The Tuxedo Club once again set the bar for hosting National Championships with the USCTA Mixed Nationals held at the club May 31st – June 2nd.
With arguably the strongest and youngest field in memory, it was clear to all the spectators that the future of the amateur game is in good hands!
The top three teams of Annie Clark & Noah Motz (Westwood Country Club), Emily Young & Ned Batstone (International Tennis Hall of Fame), Kadi Meldrum & Rakesh Jasani (Aiken Tennis Club) all have a team HCP of under 23…. The spectators were in for a feast of good tennis! They were not disappointed as the Young/Batstone pairing eeked by Meldrum/Jasani in the semi-finals 6/4 6/5 to earn their spot in the Final versus the top see of Clark & Motz.
Clark and Motz were leading one set to love in the final and 5/2 40-love in the second set when the momentum took a seismic shift, and the Young/Batstone pairing took the next four games (being down yet again 40-love and 5/4) and the second set. Clark and Motz righted the ship quickly and spent the entire third set on the service end, winning 6/0.
Tuxedo representation was strong as usual; Megan Hayes & Dan Laukitis lived up to their seed of 4 by making the semis before running into the Clark/Motz juggernaut. Other Tuxedo teams include Serena & Kurt Mueller, Hazel & Dave Christensen, Kim Kilgore & Dawson Chisholm, Amy Gold & Chris Heffernan, Calliope & Theo Yannuzzi, along with Francine Maitland pairing with Kip Gould from New York.
The Back Draw Final was an ALL-TUXEDO affair as Calliope & Theo Yannuzzi defeated Amy Gold & Chris Heffernan.
A job well done by the tournament committee, as all participants rave about all things Tuxedo when playing at the club!
A big THANK YOU as well to the club’s F&B department for providing a wonderful spread of food throughout the weekend.
US Mixed – Noah Motz, Annie Clark (champions), Dave Christensen (Tournament Director), Finalists – Emily Young & Ned Batstone
Back Draw – Finalists – Chris Heffernan & Amy Gold, Champions – Calliope & Theo Yannuzzi
