Local men win USTA League national championship

A team of Hilton Head Island’s top male senior players won the USTA League national championship in November in Orlando.

John Brittis, Michael Mitchell, Tom Jilly, Guenter Bergmann, Pat Child, Bobby Tillison, Gavin Cox, Job de Boer, Mark Sheaffer, Bill Sturm and Charlie Frangos teamed up to win the state and sectional tournaments, earning their ticket to nationals, where they posted a 6-0 record to claim the national crown in the men’s 55-and-older 9.0 division.

Each match consists of three doubles contests, with the team who wins at least two courts claiming the victory.The local team breezed through flight play, dropping only one court and three sets in four matches to win the pool and advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Cox and Jilly won at No. 1 and Tillison and Bergmann survived a three-set victory at No. 3 to clinch a spot in the finals. In the championship match, Tillison and Mitchell teamed up to win at No. 2 and Cox and Jilly earned a victory at No. 3.