Indian Wells, Calif. - The Louisiana men from the USTA Southern section and the Mid-Atlantic section women from Virginia were crowned national league champions this weekend at the 2010 USTA League 3.0 Senior National Championships, held Oct. 22-24 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif.

 

The Southern men from Slidell, La., defeated the USTA Caribbean section team from Sabanera, Cidra, Puerto Rico, 2-1 in the final.

 

Team captain Cecil C. Johnson said it was a battle all the way to the National Championship.

 

"Every team we played was tough. It was hard getting here, and hard winning. We were never safe."

 

The final match was decided with a three set tie-breaker. Johnson said the key to victory was "team chemistry."

 

The Louisiana men’s team also includes John Cool, Norman A. Glaser, Antoine Z. Laurent, Milton Leslie Moore, Thomas D. Van Geffen, John H. Jordan, Darrel Mogilles, Thanh T. Nguyen, Edmond Meyer, and Chuck Neuman.

 

In the consolation match, the USTA New England men out of Greenwich, Conn., took third place, defeating the USTA Northern California section out of Walnut Creek, 2-1.

 

In the women's final, the USTA Mid-Atlantic section team out of Winchester, Va., defeated the USTA Pacific Northwest section team, out of Kirkland, Wash., 2-1. The victory was especially meaningful for the Mid-Atlantic team. The women came to Indian Wells to honor the son of player Elaine Dennison, Jim Pinholster, who is battling cancer.

 

Team captain Rosalind Welsh said it's all about solidarity.

 

"It's not winners and losers. It's all of us together."

 

In addition to Dennison and Welsh, the Mid-Atlantic women’s team includes Martha L. Wolfe, Linda L. Challinor, Beverly Bigelow Byrd, Penny Haag, Sandra S. Vess, and Carol A. Kilmer.

 

The USTA Southern California section women, from Del Mar, topped the USTA Northern California section women from Sunnyvale, 2-1, to clinch third place.