After watching the US Open come to a close, most tennis players can’t wait to get back out on the courts and start competing again.

Left to Right: (Kneeling) Coach Manny Dominguez—Doral, Captain Denyse Peterson—Doral; (Standing) Neida Lora—Pinecrest, Gail Sterner—Miami Beach, Jodi Applebaum—Doral, Lizz Neuteufwl—Doral, Marilyn Cuervo—Pinecrest, Carol Manso—Key Biscayne, Helene Kernish—Miami Beach, Selma Paulin—Homestead, Doris Montero—Doral, Catterina Cuneo—Doral, Julie Banks—Pinecrest, Mary Jane Salter—Pinecrest.

The Doral Park Classics are no exception.

The difference between the Classics and a typical weekend enthusiast is huge, however. The Classics aren’t just competing for fun and maybe a little exercise—they are competing with their eyes on a national title.

That’s an ambitious goal, especially considering no team from Miami has captured that elusive prize in over twenty years. In fact, no team from Miami had even qualified for the national tournament since the 1970’s; that is, not until the Classics did it this year.

The Classics have been playing together for just over two years now, and despite the long odds against them, set their sights on a title from day one.

Their hard work and hours of practice paid off when they qualified for the USTA National Championship this year, beating more than 19 districts and 350 USTA league teams in Florida along the way.

“Although we had high hopes, it’s hard to imagine that barely two years after starting we’ll be playing for the national championship,” Captain Denyse Peterson said.

The Classics home court is the Doral Park Country Club, in Doral, and the team was organized by Peterson, Coach Manny Dominguez, the Doral Park Pro, and Dolly Morris, the USTA district league coordinator.

The backgrounds of the members of the Classics are just as diverse as the area they represent: they hail from seven different countries and six different states.

The ages and backgrounds of the members of the Classics are just as varied. The players range in age from 24 to 50 and between them have many years of tennis experience. Some have played in High School, and others played College as well, while yet others have club, local, and city league experience.

The actual road to the USTA Nationals wasn’t easy. In order to make the Regional Tournament they had to finish with the best record in their District, which they did (13-0).

Then, in order to make States, they had to beat four other teams in the regional tournament, which, of course, they did. Finally, to make the National tournament, they had to beat the other five region winners in the State Championship—no small task, but they did it.

However, in order to go to Nationals, the Classics needed sponsorship of some sort. It was Ericsson, a global wireless communications leader and the new sponsor of the Ericsson Open (formerly the Lipton, on Key Biscayne), that stepped up and agreed to support the team when they needed it most.

Ericsson helped by contributing uniforms and by helping to defray the travel costs that the team will incur on their trip to Nationals. 

Two other sponsors, Applebee’s in Doral and the Doral Park Country Club, helped the team by providing a team luncheon and additional uniforms for the team.

“We’re tremendously grateful, obviously, for all the support we’ve received. If not for the generosity of our sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to realize our ultimate goal: winning a national title,” said Peterson.

If only Mother Nature was as cooperative. The Nationals, which were originally scheduled for October 7th through the 10th at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama, was rained out, and had to be rescheduled for some time this spring.

“We all went up there for the tournament, even practicing that first Thursday we arrived, but then the rain started. For two days, every time the rain stopped we’d squeegee off the courts, but then it’d start raining again. Eventually, after two days of that, the USTA had to cancel it,” Peterson explained.