MIDDLEBURY — Local tennis players Aaron Crystal and Zach Weaver, both regular U.S. Tennis Association league players at Middlebury Indoor Tennis (MIT), will compete for a national 4.0-level doubles championship in Indian Wells, Calif., from March 16 to 19.
Crystal and Weaver, former high school standout players in Middlebury and Rutland, respectively, earned that privilege with a recent win at a New England sectional tournament.
The team will compete at Indian Wells during a professional tour tournament, which means that they might have the opportunity to practice next to world-class tennis players and watch some of that event.
USTA League Tennis offers youths and adults the chance to participate in competitive tennis against others at similar ability levels. Many MIT members play on about a dozen USTA League teams against other teams from abound the state. Winners of each league go to districts, winners of districts move on to sectionals, and the winners of sectionals go to national tournaments usually held in Arizona or California.
The youth programs at MIT are growing thanks to the Addison Community Athletics Foundation, which is putting into place the USTA Schools Program in Addison County elementary schools and at MIT. ACAF owns, manages, and supports MIT as a nonprofit organization.