IRVINE WOMEN'S TENNIS TEAM CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS AT USTA LEAGUE ADULT 18 & OVER 3.5 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS TOURNAMENT

The women’s tennis team from Irvine, Calif., representing the USTA Southern California Section, captured the national title at the USTA League Adult 18 & Over 3.5 National Championships held at the Jim Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson, Ariz.

The Irvine team defeated a team from Kalamazoo, Mich., 3-2 in the championship match. Earlier in the day, the Irvine team defeated a team from Alamo, Calif, 3-2 in the semifinals. It advanced this far by winning their round-robin flight contested on Friday and Saturday.

The team is captained by Lena Loha and Sophie Lam and features Met Chau, Amanda Lean, Jenny Hua, Rebecca Loo, Viviana Kim, Carol Lynn Walsh, Regina Gov, Deborah Kirk, Tammy Juarez and Patricia Araki. It plays at Lower Peters Park.

The top four teams in order of finish are: Southern California, Midwest, Northern California, and Caribbean.

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 participants in a few parts of the country in its first year, to over 820,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

USTA League was established to provide adult recreational tennis players throughout the country with the opportunity to compete against players of similar ability levels. Players participate on teams in a league format, which is administered by the USTA through its 17 Sections. The league groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels, ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). USTA League is open to any USTA member 18 years of age or older.

Last year, USTA League changed its structure and format. The change offers USTA League participants two divisions: Adult (18 & Over, 40 & Over and 55 & Over) and Mixed (18 & Over) to better align participants with players their own age. In 2014, a Mixed 40 & Over division was added. The restructuring guarantees more frequency of play opportunities at more appropriate age groups.

Head Penn Racquet Sports is in its 27th year as official ball of USTA League.

For more information about USTA League or the USTA, visit www.usta.com.

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. 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 720,000 members, it invests 100% 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 eight 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 philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.