The Middle States advanced tennis team from Easton will compete in the 2015 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships, held at the Cayce Tennis Center in Cayce, SC, on Dec. 3-6.

The 2015 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships will bring together the top 32 teams (250 players) at intermediate and advanced levels from various USTA sections throughout the country.

The team is coached by Philip Magliochetti and features Brenna Magliochetti (Bloomsbury), Cooper Bodeo-Lomicky (Bethlehem), David Lynn (Bethlehem), Emily Dale (Kenilworth), Halle DeNardo (Bethlehem), Louis Gruber (Bethlehem) and Tashanna Smith (Bethlehem).

The National Championships serves as the crown jewel of USTA Junior Team Tennis as the nation’s top teams compete for the title. Each year the USTA crowns a national champion in two age divisions (14U and 18U) in both the Intermediate and Advanced play divisions.

“I look at the National Championships as a year-end celebration for teams who battled through local play, and then through area, district and section championships,” said Matt Barnhart, National Manager for USTA Junior Team Tennis. “My goal is that one day every player has that type of experience during their local JTT program - fun team-based competition and memories that are made even beyond the court.”

This is the fourth year the Cayce Tennis Center will host to the USTA Junior Team Tennis National Championships. In addition, a second tennis facility, the Lexington County Tennis Complex, also will be utilized to serve the hundreds of players competing each weekend.

“We are thrilled to have so many young people and their families coming to our international award-winning tennis and fitness facility in the city of Cayce again this year,” said Cayce Mayor Elise Partin. “Many of our Cayce residents and residents across the Midlands enjoy this facility, and we couldn’t be more pleased to share it with other families across the nation for these upcoming USTA events.”

Established in 1991, USTA Junior Team Tennis provides youth with all of the health and social benefits of tennis in a coed, fun and competitive team environment - all while allowing participants to compete with and against individuals of similar ages and skill levels.

With more than 99,000 players competing nationwide, USTA Junior Team Tennis brings players together to enjoy camaraderie and teamwork, providing a fun environment for kids to learn that succeeding is really more about how they play the game - win or lose.

Visit the USTA Junior Team Tennis website at ustajtt.com for complete results, stories and photos.