Vegas here we come! These are words that can be heard from the 5 teams that will represent USTA NorCal at the National Western Region Mixed Doubles Championship to be held at the Darling Tennis Center (venue for the ATP and WTA level Tennis Channel Open Tournament) in exciting Las Vegas from November 16–18, 2007.

Crowds were milling on every court trying to cheer on and hopefully will their friends or team mates to victory. Each team’s hopes and dreams of going to Nationals hung on every serve, ground stroke, volley, overhead or poach. One can hear ooohs and aaahs after flubbed sitter or a missed overhead. There was the timely “let’s go”, “come on” or “nice shot” after a service or ground stroke winner. Hooting and clapping wildly after a spectacular get or freak shot worthy of ESPN. Anything and everything can be heard in an attempt to pump up their respective bets. High fives were exchanged after displays of teamwork worthy of comparisons to the Bryan twins. With each match win came hugs and congratulations. Emotions building to a crescendo as each team got close to being crowned sectional champions. Needless to say, the spectators were treated to 2 days of excellent, passionate and competitive tennis.

As nerve wracking as it was for their supporters, to the participants, it certainly was not any easier. Every opponent they faced deserved to be there. These were the teams that were left standing after an exhausting 3 days at the district championships held at Stanford University. Each of the teams at sectionals earned the right to be there by being the best in their respective district. As if playing for one of those teams was not hard enough, imagine doing double duty as some of the players did who were lucky enough to have more than one of their teams make it to sectionals at different levels. One good example is Jeffrey Amante who did double duty for the Washington Manor 7.0 and Westlake 8.0 teams. In case you didn’t catch it at the beginning, both teams Jeffrey played for are going to Nationals! This means more double duty time for this indefatigable team player. I won’t be surprised if he wasn’t the only one doing double duty at sectionals. The cream of the crop tends to rise during occasions like this.

Just like any other tennis gathering, you can see a whole gamut of players. Some were inconspicuously good to the point where you can’t even tell by the way they appear but if you watch closely they are clearly advanced players in the range of 5.0 or higher. There were some who looked like ballet dancers as they effortlessly glide to the next shot. Still others looked so light on their feet they appear to be ready to take flight. It is just truly a treat to witness a gathering of players with varying athletic abilities.

On top of possessing tennis skills there were a lot of players and teams as a whole who were just genuinely nice people to be around with. There was the Petaluma 7.0 team who played the Washington Manor 7.0 team on the final day of competition. Going in, Washington Manor’s fate was in their hands. Win and they go to Nationals or lose and it will be all up to the tie-breaker rules. This is sometimes when competition can get really ugly. To the contrary, even though the Petaluma squad played hard and fought valiantly, someone who didn’t know could have easily thought they were all just friends who were playing a casual but competitive match. The same could not be said of other teams.

Washington Manor 7.0 Team - Alan Wong (captain), Candace Gee (co-captain), Kevin Lim, Jade Woerner, Jeffrey Amante, Paz Garrucho, Ray Jeung, Jenny Lim, Cynthia Lim, JR Amante, Derek Werner and Jane Gee

Westlake 8.0 Team - Joanna Chang (captain), Max Kwok (co-captain), Mihn Tran, Tam Nong, Dorian West, Greta Rzepski, Roger Chang, Jane Gee, Jeffrey Amante, Justine Liberato, Adrian Gonzales, Tony Lam, Cristy Liberato, Annie Tang and Minh Chan

Congratulations to the Washington Manor 7.0, Westlake 8.0 and the other three teams for making it to Nationals!

If you were there as a spectator or participant, please share your thoughts.