The 2014

Springfield Lasers The Springfield Lasers are a World TeamTennis franchise. The franchise was purchased and donated to the city of Springfield, Missouri by the Cooper family in 1996. They play their home matches at Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex. Hist ...

season was the 19th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of the franchise in

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

(WTT). The Lasers won their second consecutive Western Conference championship and met the

Washington Kastles The Washington Kastles is one of eight franchises that compete in World TeamTennis. Based in Washington, D.C., since 2008, the Kastles won the WTT championship in the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons. The team is named for Kastle Sy ...

in the WTT Championship Match in a rematch of the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Final. For the second straight year, the Lasers fell to the Kastles who won their fourth consecutive King Trophy.

Season recap

Roddick traded

On November 21, 2013, the Lasers announced that they had

traded Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...

in exchange for financial

consideration Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. The court in '' Currie v Misa'' declar ...

to the

Austin Aces The Austin Aces were a World TeamTennis (WTT) team in Austin, Texas, USA. The team was known as the Newport Beach Breakers from 2003 until the 2011 season and as the Orange County Breakers during 2012 and 2013, before moving to Texas for the 2014 ...

following the relocation of that franchise from

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. Roddick, a resident of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, had expressed a desire to play in his hometown and had invested in the league. Although the WTT press release mentioned that the Lasers and Aces would also swap positions in the Marquee Player Draft (improving the Lasers' draft position), this was not reflected when the league later reported the results of that draft.

Move to Eastern Conference

On February 1, 2014, WTT announced that the Lasers would move to the Eastern Conference, and the

New York Sportimes The New York Sportimes were a professional tennis team competing in World TeamTennis (WTT). The team was originally based in eastern Long Island from 2000 to 2002, before moving to Westchester County, New York in 2003, and then to New York City i ...

who had relocated and become the

San Diego Aviators The San Diego Aviators are a World TeamTennis (WTT) team that plays at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California in the United States. The team is the successor to two WTT franchises. The first was created in 1995, as the New York O ...

would move to the Western Conference. Just days later, the

Las Vegas Neon The Sacramento Capitals were a team in World TeamTennis that competed from 1988 through 2013. The Capitals won six championships, including four straight from 1997 to 2000. The other titles came in 2002 and 2007. For the 2012 World TeamTennis ...

was contracted by the league after which WTT decided to keep the Lasers in the Western Conference.

Drafts

With the Lasers winning the Western Conference championship in

, they had the next to last pick in each round of both WTT

drafts Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

. Prior to the marquee player draft, the Lasers acquired the rights to James Blake from the

Boston Lobsters The Boston Lobsters were a World TeamTennis team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Lobsters played home matches at the Walter Brown Arena, Boston University, in Boston, MA. The most recent Boston Lobsters were a reincarnation of two pr ...

for undisclosed consideration. The Lasers then selected Blake as a protected player in the first round and passed on making a second-round pick. In the roster player draft, the Lasers protected

Alisa Kleybanova Alisa Mikhailovna Kleybanova (russian: Алиса Михайловна Клейбанова, born 15 July 1989) is a Russian former tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 20, achieved in February 2011. In her career. she wo ...

in the first round and then traded their third-round pick and financial consideration to the

for the Kastles' first-round pick which they used to select

Anna-Lena Grönefeld Anna-Lena Grönefeld (also spelled Groenefeld; born 4 June 1985) is a German former professional tennis player. Competing as a professional from 2003 until 2019, she won one singles title on the WTA Tour, at the 2006 Mexican Open, and reached t ...

whom had been left unprotected by the

. In the second round, the Lasers protected

Jean-Julien Rojer Jean-Julien Rojer (; ; born 25 August 1981) is a Dutch professional tennis player from Curaçao, who specialises in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in November 2015. He is a four-time Grand Slam champion, hav ...

. The Lasers traded up again in the third round. They sent their fourth round pick and financial consideration to the Aviators for San Diego's third round pick which they used to select 2009 WTT Male Rookie of the Year Michael Russell who was not subject to protection by any team.

Other player transactions

On June 27, 2014, 2013 WTT Female Rookie of the Year

announced she would be unable to play for the Lasers in 2014, due to a shoulder injury. The following day, the Lasers announced that they had signed

Olga Govortsova Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( be, Вольга Аляксееўна Гаварцова (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranki ...

to replace Kleybanova. On July 5, 2014, the Lasers announced that 2013 WTT Male Most Valuable Player

would miss the 2014 season with a back injury. With the season starting the following day, the Lasers signed

Ross Hutchins Ross Dan Hutchins (born 22 February 1985) is a retired British professional tennis player, known best as a doubles player, who achieved a highest doubles ranking of 26. He competed for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi where he w ...

to replace Rojer. On July 8, 2014, the Lasers signed

Līga Dekmeijere Līga Dekmeijere (born 21 May 1983) is a Latvian tennis player. She has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 19 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 26 August 2002, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 287. On ...

as a substitute player when it was announced that

would miss the remainder of the season with a hip injury. On July 10, 2014, the Lasers re-signed

Jean Andersen Jean Andersen (born 17 June 1988) is a South African professional tennis player. He has represented South Africa in Davis Cup matches. College career Andersen played college tennis for the Texas Longhorns and was an All-American, ranking as h ...

as a substitute player. He had previously played for the Lasers in 2011. On July 15, 2014, the Lasers signed

Raquel Kops-Jones Raquel Atawo (née Kops-Jones; born December 8, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player, who is currently the head woman's tennis coach for the Washington State Cougars. She is primarily a doubles specialist, winning 18 WTA doubl ...

as a substitute player. On July 19, 2014, the Lasers signed

Abigail Spears Abigail Michal Spears (born July 12, 1981) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She was suspended for doping offences from 7 November 2019 until 7 September 2021. Biography 2000–2011 Spears turned professional in ...

as a substitute player. On July 22, 2014, the Lasers signed

Fritz Wolmarans Fritz Wolmarans (born 7 March 1986) is a former professional South African tennis player. Wolmarans has a career high ATP singles ranking of 198 achieved on 16 May 2011. He also played for the South Africa Davis Cup team. Tennis career Jun ...

as a substitute player.

Early season trouble

The Lasers opened their 2014 season with two home matches and lost them both in super tiebreakers. In the opener on July 6, against the

Philadelphia Freedoms The Philadelphia Freedoms is a tennis team currently competing in World TeamTennis. Overview The team traces its origins to WTT's inaugural season, in 1974. The original team starred tennis legend and social pioneer Billie Jean King, who h ...

, the Lasers had leads of 10–6 and 16–14 before falling 21–20. The following night against the

Texas Wild The Texas Wild was a World TeamTennis team that played at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, USA. The team was known as the Kansas City Explorers from 1993 until the 2012 season, before moving to Texas. With ...

, Michael Russell erased a 15–11 deficit heading to the final set with a 5–1 men's singles set win but fell to

Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. (russian: Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player. Tennis care ...

in the super tiebreaker. After two difficult home losses, the Lasers hit the road to play the

on July 8, in the franchise's inaugural home match in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

after relocating from

. In a match nationally televised by the

Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...

, the teams played to 14-all tie through the first four sets, before

Vera Zvonareva Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲɛrə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian professional tennis player. She was introduced to tennis at ...

took the final set of women's singles from

to give the Aces the victory and drop the Lasers to 0 wins and 3 losses just three days into the season.

Winning streak

The Lasers recorded their first victory of the season on the road against the

on July 10. They were led by

who registered a 5–0 set win in women's singles and teamed with

for a 5–1 set win in women's doubles. Michael Russell had a 5–1 set win in men's singles over former Laser

Rik de Voest Rik de Voest (born 5 June 1980) is a former professional South African tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 110 in August 2006. Rik resides in Vancouver, Canada where he pursues a career in real estate. De ...

. Two nights later, the Lasers returned home for a rematch with the

. The Wild raced to a 10–5 lead after two sets, but Govortsova teamed with James Blake for a 5–2 set win in mixed doubles and with Dekmeijere for a 5–1 set win in women's doubles to give the Lasers a 15–13 lead heading to the final set of men's singles.

prevailed over Russell, 5–3, to send the match to a super tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker game tied at 6, Russell won the match-deciding point to give the Lasers a 19–18 victory. The

came to

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

the following night, and it was Govortsova who led the Lasers to victory once again. She won the women's singles set, 5–1, and partnered with Dekmeijere for a 5–2 set win in women's doubles and with Blake for a 5–0 set win in mixed doubles. The win evened the Lasers' record at 3 wins and 3 losses.

Another winning streak

After two road losses dropped the Lasers' record to 3 wins and 5 losses, they returned home to meet the

on July 17.

and Michael Russell got the Lasers started with a 5–2 set win in men's doubles. After dropping the next two sets, the Lasers found themselves behind, 12–8.

won the women's singles set, 5–3, and Russell won the men's singles set by the same score to send the match to a super tiebreaker which Russell took, 7–2, to give the Lasers a 19–18 victory. The following night, the three-time defending champion

came to town. The Lasers dominated them, winning four of the five sets. Hutchins teamed with Russell for a 5–2 set win in men's doubles and with Govortsova for a 5–1 set win in mixed doubles. Govortsova and

won the women's doubles set, 5–1. Russell took the men's singles set, 5–1. The resulting 24–10 defeat for the Kastles was the worst loss in their franchise history. On July 19, the Lasers took all five sets in a 25–16 road win over the

. Govortsova earned a set win in women's singles, 5–4, and teamed with Hutchins for a 5–4 set win in mixed doubles and with

(making her Lasers debut) for a 5–2 women's doubles set win. Russell won the men's singles set, 5–2, and partnered with Hutchins in men's doubles for a 5–4 set win. With heir third straight victory, the Lasers improved their record to 6 wins and 5 losses.

Lasers clinch a playoff berth

After consecutive road losses in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, the Lasers entered the final day of the regular season with 6 wins and 7 losses, but nevertheless in control of their own destiny; a win would put them into the playoffs. The Lasers responded by taking all five sets in a dominant 25–7 home victory over the

won the women's singles set, 5–0, and teamed with

for another 5–0 set win in women's doubles. Spears and

took the mixed doubles set, 5–2. Hutchins and Michael Russell opened the match with a 5–2 set win in men's doubles. Russell sealed the victory with a 5–4 men's singles set win and gave the Lasers their second consecutive playoff berth.

Second consecutive Western Conference title

The Lasers went on the road to face the

, the league's best team in the regular season, in the Western Conference Championship Match. Michael Russell got the Lasers started with a 5–4 set win in men's singles. The Aviators took the women's doubles set to tie the score at 9 and then the mixed doubles set to take a 14–12 lead.

's dominant 5–0 set win in women's doubles put the Lasers in front, 17–14, heading to the final set of men's doubles. Russell and

held off the formidable

Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...

for a 5–3 set win that gave the Lasers a 22–17 victory and their second consecutive Western Conference Championship.

WTT Final

On July 27, the Lasers met the

in the WTT Final for the second consecutive year. Although the match was in

, because WTT predetermined that the Western Conference champion would host the Final, the Kastles, as the higher seed, were treated as the "home" team in determining order of play. The Kastles won all five sets en route to their fourth consecutive title, They were led by

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks ...

who was named WTT Finals Most Valuable Player after earning a 5–2 win over

in the second set of women's singles, teaming with

Anastasia Rodionova Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the mos ...

for a 5–1 win over Govortsova and

in the fourth set of women's doubles and closing out the match with

Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players ever. He holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men ...

with a 5–4 mixed doubles set win over Govortsova and

Event chronology

* November 21, 2013: The Lasers traded

to the

for financial consideration. * February 11, 2014: The Lasers traded for James Blake and selected him in the WTT Marquee Player Draft. * March 11, 2014: The Lasers protected

and

in the WTT Roster Player Draft. The Lasers traded their third round pick (20th overall) and financial consideration for the

' first-round pick (seventh overall) which they used to draft

. The Lasers traded their fourth round pick (27th overall) and financial consideration for the

' third round pick (15th overall) which they used to draft Michael Russell. * June 28, 2014: The Lasers signed

to replace the injured

. * July 5, 2014: The Lasers signed

to replace the injured

. * July 8, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 10, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 15, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 19, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 22, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 23, 2014: The Lasers clinched their second consecutive playoff berth with a 25–7 victory over the

. * July 24, 2014: The Lasers won their second consecutive Western Conference Championship with a 22–17 victory over the

. * July 27, 2014: The Lasers lost the WTT Final to the

, 25–13.

Draft picks

Since the Lasers won the Western Conference championship in

, they had the next to last selection in each round of both WTT

Marquee player draft

The Lasers protected James Blake after acquiring him in a trade with the

. The selections made by the Lasers are shown in the table below.

Roster player draft

The Lasers traded up twice in the roster player draft to select

in the first round and Michael Russell in the third round. First, the Lasers traded their third round pick (20th overall) and financial consideration for the

' first-round pick (seventh overall). Next, the Lasers traded their fourth round pick (27th overall) and financial consideration for the

' third round pick (15th overall). The selections made by the Lasers are shown in the table below.

Match log

Regular season

Playoffs

: ;Western Conference Championship Match ;World TeamTennis Championship Match Note:

Team personnel

''Reference:''

On-court personnel

John-Laffnie de Jager John-Laffnie de Jager (born 17 March 1973) is a South African former tour professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, de Jager reached the semi-finals for three different grand slam tournaments three times in three different years part ...

– Head Coach *

* James Blake *

(injured, did not play) *

(injured, did not play) * Michael Russell *

Front office

* Springfield-Greene County Park Board (represented by John Cooper) – Owner * Bob Belote – Director * Paul Nahon – General Manager Notes:

Statistics

Players are listed in order of their game-winning percentage provided they played in at least 40% of the Lasers' games in that event, which is the WTT minimum for qualification for league leaders in individual statistical categories. ;Men's singles – regular season ;Women's singles – regular season ;Men's doubles – regular season ;Women's doubles – regular season ;Mixed doubles – regular season ;Team totals – regular season ;Men's singles – playoffs ;Women's singles – playoffs ;Men's doubles – playoffs ;Women's doubles – playoffs ;Mixed doubles – playoffs ;Team totals – playoffs ;Men's singles – all matches ;Women's singles – all matches ;Men's doubles – all matches ;Women's doubles – all matches ;Mixed doubles – all matches ;Team totals – all matches

Transactions

* November 21, 2013: The Lasers traded

to the

for financial consideration. * February 11, 2014: The Lasers acquired James Blake in a trade with the

for undisclosed consideration and then protected him in the WTT Marquee Player Draft. * March 11, 2014: During the WTT Roster Player Draft, the Lasers traded their third round pick (20th overall) and financial consideration for the

' first-round pick (seventh overall) which they used to draft

. The Lasers also traded their fourth round pick (27th overall) and financial consideration for the

' third round pick (15th overall) which they used to draft Michael Russell. The Lasers also selected

and

as protected picks in the draft. * March 11, 2014: The Lasers left

Vania King Vania King (born February 3, 1989) is an American former tennis player. A former top-ten doubles player, King won both the Wimbledon and US Open women's doubles titles in 2010 with partner Yaroslava Shvedova, with whom she also reached the f ...

and

unprotected in the WTT Roster Player Draft. De Voest was selected in the fourth round by the

. * June 27, 2014: The Lasers signed

as an injury-replacement roster player. * July 5, 2014: The Lasers signed

as an injury-replacement roster player. * July 8, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 10, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 15, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 19, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player. * July 22, 2014: The Lasers signed

as a substitute player.

Individual achievements

Michael Russell led WTT in game-winning percentage in men's singles.

was fourth in WTT in game-winning percentage in mixed doubles and fifth in women's doubles.

Charitable support

During each night of the 2014 season, the WTT team with the most aces received

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1,000 toward a local charity of the team's choice as part of a program called Mylan Aces. In the case of a tie, the award was split accordingly. The Lasers earned $1,000 for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board Scholarship Fund through the program.

References

External links

Springfield Lasers official websiteWorld TeamTennis official website
{{2014 in tennis Springfield Lasers season Springfield Lasers 2014

Season recap

Roddick traded

Move to Eastern Conference

Drafts

Other player transactions

Early season trouble

Winning streak

Another winning streak

Lasers clinch a playoff berth

Second consecutive Western Conference title

WTT Final

Event chronology

Draft picks

Marquee player draft

Roster player draft

Match log

Regular season

Playoffs

Team personnel

On-court personnel

Front office

Statistics

Transactions

Individual achievements

Charitable support

See also

References

External links