October 2021 President’s Letter
October is one of the best months to play tennis. The temperatures moderate and there is usually more sunshine than rain. USTA KY hosted the Southern Tri-Level Sectional tournament and Kentucky league teams did very well at the Sectional and National level this month. There is a lot to celebrate this month in Kentucky tennis!
Kudos to tournament director Kathy Klein, USTA KY staff and volunteers from Louisville and other areas of the state for a job well done in hosting the Southern Tri-Level Sectional Championships the weekend of October 15-17! The initial day was met with rain which required indoor play into the wee hours of the morning to keep the tournament on schedule. Thankfully, the final two days were filled with bright sunshine. We had 708 registrations for this year compared to 631 registrations in 2019 when the tournament was last held. Congratulations to the following Kentucky teams for winning the Tri-Level Sectional Championships:
40 & Over 4.0-3.0W KY/O’Connell
40 & Over 4.5-3.5W KY/Voss
40 & Over 4.5-3.5M KY/Caldwell
On a national level, we had several teams achieve great success this month.
Congratulations to the Louisville Mathes team for being the National Men’s 18 and over 4.5 Finalist losing only to Missouri Valley.
Congrats to the Purchase Area Taylor team for finishing 7th in the National Women’s 18 and over 3.5 Championships!
Congrats to the Louisville Meadows team for finishing 11th in the National Women’s 40 and over 3.5 Championships!
Congrats to the Lexington Hardesty team for finishing 4th in the National Men’s 40 and over 4.5 Championships!
Congratulations to Donnie Head, Greg Hill and Dee Maynard for being named as inductees to the 2021 Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame. Each is very deserving of this honor and the induction ceremony will be held on January 28, 2022.
October is breast cancer awareness month and the Kentucky tennis community is more acutely aware this year because of our Hall of Famer Julie Ditty Qualls recent death from breast cancer. Please consider honoring Julie’s memory by donating to the Julie Ditty Qualls Foundation, Member’s Choice Credit Union, 145 Russell Road, Ashland, KY 41101.
At Your Service,
Mike Eden USTA KY President