Cerritos Tennis Team Crowned National Champions At USTA League Mixed 40 & Over

FIRST PLACE: 8.0 Southern California (Cerritos, Calif.) L to R: Jinny Losaria, Mark Magsadia (Co-Captain), Rollen  Cabahug, En En Liao, Eutiquio Barcial, Julie Mak, Jose Espina, Yoneko Buritica (Captain), Kathy Zepeda-Emerzian, Nancy Wong-Thomas

HMG-CN Sports Wire

SURPRISE, ARIZONA A mixed doubles tennis team from Cerritos, Calif., representing the USTA Southern California Section, captured the national title at the USTA League Mixed 40 & Over 8.0 National Championships held at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz.

The team started off by winning their round-robin flight contests last Friday and Saturday. In a close match, they then defeated a team from Haverhill, Mass., 2-1 in the semifinals. Finally the Cerritos team defeated a team from Detroit, Mich., 3-0 in the Championship match.

The team is captained by Yoneko Buritica (Cerritos) and features Jinny Losaria (Irvine), co-captain Mark Magsadia (Norwalk), Rollen Cabahug, En En Liao (San Marino), Eutiquio Barcial (Newport Beach), Julie Mak (Huntington Beach), Jose Espina (Long Beach), Kathy Zepeda-Emerzian (Surfside), Nancy Wong-Thomas (Monterey Park) and plays at the Cerritos Regional Park.

The top four teams in order of finish are: Southern California, Midwest, New England and Mid-Atlantic.

Last year USTA League changed its structure and format.  The change offers USTA League participant’s two divisions: Adult (18 & Over, 40 & Over and 55 & Over) and Mixed (18 & Over) to better align participants with players their own age.  In 2014 a Mixed 40 & Over division was added.  The restructuring guarantees more frequency of play opportunities at more appropriate age groups.