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U.S. BECOMES FIRST NATION EVER TO REACH FINALS IN ALL FOUR DIVISIONS AT 2003 INVACARE WORLD TEAM CUP

Quad Team Wins Gold at World Championships of Wheelchair Tennis in Poland

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 1, 2003 – The U.S. Wheelchair tennis teams made history at the 2003 Invacare World Team Cup, the international team wheelchair tennis competition for men and women, by placing all four of its teams in the finals of their respective divisions, with the Quad team winning the gold medal. The nation’s elite and junior wheelchair tennis players competed with participants from 32 countries this month in Sopot, Poland in this ITF tournament.

The Quad team, led by coach Jason Harnett and World #1 David Wagner, defeated defending champion Great Britain 2-1 in the final, winning the title for the second time since the Quad competition began in 1998. The Men’s team, led by coach Dan James, defeated Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic to reach the final before losing to Japan 2-0. The Women’s team, led by coach Jim Buck, defeated Belgium, Korea and Switzerland to reach the final before losing to the Netherlands 2-0. The Juniors team, led by coach Kari Yerg-McGinn, won a round-robin against Germany and Poland to reach the semifinals, then defeated the Netherlands to reach the final, before losing to Sweden 2-1.

"We are extremely proud of our players and coaches for a tremendous performance," said Lee Hamilton, Executive Director, USTA. "They represented our nation with the utmost character, and have set a wonderful example for the rest of our USA Tennis High Performance Wheelchair program to follow."

The USTA was officially designated by the USOC as the national governing body for the Paralympic sport of wheelchair tennis in June 2002, becoming the first Olympic national governing body to earn this recognition. As the national governing body for wheelchair tennis, the USTA manages wheelchair tennis in the United States, including the sanctioning of tournaments, overseeing the ranking systems, creating and managing a High Performance program for developing elite disabled athletes and coaches, and selecting teams to compete internationally for the United States.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and is a not-for-profit organization with more than 670,000 members. It owns and operates the US Open and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.

For more information, contact: Seth Sylvan Jeff Heckelman, Director, Publicity, Community Tennis, USTA USTA Publicity Assistant. Call 914-696-7088 or sylvan@usta.com 914-696-7260 or heckelman@usta.com

2003 Invacare World Team Cup United States Team Rosters

Name Hometown

Men’s Team

Dan James (Coach) Northfield, Minn.

Derek Bolton Alamosa, Colo.

Larry Quintero San Antonio, Texas

Jon Rydberg Huntington Beach, Calif.

Steve Welch Bedford, Texas

Women’s Team

Jim Buck (Coach) Woodland Hills, Calif.

Beth Arnoult Kula, Hawaii

Sharon Clark San Jose, Calif.

Karin Korb Atlanta, Ga.

Hope Lewellen Palos Park, Ill.

Quad Team

Jason Harnett (Coach) Irvine, Calif.

Rick Draney Oceanside, Calif.

David Jordan Chapel Hill, Tenn.

Nick Taylor Wichita, Kan.

David Wagner Oro Valley, Ariz.

Juniors Team

Kari Yerg-McGinn (Coach) Boca Raton, Fla.

Kaitlyn Verfuerth Port Washington, Wis.

Zack Sikora Columbus, Ohio

Ashwin Lakhi Powell, OH

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