Teams Advance to Nationals of World TeamTennis Recreational League National Qualifier this past weekend in Bradenton, Fla.

NEW YORK (February 27, 2006) – During a wet weekend at the IMG Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Fla., six teams advanced to the Nationals of the World TeamTennis Recreational League presented by Advanta. Twenty-two amateur teams representing eight states competed this past weekend for regional championships in six WTT Recreational League divisions.

The following divisions competed at the Bradenton qualifier - 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and Senior 3.5/under and Senior 4.0/under (age 50+). Winners in each division advanced to the WTT Nationals, Nov. 2-5, in Indian Wells, Calif., where they will face off for national titles against champions from five other qualifying events.

In an exciting match in the 4.5 division, a match that ended in a dead tie after six sets (28- 28), the Saratoga Slammers (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) advanced to the WTT Nationals by winning in a Supertiebreaker 7-5. The Slammers fielded an experienced team with a few members from the team having won National Championships before in the WTT Recreational League.

The second match of the day also turned out to be the most exciting of the day. The match, a 4.0 division match, pitted Pachauri (St. Louis) against Game-Set-Match (Key Biscayne, Fla.). Pachauri had lost a prior match to the Game-Set-Match team earlier in the day by four games. The afternoon match had the Pachauri team up by six games going into the mixed doubles.  In the designated mixed doubles, Game-Set-Match was up 3-1, then down 5-3, but came back and won the set in a tiebreaker, sending the match into overtime.  Pachauri sealed that victory, forcing a tie in the division between the two teams.  Although both teams posted an identical 3-1 record, Game-Set-Match advances to the WTT National Finals based on a better winning percentage of games played.  It will be the team’s first trip to the WTT Nationals.

In other action, Ball Busters (Buena Vista, Ga.) won the 3.0 division sending them to Nationals for the first time.  Plash (Scotia, N.Y.) won the 3.5 division and will be going back to Nationals where they won in 2005.

In the Senior 3.5 division, Slow Mo’ (Longboat Key, Fla.) won with a 4-0 record and will be sending a team to Nationals with a few players who have been there before. Finally, Beach Nuts (Virginia Beach, Va.) won the Senior 4.0 division and will be sending a team to Nationals in which they have a few players who have been part of a National Championship team in the past.

WTT Recreational League programs feature year-round leagues which use the unique coed team format created in the 1970s by Billie Jean King and Larry King.  More than 435,000 tennis players of all levels compete in WTT Recreational Leagues in parks, schools, clubs and tennis facilities in more than 1,000 cities.   The WTT format is a fun, fast-paced co-ed team format that encourages equal contributions from both genders. A team has a minimum of four players, two men and two women. The WTT format uses five or six no-ad sets: men’s and women’s doubles, men’s and women’s singles and one or two sets of mixed doubles.

The WTT format stands out in the tennis community with several innovative firsts for the sport including co-ed teams, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching, Overtime and Supertiebreakers and encourages fans to cheer and support their teams throughout the matches.

In addition to the Bradenton qualifier, National Qualifying events will be held in Las Vegas (April 28), St. Louis (July 14), Schenectady, N.Y. (July 21), Atlanta (August 25) and Irvine, Calif. (September 22).  The WTT National Finals will be held November 2-5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. For more information on World TeamTennis or the WTT Recreational League, visit www.WTT.com or call 866-PLAY-WTT.

Advanta is the presenting sponsor of the WTT Recreational League and the official business credit card of World TeamTennis.  Official WTT Recreational League sponsors also include Gatorade and Wilson Racquet Sports.

For more information on WTT, visit www.WTT.com.

Contact: Josh Weissman, GEM Group – 323.850.6584