The 2016

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 21st

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 Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

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 finished with 4 wins and 8 losses, fifth in the WTT standings, and missed the postseason for the second consecutive year. The team featured

Michaëlla Krajicek Michaëlla Krajicek ( cz, Michaela Krajíčková; born 9 January 1989) is a Dutch former tennis player. She won three singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as one WTA 125 doubles title, and 14 singles and 22 doubles titles on ...

, who won the 2016 WTT Female Rookie of the Year Award.

Season recap

Draft

At the WTT

Draft 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 ves ...

on March 25, 2016, the Lasers protected the top-ranked

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...

in the first round of the

marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular, skilled, or otherwise outstanding, especially in professional sports. Its name comes from theater marquees, on which the names of the stars of productions in said theater ar ...

portion of the draft and passed on making a second-round selection. In the roster player portion of the draft, the Lasers made a trade with the expansion New York Empire, which was interested in selecting

Christina McHale Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles. Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...

. In the trade, the Lasers gave the Empire the first overall selection in the roster player portion of the draft along with the first pick in the fourth round in exchange for the third pick in each of the first and third rounds. The Lasers did not protect any players in the roster portion of the draft. They selected

Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; sr, Данијел Нестор, Danijel Nestor; born September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. Nestor won 91 men's doubles titles (with 11 different partners), including an Olympic gold medal a ...

Benjamin Becker Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German retired professional tennis player who is known for defeating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open in what was Agassi's last match as a professional player. B ...

Daria Gavrilova Daria Saville (née Gavrilova, born 5 March 1994) is an Australian professional tennis player. She represented Russia until 2015, before emigrating to Australia. She competed under her maiden name until her marriage to Luke Saville in 20 ...

and

. Nestor was the only one of the four with WTT experience. He was WTT Male Rookie of the Year playing for the

Sacramento Capitals 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 ...

in 2003, and WTT Male Most Valuable Player as a member of 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 ...

in 2006. The Lasers elected not to choose a roster-exempt player in the fifth round.

Parmentier replaces Gavrilova

was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics on July 1, 2016. She was replaced on the roster by

Pauline Parmentier Pauline Parmentier (; born 31 January 1986) is a French former tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is world No. 40, which she attained on 21 July 2008. On 30 April 2012, she peaked at world No. 89 on the WTA doubles rankings. Sh ...

on July 23, 2016.

Nestor selected to Canadian Olympic team

On July 21, 2016,

was selected to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

at the 2016 Summer Olympics, playing men's doubles in place of

Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), w ...

, who withdrew citing concerns about the Zica virus. To fill the void created by Nestor's departure, the Lasers 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 ...

and

Eric Butorac Eric Butorac (born May 22, 1981), nicknamed Booty, is an American retired professional tennis player. He was a doubles specialist, and for a period of approximately six years was the No. 3 ranked American doubles player. His best result was reac ...

as substitute players on July 26, 2016. Andersen previously played for the Lasers in 2011 and 2014.

Lasers hand Freedoms first two losses

After starting the season with four straight losses, the Lasers faced the undefeated

on the road on August 4, 2016. Two of the Lasers' four losses had already come at the hands of the Freedoms.

and

got the Lasers started by winning a tiebreaker in the opening set of men's doubles.

and

followed by getting an early break in the women's doubles set that led to a 5–3 set win and a 10–7 lead in the match for the Lasers. Becker lost a tiebreaker to

Lukáš Lacko Lukáš Lacko (; born 3 November 1987) is a former professional Slovak tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is World No. 44, achieved in January 2013. Tennis career Juniors As a junior Lacko compiled a singles win–loss record ...

in the third set of men's singles to cut the lead to 14–12. Parmentier raced to a 3–0 lead in the fourth set of women's singles, before

Naomi Broady Naomi Broady (; born 28 February 1990) is a British tennis player. She has won one WTA doubles title, as well as nine singles titles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 March 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of wor ...

broke back to send the set to a tiebreaker. Parmentier survived a set point down 3–4 in the tiebreaker on Broady's serve and then hit a forehand winner on the set's deciding point to push the Lasers' lead to 19–16. Becker and Krajicek sealed the match in mixed doubles by holding all their service games and breaking Broady once to win the set, 5–3, and give the Lasers a 24–19 victory. The Lasers and Freedoms met again the following evening in Springfield. After dropping the opening set of men's doubles in a tiebreaker, the Lasers took control of the match by winning the next three sets led by Krajicek. She teamed with Parmentier to take the women's doubles, 5–3, then with Becker to take the mixed doubles by the same score. In the fourth set of women's singles, Krajicek topped

Samantha Crawford Samantha Crawford (born February 18, 1995) is a former American tennis player. In her career, Crawford won one singles title and five doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. In July 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 98. ...

, 5–2, to give the Lasers a 19–13 lead. In the final set of men's singles, Lacko earned a break against Becker and won the set, 5–3, to send the math to extended play with the Lasers leading, 22–18. Becker held serve, 4–1, in the first game of extended play to clinch a 23–18 win for the Lasers.

Elimination from postseason contention

The Lasers were eliminated from postseason contention with a record of 2 wins and 7 losses on August 10, 2016, when they lost to the

Orange County Breakers The Orange County Breakers are a World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise founded in 2003, owned by Laguna Beach businessman Eric Davidson. The Breakers won the WTT Championship in 2004, 2017 and 2021. In 2014, the franchise moved to Greater Austin, Texas, ...

, 22–19, in extended play. It is the second consecutive season the Lasers have missed the postseason.

Season finale

The Lasers met the New York Empire in the season finale for both teams at home on August 13, 2016. The loser of the match would finish last in WTT.

and

opened the match by winning a tiebreaker in men's doubles.

and

followed with a 5–3 set win in women's doubles. Krajicek and Butorac teamed for a 5–1 mixed doubles set win that gave the Lasers a 15–8 lead. After dropping the fourth set of women's singles, the Lasers took a 17–13 lead to the final set.

Marcus Willis Marcus Willis (born 9 October 1990) is a British professional tennis player. Willis made his tour debut at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships after qualifying for the main draw, where he gained recognition after playing against Roger Federer in the ...

won the men's singles set in a tiebreaker to send the match to extended play with the Lasers leading 21–18. After Willis won the first game of extended play, Becker won the second to secure a 22–19 victory and a fifth-place finish.

Rookie of the Year Award

was named 2016 WTT Female Rookie of the Year. Krajicek was tied for fifth in the league with teammate

in winning percentage in women's doubles and was also fifth in mixed doubles.

Event chronology

* March 25, 2016: The Lasers protected

and selected

and

at the WTT Draft. The Lasers left

Andre Begemann Andre Begemann (born 12 July 1984) is a German inactive professional tennis player. He is a doubles specialist who reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 36, achieved in May 2015. He has a career-high singles ranking of No. 166, ac ...

Alison Riske Alison Riske-Amritraj (née Riske; born July 3, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 in November 2019 and won her first WTA Tour title in October 2014 at the Tianjin Open. ...

Varvara Lepchenko Varvara ( Cyrillic: Варвара; el, Βαρβάρα, ''Varvára''), a variant of "Barbara", may refer to: Places *Varvara, Azerbaijan * Varvara, Prozor, on the Rama river, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Varvara, Burgas Province, Bulgaria * Varvara, ...

Sachia Vickery Sachia Vickery (born May 11, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. She first entered the top 100 in 2018 and eventually reached a career-high of No. 73 in the world in the WTA rankings. Her best results on the WTA Tour came at the 2 ...

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 ...

and Michael Russell unprotected. * July 23, 2016: The Lasers signed

as a roster player to replace

. * July 26, 2016: The Lasers signed

and

as substitute players. * August 10, 2016: The Lasers were eliminated from postseason contention with a record of 2 wins and 7 losses, when they lost to the

, 22–19, in extended play. It is the second consecutive season the Lasers have missed the postseason.

Draft picks

Since the Lasers had the worst record in WTT in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, they had the first selection in each round of the draft. WTT conducted its 2016 draft on March 25, in

Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is an island town in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 12,344 at the 2010 census. Key Biscayne lies south of Miami Beach and east of Miami. The village is connected to Miami via the Rickenbacker Causeway, originall ...

. in the roster player portion of the draft, the Lasers traded the first overall selection along with the first pick in the fourth round to the New York Empire in exchange for the third pick in each of the first and third rounds. The selections made by the Lasers are shown in the table below.

Match log

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 *

Front office

* John Cooper ''representing'' Springfield-Greene County Park Board – 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 ;Women's singles ;Men's doubles ;Women's doubles ;Mixed doubles ;Team totals

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