15 Tennis Warehouse USTA

The eighth annual USTA National Campus Championship presented by Tennis Warehouse was held April 26-28 at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. For the first time, the 2007 Championship, which is a part of the NIRSA National Campus Championship Series, boasted co-ed teams representing 64 unique colleges and universities from across the country. Half of the championship slots were reserved for qualification through one of 17 USTA Campus Championship - Section Events, and the remaining slots were available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event, the culmination of the Tennis On Campus season, featured the exciting and dynamic World TeamTennis format.

On the opening day of play, the North Carolina sun shone on the tournament favorites as many of the perennial powerhouses easily found their way through their four-team pools and into the Gold Bracket to determine the national champion.

Day 2 of the tournament, however, played host to some very heated battles. In the Gold Bracket, Florida squeezed out a 22-20 win over Texas, and Colorado handled USC, 24-20. At the end of the day, though, it was three-time defending champion Texas A&M, 2003 champion Florida, 2004 and 2006 finalist Virginia and Penn State in the semifinals. Other exciting matches included a win by Illinois over Western Washington, 26-25; Wisconsin - Milwaukee sliding by Lehigh, 23-20; BYU's 25-23 victory over UNC-Wilmington; University of Miami's 23-22 win over Virginia Commonwealth; Ohio University topping Harvard 21-20; and Emerson squeaking by Wisconsin - Stout, 19-18.

In true championship fashion, the tournament held the best tennis for last. Saturday proved to be an all-day affair of outstanding tennis and a whole lot of fun. The early morning Gold Bracket semifinals were competitive and set up a rematch of last year's final: Texas A&M vs. Virginia. Meanwhile, Illinois pulled out a couple of barnburners to claim the Silver Bracket Championship, beating the University of California - San Diego, 22-21, and University of Wisconsin, 28-27. University of California - Davis topped Villanova, 24-19, to claim the Bronze Bracket Championship, and tournament first-timer South Carolina beat Oregon, 26-23, to capture the Copper Bracket Championship.

Thanks to the Championship's presenting sponsor, Tennis Warehouse, participants were treated to great door prizes and giveaways, as well as a $10 gift certificate to its online retail store ( Tournament enhancements for this year included a free internet hub in the player hospitality tent and, before the National Championship match, a two-hour interactive team training session for tournament participants and team fans with the ever-charismatic Wayne Bryan, father and coach of the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world, Mike and Bob Bryan. Several tennis industry leaders were also on site to provide information about their programs. Attending organizations were Tennis Warehouse, USTA, USPTA, PTR, and Active.com.