The second National League match of the 2013/14 season featured a contest between Camden Riviere and Tony Hollins of New England vs. John Lumley and Will Hopton of Chicago.  The match took place on the Saturday of the Jimmy Knott tournament and the combination of National League with a USCTA tournament was a success.

            New England won the 2012/13 National League title with Camden winning all his matches at the #1 spot.  With Steve Virgona out with an injury and a handicap differential of over 17 points, spectators anticipated that Camden's streak would continue.  To read the rest of the story, click here.

This changes though when there is a chase being played. Why is it when most players are returning serve and playing off a chase that they choose to cut the ball into the corner? The answer is that it gives them a chance to control the length of their shot to beat the chase. A decent cut shot can also force an error out of your opponent or a weak return, which can be taken advantage of.

   So why then don't we use this return when chases are not being played? I believe that this cut shot is the most effective return of serve possible, regardless of the situation. Most players can hit this shot with less difficulty than hitting the dedans, and as we all know most people don't want to try to dig balls out of the corner. If it is effective to use it to beat a chase it will be effective to win a normal point as well! Next time you are playing a match try it out. Imagine you are trying to beat chase 3 on the floor with your returns even on normal points. I think you will find it is a very effective option that can be easily repeated.

At the Sept 13, 2013 board meeting of the USCTPF, the following officers were elected to one year terms.

Board Chairman - William F. McLaughlin, Jr.

Vice Chair - Jim Zug

President -  P.J. Yeatman

Treasurer - Jane C. Lippincott

Secretary - Charles C. de Casteja

As permitted by the by laws, the following were appointed to the Executive Committee

Charles C. de Casteja , Jane C. Lippincott, William F. McLaughlin, Jonathan H. Pardee, PJ Yeatman and 

Jim Zug 

Additionally, Charles de Casteja was appointed head of the Nominating Committee.

The Foundation wishes to thank Haven Pell for his years of extraordinary service and dedication to the game of court tennis. We were fortunate to have the benefit of his energy and foresight at the helm of the Foundation for as long we did. A special dinner will be held in 2014 honoring Haven and his accomplishments.