Piedmont players gather for photo at 2018 USTA National Championship. Back row l-r: Mike Rennels (Team Co-Captain), Mark McKeen, George Manolis, Schuyler Youkstetter Front row l-r: Blair Paige, Helen Potter (Co-Captain), Jeff Machle (Team Captain), Dave Richmond, Dave Ochoa, Deb Leland, and Leila Kasrovi
Davie’s tennis team, including seven men from Piedmont, placed 2nd in the country in the USTA National Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 21. The women’s team out of St. Mary’s, including four Piedmont women, finished in fourth place overall.
The Men’s over 40, 4.5 USTA-rated team began their journey to Las Vegas as undefeated NorCal District on May 6, beating teams from Monterey, Burlingame and Santa Rosa. The team advanced to NorCal Sectionals on May 20 with another big undefeated win against teams from Pleasanton, San Francisco and Alamo. At Nationals, the team advanced to Final Four as #1 seed along with #2 Eastern, #3 SoCal, #4 Carribean. The Davie team had a devastating loss to SoCal in Finals 3-2, after having multiple match points. Coincidentally, the SoCal team that beat Davies have several players who played with Piedmonter Schuyler Youkstetter in high school.
The seven men from Piedmont were: Jeff Machle (Team Captain), Mike Rennels (Team Co-Captain), Mark McKeen, Dave Richmond, Dave Ochoa, Schuyler Youkstetter, and George Manolis. There were 556 men who competed in the Over 40, 4.5 USTA-team rated.
The NorCal Over 40, 4.5+ Women’s team out of St Mary’s, including four Piedmont women, made it to the Final Four at Nationals that same weekend in Las Vegas. They finished as the #2 seed in group play before finishing in Fourth Place overall. Piedmont players are Helen Potter (Co-Captain), Blair Paige, Deb Leland, and Leila Kasrovi.