Summerlin youth tennis team aiming for national title

Courtesy of USTA Intermountain Section

Six members of the Summerlin Spinners tennis club will be representing Las Vegas at the U.S. Tennis Association’s Junior Team Tennis National Championships this weekend. From left: Abby Lewis, Michaela Jackson, Lucas Hammond, Justin Kukendall, Mebeli Becerra and Ryan Krohn with Coach George Hammond.

By Paul Takahashi (contact)

Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

A Las Vegas tennis team will compete for a national title at the 2010 U.S. Tennis Association’s Junior Team Tennis National Championships starting today.

The Las Vegas Summerlin Spinners will travel to Surprise, Ariz., in hopes of besting 16 other teams to become national champions at the intermediate level for the age 14 and under group. The tennis tournament will be held at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex through Sunday.

Six members from the Summerlin Spinners will represent the USTA Intermountain Section. The team — students from area elementary, middle and high schools — is made up of Lucas Hammond, Mebeli Becerra, Ryan Krohn, Abby Lewis, Michaela Jackson and Justin Kuykendall.

Although a team from the Summerlin Spinners placed 12th out of 16 teams last year at its inaugural national championship, Coach Gordon Hammond said the team is focused on having a good time and trying its best.

“We’ve had kids spray paint their hair, complimenting other teams. We’re great with sportsmanship,” Hammond said. “Some teams will come in gunning to win, but it doesn’t make my day to just win. We want the kids to have fun.”

The Summerlin Spinners was founded 11 years ago at the Summerlin Tennis Club in Arbors Park. The adult and youth tennis players in the club practice on five courts and compete in local, sectional and national tournaments.

USTA Junior Team Tennis is a league for ages 6 to 18 established in 1991. The league brings together more than 80,000 athletes nationally to play singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Teams are divided by age — falling into one of several age groups, U12, U14, U16 and U18 — and play levels — beginner, intermediate and advanced. Each year, the USTA crowns a national champion in two age divisions, U14 and U18 in the intermediate and advanced play divisions.

The USTA is the national governing body for tennis in the U.S. and a nonprofit organization with 750,000 members. The group owns and operates the US Open and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open.

The USTA also selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup Olympic and Paraolympic Games. USTA Serves the national charity foundation of the USTA, provides support for disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities through tennis and education programs.

For more information about the USTA, visit usta.com.