Gainesville Receives $5,750 Tennis Grant from USTA Florida
From:
Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association (GACTA) has been granted $5,750 through the United States Tennis Association-Florida (USTA Florida) “Share the Love” initiative for an extended-day tennis program in Alachua County elementary schools, and an adaptive tennis program for special-needs children. Both programs are targeted to combat obesity and improve the health of children in the region.
The funding will be used for tennis teacher stipends for both programs, and for USTA 10 and Under Tennis equipment.“The purpose of this program is to provide a healthy academic opportunity to a diverse group of children in the Alachua County schools’ Extended Day Enrichment Program, which currently has an enrollment of over 3,000 children,” says Anne Koterba, a USTA Gainesville community representative who initiated the grant application. “We are also seeking to introduce the sport of tennis to special-needs children in the Gainesville and Alachua County area.”
A pilot program coordinated by Koterba and other tennis activists at the Jonesville Tennis Center in Gainesville catered to the substantial population of children in the area with autism, Down’s Syndrome and a variety of other conditions. The group looks to continue the program, utilizing the scaled-down USTA 10 and Under Tennis equipment which provides a more successful and enjoyable tennis experience for children.
The USTA 10 and Under Tennis format is designed for children featuring smaller court sizes, racquet sizes, foam and decompressed balls, a simple scoring system, and net heights adjusted to ease kids into the sport. Similar mini-tennis formats have long been popular in Europe, where current stars such as Roger Federer, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters first learned the game with age-adjusted racquets, balls and court sizes. To see a video of 10 and Under Tennis in action go to: http://10andundertennis.usta.com
“Many school children in our community are facing a number of challenges to their long-term well-being, including obesity, as approximately one-third of school children in our county are overweight or obese,” Koterba says. “USTA Florida, by providing funding to projects like these, can make a difference in our community by helping us introduce tennis, a potentially life-long sport, to children of all abilities and socio-economic backgrounds.”
In 2011 the GACTA planned to expand the extended-day tennis programs from eight to 12 elementary schools, with qualified tennis teachers overseeing each school, (but was actually able to extend the program to include all the elementary schools in Alachua County). Partners in the program include the Alachua County School District, the Alachua County Choices Program, the Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association, the University of Florida and the Jonesville Tennis Center.
USTA Florida annually directs 90% of member dollars back into the community to support tennis programs and projects throughout Florida. USTA Florida’s Share the Love grant program helps fund tennis programs and projects throughout Florida communities during challenging economic times. Funding priorities include 10 and Under Tennis and Jr. Team Tennis (coordinator training, start-up, etc.), public facility funding (schools, parks, conversion to permanent 10 and Under courts, etc.), community tennis awareness (innovative pro-active start-ups, program expansion), school programs and senior tennis programs/projects.
“This is another great example of tennis partnerships in Gainesville between the Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association, the Jonesville Tennis Center, and others that we are proud to support with funding to benefit area children,” said USTA Florida Associate Executive Director, Play Tennis Division, Andy McFarland. “It is with USTA membership dollars from adult and junior tennis players across the state of Florida that we are able to offer program grants and give back to communities like these.”
Share the Love grant applications are still being accepted by USTA Florida at www.USTASharetheLove.com, or questions can be e-mailed to grants@nullflorida.usta.com. For more information on the 10-and-Under Tennis play format in Florida, go towww.ustaflorida.com.
For more information on the Gainesville program, contact Anne Koterba at akoterba@nullaol.com, or go to www.gainesvilletennis.com
UF Men’s Tennis Team Schedule 2010-2011
| DATE | TEAM | LOCATION | TIME |
| Fri-Mon, Jan 14-17 | SEC Indoor | Knoxville, TN | |
| Friday, Jan.21 | Furman | Gainesville, FL | 3 pm |
| Sunday, Jan 23 | Baylor | Gainesville, FL | 12 noon |
| Fri, Jan 28 | UC Santa Barbara (ITA Kick-Off Weekend) | Gainesville, FL | 10 am |
| Fri, Jan 28 | Troy Vs. NC State | Gainesville, FL | 1 pm |
| Sat., Jan 29 | ITA Kick-Off, Consolation | Gainesville, FL | 10 am |
| Sat. Jan 29 | ITA Kick-Off, Final | Gainesville, FL | 1 pm |
| Fri, Feb 4 | UCF | Gainesville, FL | 3 pm |
| Sun Feb 6 | FSU | Tallahassee, FL | 1 pm |
| Sat Feb 12 | Illinois | Champaign, IL | 6 pm |
| Fri-Mon Feb 18-21 | ITA National Team Indoor | Seattle, WA | |
| Fri March 4 | LSU | Gainesville, FL | 3 pm |
| Sun March 6 | Arkansas | Gainesville, FL | 1 pm |
| Fri March 11 | Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | 5 pm |
| Sun March 13 | Auburn | Auburn, AL | 1 pm |
| Thu March 17 | Southern California | Gainesville, FL | 5 pm |
| Sat March 19 | Ole Miss | Gainesville, FL | 1 pm |
| Sat March 26 | Mississippi State | Starksville, MS | 1 pm |
| Fri April 1 | Kentucky | Gainesville, FL | 3 pm |
| Sun April 3 | Vanderbilt | Gainesville, FL | 1 pm |
| Fri April 8 | Georgia | Athens, GA | 5 pm |
| Sun, April 10 | Tennessee | Knoxville, TN | 1 pm |
| Sat. April 16 | South Carolina | Columbia, SC | 3 pm |
| Thur-Sun April 21-24 | SEC Tournament | Gainesville, FL | |
| Fri-Sun May 13-15 | NCAA Regional | TBA | |
| Thur- Wed May 19-25 | NCAA Team Tournament | Stanford, CA | |
| Thur-Mon May 26-30 | NCAA Individual | Stanford, CA |
UF Women’s Tennis Team Schedule 2010-2011
| SPRING ~ 2011 | ||||||||||
| Jan 8-13 | Fri – Wed | 25 K Tournamen | Plantation, FL | All Day | ||||||
| Jan 13-16 | Thu – Sun | UNLV ~ Freeman Memorial | Las Vegas, NV | All Day | ||||||
| Jan 16-20 | Sat – Wed | 25 K Tournament | Lutz, FL | All Day | ||||||
| Jan 19 | Wednesday | US Junior National Team | GAINESVILLE, FL | 4:00 PM | ||||||
| Jan 26 | Wednesday | University of Central Florida | GAINESVILLE, FL | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| Jan 29 | Saturday | ITA Kick-Off | GAINESVILLE, FL | 10:00/1:00 | ||||||
| Jan 30 | Sunday | ITA Kick-Off | GAINESVILLE, FL | 10.00/1:00 | ||||||
| Feb 5 | Saturday | Baylor University | GAINESVILLE, FL | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| Feb 6 | Sunday | Fla International University | GAINESVILLE, FL | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| Feb 8 | Tuesday | University of South Florida | GAINESVILLE, FL | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| Feb 12 | Saturday | @ University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC | 3:00 PM | ||||||
| Feb 13 | Sunday | @ Duke University | Durham, NC | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| Feb 18 – 21 | Fri – Mon | ITA National Team Indoor Championships | TBA | All Day | ||||||
| Mar 1 | Tuesday | @ Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL | 4:30 PM | ||||||
| Mar 4 | Friday | @ Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, LA | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| Mar 6 | Sunday | @ University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| Mar 11 | Friday | University of Alabama | GAINESVILLE, FL | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| Mar 13 | Sunday | Auburn | GAINESVILLE, FL | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| Mar 25 | Friday | @ Mississippi (Ole Miss) | Oxford, MS | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| Mar 27 | Sunday | Mississippi State | GAINESVILLE, FL | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| April 1 | Friday | @ University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| April 3 | Sunday | @ Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| April 8 | Friday | University of Georgia | GAINESVILLE, FL | 5:00 PM | ||||||
| April 10 | Sunday | University of Tennessee | GAINESVILLE, FL | 1:00 PM | ||||||
| April 16 | Saturday | University of South Carolina | GAINESVILLE, FL | 3:00 PM | ||||||
| April 21-24 | Thu – Sun | SEC Tournament | Knoxville, TN | All Day | ||||||
| May 14 – 15 | Sat-Sun | NCAA Regional Tournament | TBA | All Day | ||||||
| May 20 – 25 | Thu – Tue | NCAA Team Tournament | Stanford, CA | All Day | ||||||
| May 26 – 31 | Wed – Mon | NCAA Individual Tournament | Stanford, CA | All Day | ||||||
W-0 8/23/2010
Gainesville, Pinellas Co., Seminole Co., Volusia Co. Win USTA Florida Jr. Team Tennis Fall Section Titles
The USTA Florida Jr. Team Tennis Fall Section Championship drew 62 teams to the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach on Dec. 11-12, 2010. The Gainesville area sent seven teams, who competed in beginner to advanced divisions, and Gainesville teams won two of the six division titles (12 and Under Advanced, and 14 and Under Advanced). Congratulations to all who competed!
“Saturday was a beautiful day of tennis,” said USTA Florida Team Tennis Coordinator Michelle Willis. “Sunday was halted around 11:30 a.m. when the rain, 20 m.p.h. winds and cold front came in. The matches had to be called and the tournament cut short, with division winners determined by game-winning percentage.”
In the 12-and-under division, Pinellas County’s “Largo Hulk Smash” finished ahead of Dade County’s “Ocean Club Int.” (a first-time team) for the Intermediate title, and Gainesville’s “G-Power”, coached by So-Mei Louie, won the Advanced title, edging runners-up “Daytona Heavy Hitters” from Volusia County.
12 and under advanced division winners
In the 14-and-under division, the Volusia County “Punishers” won the Intermediate title, finishing ahead of runners-up “Sanlando Smash” from Seminole County. “GLB”, coached by Bobbie Mehan, from the Gainesville area won the Advanced title, finishing ahead of “HP Seminoles” from Leon County, a first-time team.
14 and under advanced winners
Jonesville Tennis Center – USTA Florida Award Winner 2010
10 and Under Tennis: The Rules Have Changed
The Rules of Tennis Have Changed
Oyen and Will Win USTA/ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships Doubles
11/7/2010
From:
http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?game_id=9675
The University of Florida’s Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) became the third Gator pair to win the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships doubles title, as they won a hard-fought three-setter Sunday at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Oyen and Will defeated Clemson’s third-seeded and fifth-ranked team of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to avenge their only loss this season and capture the national doubles championship.
“We got another national title!” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist exclaimed following the match. “This was one of the best doubles matches I’ve seen in my 16 years of coaching tennis. Both teams played phenomenal tennis. There was great defense, tactical changes. We played really well. We had set-point in the first set and let it slip out of our hands. We didn’t think we were being as aggressive serving as we could have been and told ourselves that if we had a chance to be in that position again, we would go for it. We weren’t going to sit back and hope they miss.
“That little change in our mentality made all the difference,” Thornqvist said. “We continued to return well in the second set and at the point of serving it out, stepped it up. We called poaches on second serves and really stepped up. I’m so proud of them. Sofie and Allie have come a long way since their first match together in October. Winning championships never gets old!”
The 18th-ranked Gator pair ends the fall season with an 11-1 record together, having won their last 11 matches. The Gators’ lone loss was a season-opening setback to the same Clemsonduo they defeated in Sunday’s final.
Oyen and Will became the third different Gator tandem to win the USTA-ITA National Indoor Championships doubles title, joining the teams of Nicole Arendt and Jillian Alexander, which won the 1991 crown, and Dawn Buth and Stephanie NIckitas, which captured the 1996 championship.
Oyen and Will are the 18th and 19th different Gators to win an individual Grand Slam title, as the freshman and sophomore, respectively, produced the 24th championship trophy in the illustrious history of the Florida program.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) sanctions the three legs of the collegiate singles and doubles Grand Slam events as well as the ITA National Team Indoor Championships and the NCAA Team Championships. The tournament legs in order contested: Riviera All-American; USTA/ITA National Indoor (formerly sponsored by ROLEX); and NCAA Championships. From 1986-2001, there were four national events, but the ITA National Clay Court Championships is no longer played.
This was the final event of the fall tennis season. The Gators next return to the court on Jan. 13 for the Freeman Memorial in Las Vegas, before turning the attention wholly to dual match play, as Florida plays host to UCF on Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.
2010 USTA Florida Annual Meeting Photos
Why Quick Start Tennis?
This video shows the same kids playing on a regular court compared to a 60 ft court.