Serving up a little competition

By Jennifer Lord
NH Mirror Staff

A growing number of New Hampshire women are hitting the tennis court after a long day at the office.
The United States Tennis Association-New Hampshire Women’s Evening League provides ladies the opportunity to join teams and compete against players of similar ability.

Melissa Salmon of Bedford co-founded the evening league with Barb Aichinger in 2001. In 2004, Jan Bushold took over for Aichinger as co-coordinator.

“Until 2001, the only USTA Women’s League that was available played every other Tuesday with morning and mid-day match times,” Salmon said. “This did not accommodate the working woman.”

In addition to offering evening playing time, Salmon said another goal of the league is to produce local champions to advance to district, sectional and national championships.

The Women’s Evening League begins the first week of May and runs through the third week of July.

“We have teams that play in the Concord, Seacoast, Southern New Hampshire and Manchester area,” Salmon said.

The league uses the National Tennis Rating Program for levels of play. The divisions include 2.5 beginners; 3.0 advanced beginners; 3.5 intermediate; 4.0 advanced intermediate; and 4.5 advanced.

“The great thing about the leagues using NTRP levels is that you when you get on the court, you are playing someone who is close to your own abilities,” she said. “This makes for a competitive and fun match.”

Each player is charged a $15 registration fee online when they join a team. After that, the cost is determined by the home club.

Salmon said generally speaking, clubs charge $15 to $20 for each player per match. Some teams have opted to play on outdoor courts and play for free. The home team pays for the match and the balls.

Five individual matches make up a team match. The format includes No. 1 and No. 2 singles, plus No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Each match is 90 minutes long, with a 10-minute warm-up.

After the matches, players report their scores to the captains. A team receives a point for each individual match won.

At the end of the season, the team with the most individual wins takes the division title and has the opportunity to advance to the District Championships, which are played against league winners throughout New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

“Leagues are an excellent opportunity to experience the game against many varying styles of play – slice, topspin, power, different serving styles – the list is endless,” Salmon said. “Every player offers a new and exciting game to play against, which gives you an opportunity to improve your game.”

The number of women participating is on the rise. In 2005, the league had 20 teams with 294 women. In 2007, the league had grown to 21 teams with 317 women, and Salmon said a slight increase is anticipated for 2008.

“The team aspect of leagues can bring back the memories of playing on school sports teams, or offer a new memory for those who didn’t play back in school,” she said. “You can meet a lot of wonderful people that you already share a common interest with – the love of the game.”

For more information, visit www.usta.com/tennislink or www.newengland.usta.com.