Buford Junior Tennis Team to Compete at 2014 USTA Nationals

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., – The Southern Intermediate Wild Card team from Buford, Ga. will compete in the 2014 USTA Jr. Team Tennis 18U National Championships, held at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C., Oct. 24-26. The tournament will feature the top 32 teams from across the U.S., totaling more than 250 participants.

The team is made up of Maddy Bauer, Cameron Clark, Kate Cram, Steven De Vincentis, Matthew Feldman, Kaera Handy, Holly Kerr, Alex Likins, Benjamin Likins, Hunter Parrott, Katie Rankin and Sarah Wood.

The National Championships feature teams that have advanced from the Section level to compete for the title. Each year the USTA crowns a national champion in two age divisions (14U and 18U) in both Intermediate and Advanced play divisions.

“The National Championships are the culmination of the Jr. Team Tennis season and bring together the best teams from the 17 sections,” said Craig Jones, Director, USTA Junior Play. “Not only is the level of competition incredible, but the kids are treated like royalty throughout the event with free meals, player parties and that famous ‘Southern Hospitality.’ “

This is the third year that the Cayce Tennis Center will host to the USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Championships. In addition, a second tennis facility, the Lexington County Tennis Complex, also will be utilized to serve the hundreds of players competing each weekend.

“We are thrilled to have so many young people and their families coming to our international award-winning tennis and fitness facility in the City of Cayce again this year,” said Cayce Mayor Elise Partin. “Many of our Cayce residents and residents across the Midlands enjoy this facility, and we couldn’t be more pleased to share it with other families across the nation for these upcoming USTA events.”

Established in 1991, USTA Jr. Team Tennis provides youth with all of the health and social benefits of tennis in a co-ed, fun and competitive team environment, and allows participants to compete with and against individuals of similar skill and age levels.

With more than 99,000 players competing nationwide, USTA Jr. Team Tennis brings players together to enjoy camaraderie and teamwork, providing a fun environment for kids to learn that succeeding is really more about how they play the game—win or lose.

Visit the USTA Jr. Team Tennis website at ustajtt.com for complete results, stories and photos.

# # #

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level, from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 770,000 members, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking nine summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s national charitable foundation, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.

For more information, contact:

Elizabeth McCollum, For the USTA, 813-421-0550, elizabethm@Bzapr.com