Vineyard Women’s 3.5 tennis team plays in the nationals

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Martha's Vineyard tri-level team members from left: Jen Combra, Kim Averill, and Pavla Rego at Indian Wells, California. — Photo courtesy of Pavla Rego

Oak Bluffs is the home of all three members of the 2014 New England region 3.5 women’s tennis championship team who played for the tri-level national title in Indian Wells, Calif., last week. Kimberly Averill, Pavla Rego, and Jennifer Combra did not bring back the gold, but they won’t soon forget the experience.

“The trip was amazing, just amazing,” Ms. Averill said. “We got to play on one of the courts that Roger Federer warmed up on.”

They also received free tickets to the BNP Paribas Open, one of the world’s top-level professional tennis tournaments, played in conjunction with the amateur event, watching Novak Djokovic beat Federer in the men’s final.

The tri-level team is a matchup of regional winning teams that play at the 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 levels. The scores in the national tournament games from each team are combined to decide the national champions. The Vineyard team won one match, lost one in a tiebreak and lost the third.

“We were so lucky to take this trip,” Ms. Averill said. “Anyone who has the opportunity to go should do it.”