Nation’s Top Wheelchair Tennis Players

MAMARONECK, NY – July 1, 2007: The Baseline Wheelchair Tennis Foundation will bring the nation’s top players to Sportime Stadium in Mamaroneck on July 10, 2007.  Sarah Casteel and Noah Yablong will be featured in a half-time demonstration of their mental fortitude and athleticism on court.

Sarah Casteel is 25 and comes from Greenville, South Carolina. She was left paralyzed below the waist after a car accident in 2002.  Sarah received a full scholarship from the United States Tennis Association to play wheelchair tennis at the University of Texas-Arlington, where she was named team captain in 2002-2005.  She ranked #1 in collegiate wheelchair tennis and was National Collegiate Wheelchair Champion in 2004-05. Sarah graduated from the University of Texas - Arlington in 2005 and is currently attending the Medical University of South Carolina.
 
Noah Yablong, 18, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, suffers from a degenerative bone disease.  He is the USTA top ranked junior wheelchair player and is a member of the United States High Performance Wheelchair tennis team. This fall he leaves the junior ranks to attend the University of Arizona to play on their wheelchair tennis team.  Noah has represented the United States in the Junior World Team Cup competitions in both the Netherlands and Brazil.
 
Dave Kozlowski, host of the award-winning Tennis Channel program "Inside Tennis With The Koz", will be on hand to introduce the players.  Kozlowski is a member of the Baseline Wheelchair Tennis Foundation Board of Directors.
 
 “It is our pleasure to feature such talented individuals,” commented Claude Okin, owner of the NY Sportimes.  He continued, “They are an inspiration to tennis fans of all ages and abilities; we should all challenge ourselves the way these great young players challenge themselves.”

For further information about Baseline Wheelchair Tennis contact Bob Waldman, president at 917-533-7792 or visit their website at www.baselinewheelchairtennis.org.

To buy tickets for this event or other NY Sportimes home matches log on to www.ticketweb.com or www.nysportimes.com.  Or call the team box office at Sportime on Harbor Island in Mamaroneck, 914-574-8280.  The complete home match schedule follows:
 

2007 Home Match Schedule
Date    Opponent
Thurs., July 5    vs. Delaware (1pm)
Tues., July 10    vs. Kansas City Explorers & the Bryan Brothers
Wed., July 11    vs. Springfield Lasers
Sat., July 14    vs. NY Buzz
Tues., July 17    vs. Philadelphia Freedoms & Venus Williams
Thurs., July 19    NYS featuring John McEnroe vs. Boston Lobsters
Sat., July 21    vs. NY Buzz
All Matches at Sportime Stadium Begin at 7:30pm except where noted.
The regular WTT season runs July 5-25.  The top two teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences will advance to the season- ending WTT Championship Weekend, set for July 27-29, in Roseville, California.  For further information, visit our team website at www.nysportimes.com for complete match details, ticket availability and more!  Full details are available at www.ticketweb.com or www.nysportimes.com.

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About WTT:  Now in its 32nd year of play, World TeamTennis is well known for introducing innovative elements to tennis. Instant replay, which debuted at WTT matches in 2005 as the WTT Coaches Challenge, marked the first time the technology had been used in a professional tennis match, will return to select WTT matches in 2007. Other WTT firsts include co-ed format, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching, Supertiebreakers, multi-colored courts and player names on back of their shirts.

The unique gender-balanced team concept for WTT was created in the early 70s by League co-founders Billie Jean King and Larry King. The format used for a WTT Pro League match features teams comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Each match consists of five sets, with one set each of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Advanta is the presenting sponsor of the WTT Pro League and the official business credit card of World TeamTennis. Official WTT Pro League sponsors also include Bälle de Mätch, Gatorade, Geico and Wilson Racquet Sports.  For more information on WTT including team rosters, visit www.WTT.com

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