What You Play in Vegas - Stays in Vegas!

The Rec League Open Division Nationals will be held during the Las Vegas National Qualifier, April 18-20, 2008.

In response to the requests from the Open Players and League Directors, the WTT Nationals for the Open Division will be held in  Las Vegas.  Winning teams from local recreational leagues or corporate leagues are invited to participate along with players forming a team if they do not have a local league to play in. 

Advanta's "Ready, Set, Racquet!" program is the gift that keeps on giving.  WTT National Finals presenting sponsor Advanta donated 60 tennis racquets to local programs designated by each of the 10 winning teams from the National Finals.

Dr. James Chong, captain of the 3.5 Corporate championship team, the GrandSlammers, presented 60 junior racquets to the Boys and Girls Club of Boca Raton (pictured at left).

Other team donations issued to date include:

Corporate 4.5 Champions - Boston Scientific-Heart Strings (Minneapolis, Minn.): 

• Inner City Tennis (http://www.innercitytennis.org) and St. Paul Urban Tennis (http://www.stpaulurbantennis.org).  Both are non-profit organizations within the Twin Cities area that are focused on providing an arena where all youth, from all circumstances, can learn and play tennis as one.

 4.0 Division Champions -- Hanover (Kansas City, Mo.):

• Barry Park tennis program - a public tennis program on the courts in Kansas City North, Mo., and;
• Stephanie Waterman Foundation, which houses its program on court during the spring/summer/fall at the Plaza Tennis Center. This group has offered tennis and tutoring to inner city youth for years.

4.5 Division Champion:  Aces Up, Studio City, Calif.

• Tri-Valley Special Olympics - Tri-Valley Special Olympics providesyear-round sports training and competition in 12 sports at 23 venues throughout the Tri-Valley Area. Tri-Valley Special Olympics provides free year-round sports training and competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
• Neighborhood Junior Tennis Program (pictured below) is a non-profit organization in Sylmar, Calif.  NJTP runs a year-round program that teaches tennis to children and adults at a low cost.  Their mission is to improve their community through tennis.

 

Open Division Champions -

Las Vegas Longshots (Las Vegas, Nev.):

• Youth programs supported by The Milwaukee Tennis & Education Foundation (Milwaukee, Wis.)
• Youth programs supported by Indiana University (Bloomington, Ind.)
• Youth programs supported by The JW Marriott Resort and Spa (Palm Desert, Calif.)
• Youth programs supported by Colorado University - La Alma Recreational Center (Denver, Colo.)
• Youth programs supported by The Royal Oaks Country Club - The Memorial Park Tennis Center (Houston, Texas)
• Youth programs supported by the Arbors Tennis Club (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Corporate 4.0 - Sports Explorers (Los Angeles, Calif.)

• Adventure Camp After-School program, Marvin Avenue and Queen Anne Elementary schools - Los Angeles area

Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, has signed a three-year agreement with World TeamTennis to sponsor scholarships for young tennis players with diabetes.  

The Novo Nordisk Donnelly Awards will annually award $15,000 in scholarships including two one-time $5,000 scholarships given to two young people, ages 14-21, who have diabetes and play tennis competitively in tournaments or on their school team.   Two regional finalist awards of $2,500 each have also been added to the scholarship program.  The awards are to be used for education, tennis development and/or medical care.

World TeamTennis is currently accepting applications for the 2008 Novo Nordisk Donnelly Awards.  Applications must be must be received by May 1, 2008, along with two letters of recommendation and a short essay regarding the significance of diabetes in the applicant's life.  For more details on the Novo Nordisk Donnelly Awards and to download an application form, visit www.WTT.com.  For more information, contact Diane Donnelly Stone at dstone@wtt.com or 212-586-3444, x. 20.

The recipients of the $5,000 scholarships will receive their awards at a World TeamTennis Pro League match in July 2008 from WTT co-founder Billie Jean King.

Sacramento (pictured below) is the winningest team in WTT history, having defeated the New York Buzz last summer to win their sixth championship.  They will have an opportunity to repeat with a guaranteed spot in the Championship Weekend when five teams battle for the King Trophy at Allstate Stadium at the Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, Calif. 

The top two teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences automatically qualify for the playoffs, along with a wild card team.  The wild card will either be the host team or the team with the fifth best overall League record (if the host team qualifies as one of the top two teams from their conference).

Conference champions will be decided during the regular season.  The five teams advancing to the Championship Weekend will be seeded based on their regular season record, regardless of conference.  The top three teams automatically advance to the semifinals while the No. 4 seed and the wild card team face off in a wild card playoff match.  The winner of the wild card match advances to the semifinals to face the No. 1 seed.

The WTT Finals are set for Sunday, July 27, however the final schedule for Championship Weekend will be determined at a later date.  Depending on team travel, TV schedules and weather, action will either begin on Thursday, July 24 or Friday, July 25.  If there is a Friday start, two semifinal matches will be played on Saturday.