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Peoplewatch

• Tim Beyer, formerly with the USPTA and Wilson Sporting Goods, has joined Lee Tennis of Charlottesville, Va., as a new markets sales associate. Beyer’s efforts will center on creating Har-Tru and ClayTech playing experiences for players in non-traditional clay-court markets such as northern and southern California and Arizona. The addition of Beyer is a result of Lee Tennis’ commitment to advancing the clay-court experience nationally by further educating and engaging pros, club owners, and players about the benefits of clay tennis surfaces.

• World TeamTennis CEO and Commissioner Ilana Kloss was named the “Sports Business Woman of the Year” by the James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center in the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon. Kloss was honored for her significant contribution to the advancement of women in sports at a luncheon at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, Ore.

• Don Paitrick, head tennis director at the University of Mary Washington’s new University Tennis Centre, was honored with the NIRSA/USTA National Professional Tennis Ace Award at the 2007 NIRSA (National Intramural-Recreational Sport Association) Annual Conference and Recreational Sports Exposition held in Minneapolis in April. The award honors an individual who has been implementing a NIRSA-endorsed USTA Tennis On Campus program.

• Bruce Fendell is the new vice president of U.S. sales for Fila. Fendell will focus on rebuilding Fila’s footwear and apparel distribution in specialty and sporting goods trade channels, as well as in tennis and golf specialty accounts.

• USPTA pro Kevin Brandalik is the new director of high performance at the Five Seasons Sport Club in Cincinnati. Brandalik has been coaching high-performance players for 19 years and was named the 2005-06 USPTA/Midwest Junior Coach of the Year.

• The nation’s No. 1 USTA Boys’ 18 player, Jordan Rux of Kerrville, Texas, has signed an apparel contract with Bälle de Mätch.

• The International Rescue Committee today announced that Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, the No. 7 tennis player in the world, will promote the IRC and the cause of refugees by wearing an IRC-logo patch at select matches and events through the summer. Ljubicic, who led Croatia to victory in the Davis Cup in 2005, was himself a refugee in 1992 as a 13-year-old when he and his family fled the city of Banja Luka, now in Bosnia, during the Balkan civil war, living for months as refugees in Slovenia and Croatia.

  

• Jack Huczek, a member of Head’s pro staff, won his eighth International Racquetball Tour tournament title of the season recently by capturing the Allentown (Pa.) Open. With the win, Huczek retained his No. 1 IRT World Ranking. He plays with a Head Metallix racquetball racquet.

  

• USPTA pro Ken Obermeier is the new tennis superintendent for the City of Palm Coast, Fla.

• Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have signed on to play in the WTT Pro League presented by Advanta, which begins July 5. Sharapova, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will play for the Newport Beach Breakers and former World No. 1 Williams will play for the St. Louis Aces. The Pro League regular season is July 5 through July 25.

• Pam Shriver, Darlene Hard, Gertrude “Gussy” Moran, Charlie Pasarell, Dennis Ralston, and the late Ted Schroeder will be inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame on July 13 at the Four Seasons Hotel — Beverly Hills. For details concerning the black tie gala, call 310-208-3838, ext. 252.

From the July 2007 issue
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