships. She also won the US Open Section Mixed Doubles Championship in 2012. She has won numerous USTA Northern Section singles and doubles titles and won the Minnesota Class AA singles title in 2011 as an eighth grader and the doubles title in 2012 with her sister Katie. In 2010, Aney became the first girl to win the Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year award. Aney has won a number of national sportsmanship awards over the years including being

named the Girls 16s Intersectionals and 18s National Clay Courts Sportsmanship winners in 2013. In 2012, she won the 14s National Clay Courts Sportsmanship award.

Family of the YearThe Fridinger Family (Tom, Ellen, Steve, Beth, Evan, Ca-leb & Luke) of White Bear Lake and Woodbury, Minn., has been selected as the 2014 Fam-ily of the Year. The award is given to the family that has been outstanding in promoting

tennis both on and off the court.Tom has played tennis for over 60 years and USTA Northern

adult tournaments since 1975. He currently ranks No. 1 in 70s doubles and No. 2 in 70s singles. He is also a USTA League player and has qualified for USTA League Nationals 15 times in the past 35 years. He serves on the Board of Directors for St. Paul Urban Tennis and is a volunteer coach with the East Ridge Athletic As-sociation. He was inducted into the USTA Northern Hall of Fame in 2009.

Ellen is a major booster and supporter of her tennis-playing hus-band, son and grandsons. She plays recreational tennis and over the years taught her family critical life values.

Steve helped start the East Ridge Athletic Association (ERAA) Recreation Youth Program and Community Tennis Association in Woodbury, Minn., in 2010, and is the Director of Instruction. He also volunteers his time with the East Ridge High School team by running off-season practices and working special events. He coached a winter Junior Team Tennis squad last year. Steve was on the National Championship winning 4.5 men’s team in 2009. He and Tom have played in a number of local and national Father/Son Tournaments together from 1984-2011, and were ranked No. 3 in the nation in 2002.

Beth, along with Steve and fellow parent Tonya Dolezal, helped start the Woodbury ERAA CTA and currently serves as the vol-unteer coordinator and a co-organizer of the program. She is also active on the East Ridge High School Booster Club, most recently serving as president. She has organized and helped run the East Ridge Summer Smash USTA Level 6 and 7 Junior Tournaments and has coordinated a 10U JTT team.

Oldest son Evan plays varsity tennis at East Ridge High School where his team finished third at the 2014 Minnesota State Tour-nament. He plays Junior Team Tennis, Junior Tournaments and Father-Son Tournaments with Steve. He helps coach ERAA tennis in the spring and fall and volunteers with the St. Paul Urban Tennis program. He assisted Tom in traveling to Guatemala in teaching 100 youth 10 and Under tennis in the fall of 2012.

Caleb is currently ranked #12 in USTA Northern Boys 12s and was a member of the USTA Northern Zonals team that went to

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


Omaha this summer. He was a member of the Northern Stars/Lights program for three years. He is also a JTT participant, plays in USTA Junior Tournaments and helps coach the ERAA Youth Pro-gram.

Luke is ranked #39 in Boys 12s and plays Junior Team Tennis and USTA Junior Tournaments. He and Steve were also winners of the USTA Northern Tennis & Life Camps Father’s Day Contest and at-tended Tennis and Life Family Camp for a weekend.

Bob Larson Media Excellence AwardImplex’s ‘Qwikcast.TV’ division of Minneapolis, Minn., is the 2014 winner of the Bob Larson Media Excellence Award given to a newspaper, television, social media or radio person or outlet who has provided exemplary coverage in the Section. Implex, and specifically Stuart DeVaan and Zev Radziwill, have grown the reach of the Aquatennial Tennis Tournament into one of the premier

tennis events both in the Section and now worldwide by providing live streaming of the tournament the past four years – free of charge. With their data servers located in Canadian Pacific Plaza, Qwikcast has used its own equipment and servers so anyone in the world can watch the enitre Aquatennial Tournament on their com-puter or mobile device. This year, that broadcast was in high defini-tion with audio. Qwikcast has also provided the same service for the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic the past two years.

Rocky Rockwell Grassroots Official AwardTony Stingley of St. Paul, Minn., is the winner of the Rocky Rockwell Grass-roots Official Award given to an official who has done outstanding work at the grassroots level. Stingley started offici-ating in 1994 and has been certified as a USTA Referee, Section Umpire, Trainer/Evaluator and Chair. He is also certified with the ITA. He has officiat-ed at every level, including the US

Open, Pro Circuit events and professional exhibitions, He has worked numerous Big 10 Conference Championship and served as the tournament referee for the Aquatennial Tennis Classic, the Pine Tree Invitational and community events for the Martin Luther King Tennis Buffs. He has also taught many officials class-es around the Section in trying to grow the number of officials in USTA Northern.

Jack Dow Adult Development AwardBrian Davies of Rochester, Minn., is the recipient of the Jack Dow Adult Development Award which honors the individual whose efforts have had the greatest impact on promoting and improving recreational and adult competition for that year. Davies has captained many USTA League teams at all levels over the years and often times captains teams he does not even

play on to ensure people have teams to join. As a captain, he

actively recruits players of all ability levels to play league tennis and places them on appropriate level teams. He also has been instrumental in bringing new play opportunities, including ONE Doubles, to the Rochester area in trying to make tennis a year-round sport. Davies extended his USTA Commitment by helping co-chair the Southeast Minnesota Local Leagues Committee. Davies is also one of the best sports on court as well.

USTA Northern League Captain of the Year – Male WinnerPaul Dalton of St. Paul, Minn., has been named the 2014 USTA Northern League Captain of the Year. This award is given to the captain who goes above and beyond to make teammates and opponents’ USTA League Tennis expe-rience a positive one. Dalton started playing USTA League Tennis with friends in the late 80s and captained un-til he stopped playing tennis in 1994.

Dalton came back to Leagues in 2008 and began captaining senior teams. Since 2010, Dalton has captained three teams a year and a total of 15-18 teams in his career. He has captained Section Championships teams the past four years and has played at Na-tionals three times.

USTA Northern League Captain of the Year – Female WinnerKelly Stordahl of Shakopee, Minn., is the female winner of the USTA Northern League Captain of the Year. Kelly has captained 13 teams since 2012 including 3.0 women, 6.0 mixed, 7.0 senior mixed and 6.0 40 and over teams. During her time as captain, her teams have played at Sectionals once.

Ward C. Burton Junior Development AwardDanny Kantar, of Minneapolis, Minn., is the recipient of the Ward C. Burton Junior Development Award given to the individual or organization who has promoted the growth of tennis for juniors and served the junior tennis community in the USTA Northern. Kantar is a USTA High Performance Coaching Specialist and a USPTA Professional Level 1.

Kantar, of Life Time Fitness – Fridley, is one of the leading teach-ing professionals in 10 and under tennis and using low compres-sion balls to develop players within the USTA Northern. Kantar creates structured weekly curriculum for classes and builds Play Days into lesson programs. He encourages players to enter Junior Team Tennis and the junior tournament system. Kantar is very active in the USTA Northern Junior Player ID Committee and has been a Regional Training Center coach since 2012.

Kantar’s private students have gone on to play college tennis at all levels and current students hold high USTA section rankings. Kantar was a four-year USTA college scholarship winner and played tennis at Kalamazoo College. He is a USTA League Player


and his 5.0+ team recently finished third at the 2014 National Championships.

Wolfenson-Ratner Community Service AwardJessie Daw, of Aberdeen, S.D., is the winner of the Wolfenson/Ratner Community Service Award given to the person for his or her outstanding fieldwork in recreational tennis. It is also awarded for significant contributions in developing community-based tennis programs through community centers, schools, parks and Community Tennis

Associations. Daw single-handedly initiated and sustained women’s tennis at Northern State University in Aberdeen for five years, serving as head coach from 2007-12.

A former player at the University of Illinois, Daw ran clinics and started a USTA Junior Team Tennis program in Aberdeen which has grown from one team to multiple squads at all age levels. Daw was also instrumental in reorganizing and reenergizing the Aberdeen Community Tennis Association offering both adult and junior programming while serving as a high school tennis coach at both Aberdeen Central and Roncalli High Schools.

In addition to all of her work in Aberdeen, she is extremely active within the USTA on a Section and National level serving on the USTA Northern Board of Directors since 2013 and the NJTL/CTA and Diversity and Inclusion Committees.

USTA Northern Ace AwardCory Haugen of Savage, Minn., is the winner of the USTA Northern Ace Award given to the USTA Northern staff member of the year. Haugen has worked as the Executive Assistant for Mike Goldammer and Pat Colbert the past seven years and is retiring on December 31.

Frank Voigt Pro of the YearGlenn Allsop of Minnetonka, Minn., is the 2014 Frank Voigt Pro of the Year given to a tennis teaching professional who demonstrates leadership skills on and off the court. Allsop was the department head at Life Time Fitness – St. Louis Park until 2013, when he started his own tennis business – Athletic Institute of Excellence. Allsop has worked with many of the top

junior players in USTA Northern and the country. When talking about Allsop in tennis circles, it is clear that his leadership, knowledge of the game and vision enables players to reach their given goals. He also puts a special emphasis on the mental aspect of the game and works hard for his players in becoming well-rounded athletes and individuals.

In addition to teaching, Allsop serves as the chair of the USTA Northern Player Development Committee and the Player ID &

Development Committee. He has served as coach for the USTA Northern 16s Intersectionals teams, as well as many regional and section Competition Training Centers. Allsop also was the head coach of the gold-ball winning team at the 2014 USTA Spring Team Championships and has had the fortune of working with the current 2014 Wimbledon Junior Champion Noah Rubin and other former USTA top-ranked players in the country.

Member Organization of the YearInnerCity Tennis in Min-neapolis, Minn., is the 2014 Member Organization of the Year recognizing its out-standing service and setting the standards in which all organizations should strive to achieve.

In 2014, ICT served nearly 4,000 children and youth with free and low-cost programming in hopes of empowering those to see tennis as a vehicle not to develop world class players, but world class citizens.

InnerCity Tennis, who works in conjunction with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Minneapolis Public Schools, delivers a wide variety of programming for kids including: Summer Tennis in The Parks at 23 Minneapolis parks; Super Saturdays offering free youth indoor tennis lessons during the winter months; Kidspeed connecting youth ages 3-7 in a dynamic, fast-paced environment fostering positive, holistic development; Academic Creative Engagement (ACE) which is an accredited out-of-school time curriculum for grades 3-5 designed to support academic achievement, health/wellness and social/emotional skills; a comprehensive tennis training system called Cities Academy for junior players of all ages and ability levels; adaptive tennis offerings partnering with Special Olympics and autistic youth; individual tennis instruction; USTA programming and more.

In recent years, InnerCity Tennis has expanded from focusing on only kids into serving the entire tennis community after the purchase of the Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center. The Reed Sweatt Family Tennis serves an average of 3,500 players a week. In addition to its youth programming, ICT offers adult lessons, drills and leagues, tennis camps and adult tournaments. The Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center also serves as home to the Senior Tennis Players Club, which at 1,200 members, is the largest group of its kind in the country. Many members of the Senior Tennis Players Club also volunteer with InnerCity Tennis’ youth programming.

USTA Northern President’s AwardJeff Baill of Wayzata, Minn., (right) is the winner of the President’s Award given by the President of USTA Northern to the person who has helped him or her the most during their presidency that year.

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


Jerrice— UCare MemberWest St. Paul, MN

Discover UCare for SeniorsSM, the simple, affordable health plan that provides great benefits at a great price — just what you’d expect from health care that starts with you.

Visit: ucareplans.org to access rates, plan details, and more.

Call: toll free 1-877-523-1518 TTY 1-800-688-2534 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Health care that starts with you.®

UCare Minnesota and UCare Health, Inc. are Medicare Advantage plans with Medicare contracts. Enrollment in UCare Minnesota and UCare Health, Inc. depends on contract renewal.

H2459 H4270_092313 CMS Accepted (09282013)H2459 H4270 Group_092313 IA (09232013)


USTA Northern Junior Tennis Updates

Benton Bourget Wins National Sportsmanship Award

Benton Bourget, from the Eau Claire YMCA Indoor Tennis Center in Eau Claire, Wis., was named the overall winner of the 18s Intermediate Sportsmanship Award at the 2014 Junior Team Tennis National Championships in Cayce, S.C. Bourget fol-lowed in the footsteps of his sister, Dev-on, who won the 14s Intermediate Sportsmanship Award at JTT Nationals in 2012.

Jenny Arnfelt Named Junior Team Tennis Organizer of the Year

Jenny Arnfelt, of the Shakopee Tennis Asso-ciation and Minnetonka, Minn., is the 2014 USTA Northern Junior Team Tennis Organizer of the Year. This award recogniz-es an individual for his or her efforts in expanding an existing Junior Team Ten-nis league or developing a new league within the Section.

Arnfelt is the face of Sha-kopee Junior Team Tennis,

which has exploded in recent years. The summer of 2014 saw Arnfelt organize 11 JTT and three 10 and Under in-house teams, while hosting an Area Championships for the fourth straight year. She is responsible for all administration and implementation of the JTT program, as well as the training of the coaching staff.

Arnfelt has set the standard for JTT organizers as she markets the program year-round, implements a standardized training system for the coaching staff and is the assistant tournament director for the Area Championships. She also manages the Shakopee Tennis As-sociation Youth Lesson program which boasts 350 participants each summer and funnels players into the JTT program.

Junior Team Tennis Nationals ResultsThe Fred Wells Tennis and Education Center finished 11th

in the Advanced Division, while Twin City Tennis Camps was ninth and the Eau Claire YMCA Indoor Tennis Center was 10th in the Intermediate Division at the 18U Junior Team Tennis National Championships October 23-26 in Cayce, S.C. At 14s Na-tionals, Life Time Fitness - Bloomington South placed seventh, while Life Time Fitness - Fridley was 13th October 16-19, also in Cayce, S.C.

Sioux Falls’ Thomas Krueger Named USTA No-Cut All-Star; 5 Others Named Finalists

Congratulations to Thomas Krueger of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, who was one of 14 high school coaches nationally named to the USTA’s No-Cut All-Star Team. Krueger, the girls head coach at Lincoln High School for 16 years and the boys varsity coach the past eight years, has modeled an atmosphere of respect, character and integrity. Krueger’s players have won the South Dakota Girls state team title five times and Boys Team champi-onship once. The girls have amassed a record of 251-88 and the boys are 130-43 during his tenure.

Krueger plays each tennis team in South Dakota and two from Minnesota at least once to give the players as many opportuni-ties to play as possible. He makes sure every player has an op-ponent scheduled for each match. Krueger incorporates not only skill training, but moral values into practices. He also has the en-tire team practice together on Wednesdays until 5:30 p.m., when everyone leaves together for a team meal at one of the player’s homes.

Other finalists from the Northern Section included Terry Grove - Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, S.D., Suzie Heide-man - East Ridge High School in Woodbury, Minn., Chad Larson - Mitchell High School, Mitchell, S.D., Jason Olson - Rapid City Stevens High School in Rapid City, S.D., and Koua Yang - Harding High School in St. Paul, Minn.

Ellie Puzak & Lainey Axell Win USTA Girls 14s Closed Regional

Ellie Puzak (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Lainey Axell (Plymouth, Minn.) won the doubles championship at the Girls 14s Closed Regionals at Life Time Fitness - Lakeville. Puzak and Axell, the No. 3 seeds, won four matches in taking the title, includ-ing dominating top-seeded Madeline Lynch (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Anika Yarlagadda (West Bloomfield, Mich.) 8-1 in the finals.

USTA Northern Junior Sectional Has New Dates for 2015

The Girls and Boys Level 3 will be June 12-15, 2015. The girls will play at Baseline Tennis Center, while the boys will be at Lakeville South High School in Lakeville, Minn.

Ellie Puzak and Lainey Axell

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


North DakotaThe Grand Forks

Red River boys team won its 17th straight North Dakota team title defeating West Fargo 4-1 in the championship.

In singles Red River’s Greg Wischer (right) rallied to beat Red River sophomore Jake Kuhlman 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, to win his second straight title. Wischer was down a set and 3-2 before winning the last 10 games of the match. Wischer was also named the Senior Athlete of the Year and only lost one singles match the last two years of his career. He finished his career with

four state titles and will play college tennis at Boise State.In doubles, West Fargo’s Brady Ballweber

and Keyan Farahmand also repeated as state champions, beating the Grand Forks Central senior

duo of Kyle Folson and Andrew Thompson 6-1, 6-3 in the championship.

CongratulationsFall State Tournament Champions

MinnesotaEdina’s Caitlyn Merzbacher and Holy Family’s Danielle

Gannon won the Minnesota State Class AA and A Singles Championships, respectively. Merzbacher, a senior who will attend the University of Minnesota next year, defeated Chanhassen’s Hayley Haakenstad 6-1, 6-2, to win her second straight Minnesota state title, while Gannon, a junior, defeated Brylee Seitz of Virginia 6-1, 6-2 to win her first championship after advancing to the finals in 2013.

In doubles, The Blake School’s Jane Fraley and Libby Rickeman beat twin sisters Paige and Taylor McLeod of Benilde-St. Margaret’s 6-1, 6-0 in the finals. It was the first state title for Fraley and Rickeman. In Class A, Grace Zumwinkle and Kendall Kozikowski of Breck won their first state championship with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tayler Banitt and Maddie Adel of Cannon Falls.

In the team competition, Edina won its 18th straight Class AA title, while Holy Family won its first-ever team title. Edina’s 18 consecutive wins is the longest streak in Minnesota state history and is the longest in girls tennis nationally according to the National High School Federation Record Book.

South DakotaSioux Falls O’Gorman won its eighth straight team title and

also claimed seven individual state championships at the 2014 South Dakota Girls State Tennis Tournament in Rapid City, S.D. O’Gorman won the team title with 712 points, overpowering second-place finisher St. Thomas More who had 599 points. Rapid City Stevens was third with 464 points.

In the individual finals, Morgan Brower of O’Gorman won her fourth straight Flight 1 singles title, defeating Grace Goble of St. Thomas More 6-7 (3), 6-1, 10-3. In South Dakota, six singles champions are crowned - one per flight - and three doubles winners. Sidney Brower of O’Gorman won her first Flight 2 crown and third state championship with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Madison Fenske of St. Thomas More. Samantha Czarnecki of O’Gorman won the Flight 3 title for the second straight year with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 win over Meghan Fenske of St. Thomas More. Grace Wittenberg of St. Thomas More won her first state championship at the Flight 4 position with a 3-6, 6-2, 10-4 win over Abi Kosiak of O’Gorman. Mira Yousef of O’Gorman won the Flight 5 title this year with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anne Knoff of Yankston. In Flight 6, Maggie Eckerstorfer of O’Gorman beat Allyson Riddle of Rapid City Stevens 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.

In doubles, Goble and Madison Fenske won their first doubles state championship defeating Brower/Brower 7-5, 0-6, 10-5 for the Flight 1 title. In Flight 2, Czarnecki won her second title, this time with Kosiak, defeating Meghan Fenske and Wittenberg 6-4, 7-5, while Yousef and Racheal Townsend defeated Halie Vanderwerff and Riddle 6-3, 6-2.

WisconsinEau Claire Memorial (Division I) and Baldwin-Woodville

(Division 2) advanced to the team state championships in Madison, Wis. Memorial’s Catherine Lindsay placed fourth in singles in the Division 1 tournament, while Britta Pressler and Devon Bourget advanced to the quarterfinals in Division 1 Doubles.

12 magazine DECEMBER 2014 N RTHERN EXPOSURE

adult/senior opportunitiesUSTA LeAgUe TenniS – USTA League Tennis is the largest recreational tennis league in the country and one of USTA Northern’s flagship programs. Annually, over 4,000 unique people play League Tennis within USTA Northern.

ToUrnAmenTS – USTA Northern offers a number of adult tournaments for players of all ages and ability levels. The Section is committed to encouraging more people to play tournaments by providing alternative play opportunities such as the Swingle & Mingle Mixed Doubles series.

recreATionAL PLAy – Encompassing a wide spectrum including beginners and occasional players.

youth/junior opportunities10 & Under TenniS – 10 & Under Tennis sizes the game down for age and ability level by having kids play on shorter courts, with smaller racquets and slower, lower-bouncing balls. Kids experience success much faster thus encouraging them to stay with the sport.

SchooLS – USTA Northern provides training, equipment grants and opportunities to introduce students to tennis in physical education classes and organized out-of-school-time programs (i.e. – Kids Tennis Clubs) for all K-12 schools.

JUnior TeAm TenniS – USTA Junior Team Tennis (JTT) is the largest youth tennis program in the country, helping girls and boys ages 6 to 18 get in the game and play as part of a team. The emphasis is on skill development, fun, teamwork and friendly competition. Almost 3,000 players participated in USTA Northern JTT in 2014.

JUnior ToUrnAmenTS/high PerformAnce – USTA Northern is committed to the development of players to be champions at all levels by offering a year-round schedule of junior tournaments. Play opportunities are either by skill level or age division and spread geographically throughout the Section. There are also opportunities for higher level players to further develop their game through national tournaments, training centers and much more. Over 4,700 unique players competed in USTA Northern Junior Tournaments in 2014.

USTA Jr. Team Tennis

2014 Section Championships

SEPTEMBER 2014

*NoEx Sept 2014 v3.indd 1 8/20/14 8:12 PM

USTA northern is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, one of 17 Section offices of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) serving

minnesota, north dakota, South dakota and northwestern Wisconsin.

We Are Northern!usta northern membership has its advantagesMembership helps promote tennis development in USTA Northern as a portion

of all membership fees go to USTA Programs including League Tennis, Junior Tournaments, Junior Team Tennis, Grants & Scholarships, Community Tennis and much more.

what do i get with my usta northern membership?

❙ Opportunity to participate in USTA Northern Programs and Tournaments including Leagues, Adult and Junior Sanctioned Tournaments and Junior Team Tennis

❙ Publications including Northern Exposure, SMASH, Bounce and Tennis magazines

❙ Advanced and discounted tickets to USTA events such as the US Open, Davis Cup, Fed, Cup, the US Open Series, BNP Paribas Classic and local special events

❙ Invitations to exclusive member-only events

❙ Discounts on tennis apparel & equipment

❙ Other discounted benefits through Active.com

❙ much, much more…

our missionTo promote and develop the

growth of tennis

USTA NorTherN STrATegic PrioriTieS

20%

14%

USTA northern core Values constitute the fundamental beliefs of the organization. While goals present a clear direction,

core Values serve as our compass.

AccountAbility inclusiveness

commitment & teAmwork


USTA northern is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, one of 17 Section offices of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) serving

minnesota, north dakota, South dakota and northwestern Wisconsin.

We Are Northern! northern tennis foundation“Serving Up Love” is the mantra for the Northern Tennis Foundation (NTF), operating as a part of the USTA Northern Section. The Foundation provides resources and financial assistance in supporting young people in need from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds who have the dreams, goals and desire to succeed both on and off the court. By supporting the Northern Tennis Foundation, your tax-deductible contributions open the doors to a brighter future for kids who need financial help to be successful.

volunteer with usta northernAre you passionate about tennis and interested in giving back to the game you love? USTA Northern has a rich history of dedicated volunteers, all of whom share the same fundamental drive that gives them the passion to volunteer: they all love tennis. Prior volunteer experience is not required! To fill out a volunteer form, visit www.northern.usta.com under “About Us.”

stay connected to usta northernUSTA Northern is here for you! Have a question about anything “tennis” in our Section? USTA Northern can help.

USTA norThern

1001 W. 98th Street, Ste. 101 ❙ Bloomington, MN 55431 ❙ 952.887.5001 or 800.536.6982e-mail: [email protected] ❙ Website: northern.usta.com

foLLoW US on SociAL mediA incLUding:www.facebook.com/ustanorthern

www.twitter.com/ustanorthernwww.youtube.com/ustanorthern

www.instagram.com – Keyword USTANorthern

community tennis infrASTrUcTUre & deLiVery SySTem – USTA Northern supports facilities, coaches, teaching professionals and local organizers through on- and off-court trainings, resources and strong collaborations.

grAnTS/SchoLArShiPS – USTA Northern provides a wide variety of financial assistance and opportunities through individual player scholarships and organizational grants for program support and facility improvements.

commUniTy TenniS ASSociATionS – Community Tennis Associations (CTAs) are any incorporated, geographically defined, not-for-profit and volunteer-based organizations that support or provide programs which promote and develop the growth of tennis.

nATionAL JUnior TenniS And LeArning (nJTL) – NJTL is a network of local chapters which provide free or low-cost tennis, education and life skills programming.

people/resources/structurediVerSiTy & incLUSion – Diversity & Inclusion is a priority for USTA Northern. Diversity allows

us to touch “all of our Section” and Inclusion allows “all of our Section" to touch us.

fiScAL – Fiscal responsibility is a priority for the Section as we strive for solid financial footing in both daily management and long-term strategic planning of the organization.

mArkeTing/oUTreAch – USTA Northern uses different media (social, electronic, print) in promoting tennis and increasing awareness of USTA Northern programs.

STAffing – USTA Northern has a full-time staff, who perform the day-to-day operations of the Section, while also relying heavily on its volunteer Board of Directors, Committee members and others who serve the organization in various capacities.

our visionTo provide opportunities by making

tennis accessible to all

USTA NorTherN STrATegic PrioriTieS

13%

53%

USTA northern core Values constitute the fundamental beliefs of the organization. While goals present a clear direction,

core Values serve as our compass.

inclusiveness service

integrity


Northern’s Joan Baker Named To USTA Board for 2015-16

The USTA Nominating Commit-tee has announced the nomination of USTA Northern’s Joan E. Baker (Shorewood, Minn.) to her second term as a Director at Large member on the USTA National Board of Di-rectors. Baker has a rich history of USTA organizational knowledge at both the sectional and national levels.

She began serving USTA Northern as junior endorser in 1995 and served continually, ultimately serv-ing as President and Sectional Delegate from 2005-2006. Since then she has served on the USTA Nominating Committee from 2007-2010, chairing the Committee from 2009-2010. In her first term as a USTA Board member, Baker served as Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Budget Committee. Baker is a lifelong tennis player, passionate about the health benefits of play-ing the sport. She is a three-time recipient of the prestigious USTA Northern President’s Award and was inducted into the USTA Northern Hall of Fame in 2009.

Baker is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and was the Found-er and President of Advantage Benefits, Inc., an employee benefits company that helped owners maximize benefits to valued employ-ees while containing costs.

Rajkumar and Lappin Named To USTA National Nominating Committee

Congratulations to current USTA Northern president Roshan Rajkumar and former USTA Northern President Greg Lappin, who were both named to the USTA National Nominating Committee, which is the most important committee within the organization.

Rajkumar, of St. Louis Park, Minn., has served in multiple USTA Northern Section roles including Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, member of Nominating and Board Development com-mittees and most recently as USTA Northern President, in which he is finishing his two-year term on December 31. He will be the Sec-tion Delegate in 2015-16. Rajkumar also assumed national leader-ship as Chair of the USTA President’s Committee Nominating Task Force in 2013.

Lappin, of Chanhassen, Minn., is a tennis industry veteran who conceived and developed two distinctive athletic clubs in USTA Northern – the former Flagship Athletic Club now known as Life Time Athletic Eden Prairie in Eden Prairie, Minn., and the Rochester Athletic Club in Rochester, Minn. He is currently the National Direc-tor of Tennis Programming and Personnel Recruitment for LifeTime Fitness Corporation and he authored a national best seller, Tennis Doubles, Winning Strategies for all Levels.

Lappin has more than 15 years of service on National USTA com-mittees and task forces including Junior Recreation, Innovation, USTA SERV/USTA Learning and Leadership (Chair 2003-2006), USTA Nominating Committee and President’s Committee for Al-ternative Projects and Volunteer Assignments. He has been a USTA Northern grassroots and section volunteer since 1983 as a CTA organizer; tournament director; board member; USTA Northern President and Section Delegate (1997-2000).

Justin Gaard Runs NYC Marathon, Raises Over $3,200 For USTA Northern

Former Minnesota Class AA State Champion and current KFAN Radio personality Justin Gaard finished the NYC Marathon in six hours and 18 minutes to raise money for USTA Serves and USTA Northern as part of the “Run For the Cause.” Gaard raised over $3,200 in aiding the USTA Foundation and its mission which is to support, monitor and promote programs that enhance the lives of at-risk children and individuals with disabilities through tennis and education within USTA Northern.

USTA Northern Board Member Jessie Daw Wins SDAHPERD Honor Award

USTA Northern Board member Jessie Daw (Aberdeen, S.D.) received the 2014 South Dakota SDAHPERD Honor Award November 7-9 at their state convention.

Northwest Suburban Conference Girls Tennis Raises $2,800 For Cancer Awareness

For their final conference matches September 30, the girls on all 14 Northwest Suburban Conference girls tennis teams wore special Cancer Awareness T-Shirts with all proceeds benefiting the Randy

Shaver Cancer Foundation. In all, over 120 girls wore the special t-shirts designed by Coon Rapids Girls Tennis Coach Scott Stor-rick, who is a graphic arts teacher at Coon Rapids High School. All of the girls purchased their own

shirts for $10 each with $5.50 of each t-shirt sale going to the Ran-dy Shaver Cancer Foundation. The t-shirt sales raised more than $4,000. Great work teams!

Edina’s Caroline Ward Wins National Small College Division III Championship

Former Edina (Minn.) High School player and current Claremont-Mudd Scripps sophomore Caroline Ward won the Small College Division III National Championship with partner Katie Kuosman. She and Kuosman then earned finalist honors in the National Super Bowl of Champions.

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


Last article, we went over the reasons why it is great to hit the ball out of the air. This issue, we are going to

deal with the dreaded floater, and when we get one, why it should be everyone’s new favorite shot!

In a typical match when someone floats the ball high and soft, usually you hear a col-orful metaphor from the opponent, in ad-

dition to a look of disdain, and most commonly, a player moving backward to deal with this very annoying, yet often times effective shot. Instead of evoking the above reaction, this ball should have you salivating as you have been given an opportunity to attack your opponent with either a high volley or a swinging volley. These are two shots everyone should have in their repertoire, and want to hit. But instead of dealing with the floater, most people use it as an excuse to find different opponents or play in a new league.

Some volley basics before we get into the meat and potatoes of dealing with the high floater include:

• Continental grip on racquet (see enclosed picture).• Feet need to be slightly wider than shoulder width.• Tip of the racket leaning slightly toward backhand side and

not straight out in front (many people insist on holding it straight out in front).

• Track the ball with your racket and focus on making contact between chest and shoulders with the emphasis of racket movement coming from the shoulder and not the hand or forearm.

• Bottom edge of the racket should lead slightly and contact should be relatively square with the strings.

The rest is like a Ron Popeil infomercial. You set it and for-get it. Move to and through the floater, squeezing at contact, but moving beyond contact with the feet for balance and placement. Aim for the service line, as you will seldom hit it, but it is a safe target which allows you to be aggressive and accurate with your volley as well.

When practicing this shot, focus on having the ball pass the baseline after the first bounce and ideally hitting the back wall after the first bounce. USTA Northern’s own Hall of Famer and Wimbledon semifinalist David Wheaton has been heard saying penetration of the volley is more important than depth.

If you are not confident with your ability to hit a high volley, then a swinging volley is a great alternative to deal with the floating ball. Typically, one would hold their groundstroke grip for a swinger unless you have an extreme western grip. While not as common, it is possible to hit a swinger with a continental grip, a la John McEnroe, but it is easiest to use your normal forehand and backhand grips.

Think of a swinging volley as simply a groundstroke out of the air. The swing path should be shoulder to shoulder. So you swing in front and across your body. Again, you should aim for the ser-vice line. Also, since you are in front of the baseline when hitting the swinger, you do not need a large backswing, but focus on the contact and forward swing. By taking these floating balls out of the air, instead of backing up, you take away time from your op-ponent, increase your possible angles, put them under pressure and shorten the points.

Once you master these two shots, you will no longer be cring-ing with fear at the sight of a floater, but rather, your opponents will be fearful of your new found willingness to go to the party at the net.

Dealing With the Floater

by Bruce gullikson

Day 1 FundamentalsGrip: Weak Continental Grip

• The “weak’ continental is between a continental and eastern forehand grip.

• Index knuckle shifts away from top bevel compared to the continental grip position.

• The heel of the hand shifts away from the top bevel compared to the continental grip.

• Patrick Rafter used this grip for his awesome volleys.• The “weak” continental grip can help with flatter forehand volleys.• The “weak” continental grip can help with more underspin and control

on backhand volleys.Courtesy of Jeff Salzenstein and 4-Day Volley Cure


Minnesota’s Meritorious Samantha Smart merritt

By J. Fred Sidhu

Often times at USTA League National Championship events, you come across

individuals who utilize tennis for the sake of helping others, making a significant difference in people’s lives through the sport.

And then, with far less frequency, you come across somebody like Samantha Smart Merritt – and you realize just how powerful one person can be in influencing an entire city.

Merritt, a Harvard graduate, is the Executive Director of InnerCity Tennis, a non-profit organization founded in 1952 and currently based at the Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in South Minneapolis. She’s also a member of the USTA Northern Mixed 40 & Over team that competed in the USTA League Mixed 6.0 National Championships November 14-16 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz.

“Our mission is to engage a supportive tennis community to unleash the potential of youth on and off the court,” said Merritt, who recently completed her first year as Executive Director. “We have a beautiful 11-court indoor, year-round facility. We’re in the hub of a very diverse neighborhood. We’re all about the youth.”

Even though she is small in physical stature and soft spoken, Merritt, a lifelong social justice activist, carries a big tennis racquet and stands tall in her commitment to equity, diversity and social transformation to achieve community cohesion and the opportunity for all to express their greatest potential.

InnerCity Tennis offers a wide range of youth programs such as Cities Academy, Super Saturdays, Academic Creative Engagement (A.C.E.), Kidspeed, Outreach, Play Days and Tennis in the Parks.

“We operate as a social enterprise, so that tennis activities with adults and juniors fund the programs we do for free for kids in the schools,” she explained. “Our program staff is highly diverse. We have a 100 percent staff of color, speaking four languages in order to connect with the kids in our schools.”

According to Merritt, the center that houses InnerCity

Tennis is currently undergoing an extensive renovation which includes new court bubbles, renovated administrative offices and a state-of-the-art classroom where junior players can do homework and get academic support when they come off the tennis court.

“Cities Academy is really our paid junior instruction program,” she said. “We start at age four with the Little Stars, then Rising Stars, all the way up to a High Performance program. We’re trying to evolve the level of instruction for juniors. We have a scholarship fund… so that any child is not precluded from joining that program because of their family’s ability to pay.”

Merritt estimates that more than 75,000 kids have participated in InnerCity Tennis programs since the organization was founded over 60 years ago. While InnerCity Tennis is a youth-focused organization, they do have a very strong partnership with the Senior Tennis Players Club, which has approximately 1,200 members in the Twin Cities area and have put

a renewed emphasis on adult programming of all kinds.“If you come during the day between September and May

you will see our facility really dominated by people ages 50 up to 96,” said Merritt. “We also host about two dozen in-house leagues.”

InnerCity Tennis has been named the 2014 USTA Northern Member Organization of the Year and was recognized November 21 at the USTA Northern’s Annual Awards Banquet.

“InnerCity Tennis had never had that kind of award in its 62-year-history,” said Merritt. “If our program, our staff and volunteers can shine a little light that allow children to realize they have potential and can unleash that - that is what is exciting to me.

“Whether [kids] become tennis players or not is not the ultimate thing: the ultimate goal for us is that each child can live up to their greatest potential and even exceed that.”

For more information on InnerCity Tennis, go to InnerCityTennis.org

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


Northern At USTA League national Championships

Congratulations to the following teams who placed in the Top Four at USTA League National Championships. The Northern Men’s 18 and Over 5.0+ team and the Men’s 55 and Over 7.0 team placed

third, while the 55 and Over 6.0 squad and the 9.0 18 and Over Mixed team finished fourth.

The 5.0+ men, captained by Adam Altepeter, finished third at the 2014 USTA League National Championships in Indian Wells, Calif. Northern opened the tournament by going 4-0 in round-robin play, defeating South-ern California Wildcard 2-1, Southern 2-1, Florida 2-1 and Mid-Atlantic 3-0, winning two third-set match tiebreakers. Northern then fell in the semifi-nals to the Southern Wildcard team 2-1, before defeating Intermountain 2-1 for third place. The Southern team that Northern defeated in round-robin play went on to win the championship, defeating the wildcard team from Southern 2-1. Members of Altepeter’s team from Baseline Tennis Center in the Twin Cities included former Gophers Raoul Schwark, Julian Dehn, Sion Wilkins, Mikey Kantar and Michael Sicora and Hamish Weeras-inghe, Danny Kantar, Eduard Svenda and John Kuntz.

The 7.0 55 and Over men from St. Paul Academy in the Twin Cities, cap-tained by Eric Narvaez and Peter Haan, finished third overall at the 2014 USTA League National Championships in Surprise, Ariz.. Northern won its flight 2-1 after taking the matches-won tiebreaker 7-6 against Middle States and 7-5 versus Caribbean. Northern beat Caribbean 3-0, then lost to Mid-dle States 2-1 before beating Mid-Atlantic 3-0. In the semifinals, Northern lost to eventual champion Southern 2-1. In the third-place match, Northern defeated Southern California 2-1, winning a third-set match tiebreaker in the deciding match. Members of the team included Narvaez, Haan, Thomas Peterson, James Drahos, Mark Holte, Cary Bowers, Richard Iver-son, John Jerlow, Gary Simpson, Daniel Whalen, Randy Sanders, Robert Lang, William Reuland and Don Conroy.

The 55 and Over 6.0 men, also captained by Narvaez and Haan, fin-ished fourth overall after winning its round robin 4-0. Northern defeated Northern California, Pacific Northwest and Southern California 3-0 and Intermountain 2-1. In the semifinals, Northern fell 2-1 to Florida, losing a third-set match tiebreaker at the #2 doubles position. In the third-place match, Northern lost two more third-set tiebreakers in falling to Pacific Northwest 2-1. Members of the team included Narvaez, Haan, Drahos, Joseph Spolidoro, Steven Schwartz, Robert Ehrich, Mark Duthow, Holte, Petersen, Jeffrey El, Jeff Sutphen and Richard Branstner. Florida beat Southern for the championship 2-1.

The 9.0 18 and Over mixed doubles team captained by Megan Coo-per and Marti Estey from St. Paul Indoor Tennis Center in the Twin Cit-ies, placed fourth at the USTA League National Championships in Tucson, Ariz. Northern went 3-0 in its round-robin flight, defeating Eastern, Ca-ribbean and Hawaii 2-1. Northern then lost to Intermountain 2-1 in the semifinals and fell 3-0 to Mid-Atlantic in the third-place match. Members of the team included Cooper, Estey, Erin Humphrey, Steve Warch, Carl Engstrom, Amanda Hiatt, Jane Booth-Tobin, Paul Spors, Vic-tor Kovac, Nicole Love, Patrick Van Fleet, Michelle Olson, Helen Klass-Warch, Maalik Konop-DeFreitas and David Warden. Southern California defeated Intermountain 2-1 for the championship.

5.0 Men’s Team

6.0 55+ Men’s Team

7.0 55+ Men’s Team

9.0 18 and Over Mixed Doubles


USTA Northern LeagueSection Champions

18 and Over Adult

2.5 Women – Rochester (Captains: Emily Eiten, Magdalena Geske) 3.0 Men – Twin Cities Captains (Jov Tuplano, Michael Larson)

3.0 Women – Rochester (Captains: Sara Gettman, Finola O’Sullivan) 3.5 Men – Rochester (Captains: David Schaffner, Steve Soltis)

3.5 Women – Twin Cities (Captain: Kathleen Geherin, Katie Hollerman) 4.0 Men – Twin Cities (Captain: Dominick Bush)

4.0 Women – Twin Cities (Captains: Karen Wick, Patrice Meger) 4.5 Men – Twin Cities (Captain: Neil Radermacher)

5.0+ Men – Twin Cities (Captain: Adam Altpeter)4.5 Women – Twin Cities (Captain: Dana Beck)

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


40 and Over Adult

55 and Over Adult

3.5 Men – Twin Cities (Captains: Eric Narvaez, Brad Struve)

3.0 Women – Twin Cities (Captain: Sharon Chambers) 4.0 Men – Twin Cities (Captain: Dave Malek)

3.5 Women – Twin Cities (Captain: Carol Thies)4.5 Men – Twin Cities (Captain: Neil Radermacher)

4.0 Women – Twin Cities (Captains: Terri Blando, Becky Johnson)

8.0 Women – Twin Cities (Captain: Deborah Day)4.5 Women – Twin Cities (Captain: Ann Eliason)

7.0 Women – Twin Cities (Captains: Carol Rothe, Linda Burns)

6.0 Men – Twin Cities (Captains: Eric Narvaez, Peter Haan)


9.0 Men – Twin Cities (Blake Skarnes)

7.0 Men – Twin Cities (Captains: Eric Narvaez, Peter Haan)

8.0 Men – Twin Cities (Captain: Paul Dalton)8.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captain: Tyler Krumholz)

9.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captains: Megan Cooper, Marti Estey)

8.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captains: Mike Padilla, Patrice Meger)

7.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captain: Jeanne Ewen) 9.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captains: Elizabeth Hurlbert/Greg Garrity)

6.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captain: Carl Bigby)

7.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captain: Sarah Foley)

18 and Over Mixed Doubles

6.0 Mixed – Twin Cities (Captains: Eric Narvaez, Carol Thies)

40 and Over Mixed Doubles

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


Community Tennis Update

Northern Tennis Foundation Supports Four High School Tennis Programs

The Northern Tennis Foundation, in conjunction with USTA Northern, awarded $1,000 each to Brooklyn Center (Minn.,) High School, Park Center (Minn.) High School, Richfield (Minn.) High School and Fridley (Minn.) High School this fall as part of its Adopt-A-Team program. The initiative connects passionate adult tennis players with high school teams in need of additional financial resources to grow the sport and compete at the Varsity level. These schools were chosen after completing an application where they identified anticipated team expenses and other qualifications.

All of the schools selected have over 60 percent of their students who qualify for free and reduced school lunch. One of the schools had their budget cut by 50 percent for 2014-15. Another was looking for equipment and instruction for its program while two others wanted to introduce more students of the game of tennis and increase student involvement on campus.

A special thank you to all who donated to the cause at the USTA Northern League Championships and through e-blasts and other social media in August and September. The recipients of the grants showed their appreciation by attending the USTA League Tennis Section Championships and handing out lunches and t-shirts.

The Northern Tennis Foundation will be doing this once again for 2015-16. To donate online, please visit northern.usta.com or contact Sandy Smith at (952) 358-3288. Checks can also be sent to USTA Northern, Attn: Sandy Smith, 1001 W. 98th Street, Suite 101, Bloomington, Minn., 55431.

For more information about if your school is eligible for a grant and to apply, please contact Christine Nickels at [email protected] or at (952) 358-3290.

Brooklyn Center High School

Richfield High SchoolFridley High School

N RTHERN EXPOSURE


Sioux Falls Breaks Ground On Huether Family Match Pointe

The city of Sioux Falls came together on September 16 to celebrate the ground-breaking of the new Sioux Falls Community Indoor Tennis Center, now called Huether Family Match Pointe after a generous donation from the family. The community had the chance to meet and play with new Tennis Director Kent Helge-son and Assistant Director Jessie Daw.

The USTA also announced, through its USTA Facility Assistance Program, that it has awarded a $35,000 grant to Huether Fam-

ily Match Pointe for the construc-tion of the six new indoor ten-nis courts. The USTA Facility As-sistance Program aims to support

and provide communities access to safe, appealing and functional tennis environments.

“We are committed to enhancing and building more tennis facili-ties in communities across the country,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “This program allows us to assist in the development process of providing usable tennis venues to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to play and enjoy the health benefits of our great game.”

Glencoe-Silver Lake High School Opens 12 New Courts

Glencoe-Silver Lake High School (Minn.) celebrated the grand opening of a beautiful new 12-court tennis complex which includes lines for two additional stand-alone 36’ courts in Sep-tember. USTA Northern supported this project through a $6,000 Adopt-A-Court Grant and the USTA awarded a $15,000 Facility Assistance Grant.

Minot Celebrates New Courts

The City of Minot celebrated the grand opening of 10 new courts at Hammond Park and three at Roosevelt Park just in time for the boys high school season

“We’ve decided that it was time to just start over again so the old court complex was torn out and we put in all new courts,” Ron Merritt of Minot Parks and Rec said. “We will have 10 ten-nis courts at Hammond Park, including a Center Court complex for tour-naments. Then we redid the three existing courts are Roosevelt Park at the same time. We hope to play host to the West Region and the Girls and Boys State Tennis Tourna-ments in the near future.”

InnerCity Tennis Receives $25,000 USTA Facility Grant

The USTA, through its USTA Facility Assis-tance Program, has awarded a $25,000 grant to InnerCity Tennis. The grant will be used to support the replacement of the tennis domes and installation of new lighting at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Reed Sweatt has already replaced the South Bubble and is currently working on the North Bubble before redoing the lobby area, classroom and office facilities within the struc-ture. The Grand Re-opening is scheduled for January or February.

Williston Park and Recreation, Serving Youth Tennis Receive Community Tennis Grants

Congratulations to Williston Park and Recreation and Serv-ing Youth Tennis in Brainerd, Minn., who received USTA North-ern Community Tennis Grants. Williston Park and Recreation was awarded $700 to support programming at the new Williston Area Recreation Center, while Serving Youth Tennis received $1,300 to support after-school programming for first through fourth graders in the Brainerd Lakes area.

Documents

Congratulations 2014 USTA Northern Award Winnersassets.usta.com/assets/650/15/Northern_Exposure_Dec._2014.pdfCongratulations 2014 USTA Northern Award Winners DECEMBER 2014. Our facility