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STAMFORD, Conn. -- Stamford may soon have its own national tennis champions. Love 50, the senior women's U.S. Tennis Association team from Shippan Racquet Club, won the New England Sectional Championships on Aug. 21 at Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass. It defeated fellow Shippan Racquet Club team No Excuses, 2-1, in the final, prevailing 10-5 in a match tiebreaker played in lieu of a third set.
"A couple of players on our team have gone to nationals, but this is the first time for most of us," said team captain Susan McClive. "We were shocked and so excited. Everyone said afterwards that this is an experience we will take with us for the rest of our lives."
Although Love 50 has been together for three years, this is the first time it had qualified for the New England Sectional Championships.
"I had never even been to a sectionals event before and had always wanted to go," said McClive. "It was so exciting because these were the best teams throughout New England and they were all tough. All of us thought it was really good tennis.
McClive credited bringing a 12-person squad to the sectionals, more players than many of the teams, with helping them get through to the nationals. The 3.5 Senior Women's Tennis Championships will be held in October in Indian Wells, Calif.
"We wish the Love 50 USTA senior women's tennis team all the luck in the world in their attempt to bring home the national trophy this October," said Barbara Cavaliere, manager of Shippan Racquet Club.
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