2019 Annual Conference

Thursday, December 5: 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. Junior Team Tennis Coordinator Training

5:00 - 6:15 p.m. Local Play Committee Meeting

Friday, December 6: 7:30 - 9:15 a.m. Junior Team Product Training

9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Adult Play Workshop

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Adult Play Committee Meeting

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Lunch

12:00 - 3:00 p.m. League Coordinator Training

3:30 - 4:45 p.m. League Committee Meeting

3:30 - 5:00 p.m. What’s the Pathway? Net Generation Circuit

5:30 p.m. Meeting of the Association Meeting of the Board (Open) Immediately Following

6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Welcome Reception

Saturday, December 7: 8:00 - 9:15 a.m. Opening Session

9:00 - 11:30 a.m. Officials Committee Meeting

9:45 - 10:45 a.m. Diversity and Inclusion Committee Meeting

11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Awards Lunch and Hall of Fame Celebration

This year, USTA Missouri Valley is recognizing three individuals who have served the game of tennis through their high level of play, committed coaching, dedication to volunteerism and passion for improving the game. The honorees are Kilmeny Waterman Connor of Overland Park, Kansas, Craig Sandvig of University City, Missouri, and Pam Sloan of Stockton, California (originally from Kansas City, Missouri). The three new members of the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame will be inducted during the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame and Awards Luncheon on Saturday, December 7, 2019 at the Olathe Conference Center in Olathe, Kansas.

Kilmeny Waterman Connor has excelled in the tennis world since her early years as a player, and still today as a teacher, coach, and organizer of tennis. As a junior player, Kilmeny maintained a USTA national ranking along with becoming the 1980 Missouri State High School Girls Singles Champion. Her success continued as a scholarship varsity player for #5 ranked NCAA Division I Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Following graduation, Kilmeny competed for three years on the Women’s Professional Tennis Circuit, attaining a WTA world ranking in both singles and doubles tennis, and would later win three gold, seven silver and three bronze balls competing in Mother-Daughter national tournaments with her mother Jennifer Waterman. Kilmeny also impacted tennis in her various roles coaching, coordinating, teaching, and directing junior tennis at local clubs and academies along with being intricately involved in many committees and charitable foundations for local tennis, collegiate tennis, and most notably her family’s foundation known as the Stephanie Waterman Foundation.

Craig Sandvig’s impact on St. Louis tennis is second to none, as exemplified by both his notable career and also the way each of his players and colleagues speak so highly of him. Growing up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sandvig was a top-ranked USTA Northern junior player, representing his section in the Junior Davis Cup Competition and his high school as a five-time state champion. Sandvig continued to excel as a tennis player at the University of Iowa before he went on to play on the European Pro Circuit. In 1971, Sandvig retired his tennis career and moved to St. Louis in order to pursue his graduate degree at Washington University, where he would also become Head Coach of the men’s tennis team. Six years later, Sandvig and good friend Doug Smith started up a nationally recognized tennis facility known as Sunset Tennis Center, where he has remained for over 40 years. As a top coach and USPTA Elite Pro for 30+ years, Sandvig would coach ten state high school champions, many nationally ranked junior players and future Division I college tennis players, along with district, sectional, and national championship-earning USTA League teams. His coaching efforts were rewarded as he was named the USPTA Missouri Valley Missouri Pro of the Year in 2001, USTA Tennis National Recognition Program All-American Team in 2003, and USTA Missouri Valley Outstanding Contributor to the USTA League Tennis Program in 2005.

Pam Sloan’s legacy is that of a life deeply interconnected with volunteerism, a passion for tennis, and dedication to grassroots tennis and introducing young people to the game. Sloan successfully fought to restore tennis within the Kansas City Parks and Recreation department, with the results of her work drawing in thousands of players, several NJTL programs, and many junior and adult tournaments. Sloan has served at every level within USTA Missouri Valley, most notably as a two-term President from 1999-2002. A few of her nine service-based awards from USTA Missouri Valley, USTA, or her work in the Parks and Recreation system include the “Outstanding Service Award” from USTA for her NJTL work, the “Distinguished Service Award” from USTA Missouri Valley, and the “Exceptional Service Award” from Kansas City Parks and Recreation. In 2004, Sloan’s profession carried her to California to become the Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Stockton, and her commitment to tennis stayed true as she quickly became involved in several committees and as a national USTA and USTA Northern California Board Member. Sloan has used her career as a consultant and within the Parks and Recreation systems to promote the game of tennis and carry on the mission of making tennis accessible in public parks everywhere.

Junior High Performance Player of the Year (Female) Vanessa Ong (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Junior High Performance Player of the Year (Male) Graydon Lair (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

Junior Emerging Player of the Year (Female) Tokara Henderson (Edmond, Oklahoma)

Junior Emerging Player of the Year (Male) Brendan Cunnane (St. Louis, Missouri)

Outstanding Junior Tournament USTA National L1 Boys 18s Indoor Championship (Overland Park, Kansas)

Outstanding Contributor to Youth Tennis Larry Newton (Omaha, Nebraska)

USTA Junior Team Tennis Organizer Janet Glaser (Wichita, Kansas)

Outstanding Contributor Youth High Performance Program Billy Gluck (St. Louis, Missouri)

High School Coach of the Year Skip Griese (Ada, Oklahoma)

Adult Player of the Year Thiago Santos (Leawood, Kansas)

Adult Recreational Player of the Year Chris Freeman (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Outstanding Contributor USTA League Tennis Program Jim Sichterman (Muscatine, Iowa)

Outstanding Diversity Achievement Marty Rothwell (Wichita, Kansas)

Outstanding Adult/ Senior Tournament USTA Heart of America 65s Invitational (Overland Park, Kansas)

Tennis Family of the Year The Han Family (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

Facility of the Year Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex (Iowa City, Iowa)

Outstanding Community Tennis Association Net Rushers Tennis Association (St. Louis, Missouri)

Member Organization of the Year Overland Park Racquet Club (Overland Park, Kansas)

Outstanding Official Vicki Elwood (Swansea, Illinois)

Media Excellence KSN-TV (Wichita, Kansas)

Distinguished Service Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kansas)

President’s Award Surprise Announcement

Junior Sportsmanship G10 - Ashley Tran (St. Louis, Missouri) G12 - Mia Yin (Ballwin, Missouri) G14 - Mikaela Mikulec (St. Louis, Missouri) G16 - Elizabeth Choate (Edwardsville, Illinois) G18 - Keeley Van Antwerp (Wildwood, Missouri)

B10 - Owen Leonard (Salina, Kansas) B12 - Caden Haar (Lincoln, Nebraska) B14 - Nicholas Chun (Chesterfield, Missouri) B16 - Gus Tettamble (St. Louis, Missouri) B18 - Leonardo Da Silva (O’Fallon, Illinois)