The USTA Middle States Hall of Fame will be held at the LeMont Restaurant, overlooking Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle, on Friday night Oct. 23.  This is the first time since 2001 that the Hall of Fame is being held in the Allegheny Mountain District. Tickets will go on sale this spring and, of course, all AMD members, friends and family are cordially invited.

Established in 1994, the USTA Middle States Hall of Fame recognizes both players and volunteers who have made significant achievements or contributions to tennis.

Those from AMD who were previously selected to the USTA Middle States Hall of Fame are: Charles Stedmen Garland, Dr. David O’Loughlin, Gretchen Rush Magers, Roberta McCallum Russo, Ellen Hansell Alderdice, Alfred B. Carl Sr., William Colbert, Robert G. Ruzanic, Paul G. Sullivan, and Martin L. Tressel.

To nominate someone to the Hall of Fame click here for a nomination form.  Middle States will announce the 2009 inductees in April.

A number of AMD volunteers and junior players will be honored at the USTA Middle States Awards Ceremony March 1 at the historic Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia. Distinguished volunteers are:

• 
  Jose Mieres, a native of Puerto Rico who came to Pittsburgh in 1997 not having being involved before in organized tennis. In the past decade he has been a graduate student and instructor at the University of Pittsburgh and has co-founded the Frick Park Clay Court Tennis Club. Raising funds from local players, donors, and businesses, and working with a team of enthusiastic volunteers, the new club has restored and revitalized six historic clay courts in Frick Park, the only remaining public clay courts in the city. It also has organized tournaments, free clinics and leagues for players of all ages.
• Pittsburgh Tennis League -- This self-governing volunteer group not only has operated competitive tennis leagues for all ability levels for more than 50 years but also has worked with the USTA to promote grassroots tennis, wheelchair tennis, special needs events and has set up a scholarship fund for junior players.

Junior players who will be honored are:

• Kylie Isaacs, Franklin Park– Ranked No. 1 in Girls’ 12 in Middle States for 2008.
• Kelly Whelan, Franklin Park– Girls’ 18 Most Improved
• Jonathan Perkins, Cranberry  – Boys’ 12 Sportsmanship Award
• Jonathan Ho, Franklin Park – Boys’ 18 Sportsmanship Award

AMD’s Annual Awards luncheon will be held Saturday, March 28 at 1 p.m. at the Fox Chapel Racquet Club in the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel.  Distinguished volunteers, top junior and adult tournament players and league champion teams will be honored.

For ticket information, please contact Jim Block, AMD board secretary, at block41@verizon.net.

Directions are at this link:  www.fcrclub.com.

New teams are still being accepted for most summer USTA adult leagues in AMD, but potential captains should act quickly. A number of existing teams also are accepting additional players but others already have full rosters.

More than 2,000 adults and senior adults play USTA League Tennis in AMD each summer, in ability divisions for men and women ranging from 3.0 (low intermediate) to 5.0 (advanced). Champions in each ability division advance to the Sectional Championships in Princeton, N.J. in August, with a chance to qualify for the national championships in September.

Most of the openings for teams and players are in the lowest and highest ability divisions.

If you are interested in forming a team or joining an existing team this summer, please contact any of the following league coordinators:

• Jim Block, (4.5 Men, Senior 4.5 Men, and Super Senior Men) 412-364-2062
• Claudia Christner (2.5 Women, 3.0 Women, 4.0 Women) 814-255-2080
• Rincy Ebbert (Super Senior Women and 4.5 Women) 412-487-4152 
• Marilyn Miller  (Senior Women, all Levels and Mixed Doubles, all levels) 814-421-8386
• Janice Rielly (3.5 Women) 740-695-4994
• Nelson Winter (3.0 Men, 3.5 Men, 4.0 Men and Senior Men, all levels) 412-963-1521

All sanctioned USTA tournaments are constantly monitored for rule compliance. Players are asked to email AMD at AMDTENNIS@gmail.com with any complaints. Some recent violations of junior (DR) tournament rules include:

• Providing insufficient rest between matches (30 minutes minimum before a doubles match and 1 hour minimum before a singles match).
• Scheduling more than two singles matches in one day.
• Scheduling too late in the evening or too early in the morning for junior tournaments.
• Not using AMD’s Seeding Coordinator to seed District Ranking tournaments.
• Using practice balls instead of regulation tournament-quality tennis balls.

Marcy Bruce, of Peters Township, has been named Professional Tennis Registry’s  Member of the Year for Pennsylvania.  Bruce, a PTR clinician and tester, is with the Upper St. Clair Tennis Development Program.  She is also the highly successful coach of the Upper St. Clair High School Girls’ Tennis Team. PTR honorees are active in tennis in their communities and show dedication and service to the association.

PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals with more than 13,000 members in 122 countries.

A USTA Recreational Coach Workshop will be held at The Club in Monroeville on Sunday, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Collette Eckert will be the trainer. The cost is $20. The workshop is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Club Tennis Team. Please contact Andrew Porter by email at Porter1039@yahoo.com or by phone at 610-506-3376.

Highland Park Tennis Club has started an after-school tennis program for middle school students at the Sterrett Classical Academy in Pittsburgh. 
The 6th, 7th and 8th grade students will be introduced to the Quick Start method for teaching new players. HPTC, through the assistance of AMD, will provide all necessary equipment, including tennis racquets, balls and nets. Students also will be encouraged to enter the USTA Arthur Ashe Essay and Art Contest.

Most USTA juniors and American high school players do not play collegiate tennis, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they lack the ability. Many collegiate programs, including some at the Division I level, are desperately short of talented players. (St. Bonaventure University women’s team, for example, only had four healthy players, and only one American, in the lineup when they showed up to be blanked by both Duquesne and Pitt by 7-0 scores last weekend).

Scholarships are scarce and men’s programs have been eliminated at many colleges but still there are openings locally and nationwide for both men and women at NCAA Division I, II and III varsity programs.  Club tennis is also growing on many campuses.  Check out the AMD website or e-mail AMD directly at AMDTENNIS@gmail.com for advice on how and where to play collegiate tennis.