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EPD -USTA - MIDDLE SATES SECTION
Mecco archive + brief old news clips and Ben Zislis profile
About Ben Zislis
Prior to his arrival in the tennis industry,
Zislis worked for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and in minor league baseball with
the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
Originally from Chicago, Zislis received his degree in media arts from the
University of Arizona. Now a resident of Maple Glen, Pa., he has lived in the
suburban Philadelphia area for seven years. He and wife Lori, who played college
tennis at Brandeis University, have been married for four years.
“The saying ‘tennis is the sport of a lifetime’ has special resonance for me,”
says Zislis, a recreational tennis player. “I first met my wife on a tennis
date, and after working in a variety of sports, I’ve landed in a career I love –
in tennis.
"I enjoy all the various aspects of working with the USTA and all the incredible
people I meet through my job. I get to talk to Billie Jean King one day and a
gym full of enthusiastic kids the next. Tennis is used as an educational tool,
as a way to stay healthy, as a means for meeting people – plus it’s fun.
“I’m excited about becoming USTA/Middle States’ Executive Director and I look
forward to continuing the great outreach work of the section.”
For more information, contact Ben Zislis at (610)
935-5000 x232 or
zislis@ms.usta.com.
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ARCHIVE:
MEN'S WILD CARD TOURNEY AT WRC
May 28-31, 2002
________________________________________________________________________
Prior to the USTA Mecco Women's Professional Tennis Tournament at Westend
Racquet Club, Neil Curtis will organize and hold a Wild Card Tournament for
women from the Middle States area. The Wild Card Tournament will take
place from Tuesday May 28th through Friday May 31st. We would like for all
of our best high school girls to compete in this tournament, and we will make
every effort to schedule your matches in the afternoon so you will not miss
school. The winner of the Wild Card tourney gets an automatic Wild Card to
play in the Professional Women's tournament in June, and the runner-up will get
a place in the Qualifying Rounds for the Pro Tourney. Please contact Neil
Curtis if you are interested in playing in the Wild Card Tourney.
________________________________________________________________________
USTA MECCO WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT
AT WESTEND RACQUET CLUB June 9-16,2002
_______________________________________________________________________
WRC will again host a Challenger level USTA Professional Women's Tennis
Tournament
in June. The tournament will be held on the lower outdoor courts, and
throughout the week you are invited to come to see some of the top 200 female
players in the world compete for $25,000 in prize money. Tickets costing
$5 will be sold for the Semi-Final and Finals matches on June 15th and 16th, but
the rest of the tournament is free and open to the public. If you or a
member of your family are interested in working as a volunteer at the
tournament, please contact Fernando Perez.
_________________________________________________________
MECCA PRO TOURNAMENT
SEMIS AND FINALS PRO TOURNAMENT
June 15-16
_________________________________________________________
BALL PERSON TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR PROFESSIONAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Ball-person training on May
4, 11, 18 and June 1st and 8th
from 2-3:30pm.
________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in working as a ball person in the Mecco Pro Tournament
semi-finals and finals matches on June 15th and 16th, please contact Kim Nolan
as soon as possible. All volunteers who complete their training
successfully will get a chance to work in the tournament. Ball person
training sessions will be held from 2pm-3:30pm on the following Saturdays: May
4, 11, 18 and June 1st and 8th. All ball persons will receive the official
USTA Ball Person Training Manual and you'll get free a Pro Tournament T-shirt.
We may also have the ball persons practice their skills during the semi-finals
and finals of the Wild Card Tourney (again we will try to schedule these matches
for afterschool.) There is nothing quite like being on court with the pros
during a final match (and you'll be on TV,) so we hope lots of you will sign up
to be ball persons at the tournament.
______________________________________________________________________
JUNIOR TENNIS NEWS from Westend Racquet Club
(WRC), Allentown PA
MARCH 2002 : Wild Card Tourney, Women's Pro Tournament, Training Schedule for
Ball Persons, Hershey Conference, Junior USTA Tourneys
and
SIGN UP week of MArch 18, 2002 FOR SPRING JR TENNIS CLINICS
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
WRC JUNIORS AT THE USTA CONFERENCE IN HERSHEY PA
_____________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to our juniors who participated in the Junior Jamboree
Play-off at the USTA Middle States Conference in Hershey PA the weekend
before last. It was a great opportunity for our best juniors to compete
against top players from our region. Thanks to Bob Weiss for organizing
the
trip to Hershey with our juniors and the crew from Saucon Valley.
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
We strongly encourage all of our best players in each age group to
participate in USTA Junior Tennis Tournaments to gain match experience and to
have a chance to play against other top players from the area. If you plan
to participate in one of these junior tourneys, contact Bob Weiss and he'll
let you know if there are other juniors from WRC going there as well.
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
If you are uncertain which level of clinics you should be assigned to, then
please contact Bob Weiss.
________________________________________________________________________
Last but not least, the best from EPD to all of the guys who are trying out for
and playing for their high school tennis teams. We hope you didn't have to start practice
in the
snow or rain.