Georgia’s Oren Motevassel and Texas’ Julie Cass Win Singles Titles at the USPTA Hard Court Championships
They are the men’s and women’s winners for the USPTA’s final tournament for the year in its surface championship series
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Contact: Poornima S. Rimm
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11/02/06 - Oren Motevassel, the No. 1 seed, of Alpharetta, Ga., claimed the men’s open title at the $8,000 United States Professional Tennis Association Hard Court Championships Sunday at the Hollytree Country Club in Tyler, Texas. Motevassel, who is originally from Israel and has been ranked as high as No. 161 in the world, defeated the No. 2 seed, Guillaume Gauthier of Tyler, Texas, 6-4, 6-3, for the championship. Julie Cass, the No. 1 seed, of Austin, Texas, beat Michelle King, the No. 2 seed, of Austin, Texas, 6-2, 6-4, to be crowned the women’s open champion. Both Cass and King joined forces to win the women’s open doubles title.
The tournament, which was held from Oct. 28-30 at both the Hollytree Country Club and the Tyler Tennis & Swim Club in Tyler, included events in the following categories: men’s and women’s open singles and open doubles competition, and men’s 45 singles. The competition featured more than 30 of the top men and women tennis-teaching professionals in the country.
Below is a complete list of results from final-round matches:
Men's Open Singles Finals
Oren Motevassel (1), Alpharetta, Ga., def. Guillaume Gauthier (2), Tyler, Texas, 6-4, 6-3
Women's Open Singles Finals
Julie Cass (1), Austin, Texas, def. Michelle King (2), Austin, Texas, 6-2, 6-4
Men's 45-and-over Singles Finals
Vallis Wilder (2), Fort Worth, Texas, def. Patrick Serret (1), Alexandria, La., 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Men's Open Doubles Finals
Jonas Lundblad, Cedar Park, Texas, and Brian Notis (1), Austin, Texas, def. Lance Hagan, Dallas, and Stephen Gordon-Poorman (3), Southlake, Texas, 6-4, 6-2
Women’s Open Doubles Finals
Julie Cass, Austin, Texas, and Michelle King, Austin, Texas, def. Shareen Lai, Morrisville, Pa., and Sarah Porter, Tempe, Ariz., 6-0, 6-1
The tournament was the last for the year in a series of four national tournaments on several court surfaces that the USPTA offered to its members as part of the USPTA National Surface Championship Series. Gauthier also served as the tournament director along with Jim Sciarro and both were instrumental in bringing this new event to Tyler.
“Our first USPTA Hard Court Nationals definitely exceeded our expectations – we had great weather for a weekend of tennis,” said Sciarro. “We’re excited about hosting the second annual event!”
The national tournaments are open to members in good standing. They are eligible to participate in any of the competitions and the International Championships. For additional information, please contact the USPTA at (800) USPTA-4U. USPTA Professionals may log in to the “members only” section of the USPTA Web site at www.uspta.com for more information and applications for future tournaments.
Founded in 1927, USPTA strives to raise the standards of the tennis profession while promoting greater awareness of the sport. USPTA offers more than 30 professional benefits to its 14,500 members worldwide, including certification and professional development. With more than 300 days of educational opportunities throughout the year, USPTA offers the most comprehensive continuing education program in the tennis industry. For more information, call (800) 877-8248 or visit www.uspta.com.
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