2008 World TeamTennis season

2008 World TeamTennis season
League World TeamTennis
Sport Team tennis
Duration July 3–27, 2008
Number of matches Regular season: 77 (14 for each team)
Postseason: 4
Number of teams 11
Draft
Top draft pick United States Lindsay Davenport
Picked by Newport Beach Breakers
Regular season
Top seed Kansas City Explorers
Season MVP Paraguay Ramón Delgado (Male MVP) (Newport Beach)
Australia Rennae Stubbs (Female MVP) (Kansas City)
Eastern Conference
Season champions New York Buzz
  Runners-up New York Sportimes
Western Conference
Season champions Kansas City Explorers
  Runners-up Sacramento Capitals
World TeamTennis Final
Venue Allstate Stadium at Westfield Galleria at Roseville
Champions New York Buzz
  Runners-up Kansas City Explorers
Championship MVP Australia Rennae Stubbs (Kansas City)

The 2008 World TeamTennis season was the 33rd season of the top professional team tennis league in the United States.

The New York Buzz defeated the Kansas City Explorers, 21–18, in the WTT Final to win the King Trophy as WTT champions.

Competition format

The 2008 World TeamTennis season included 11 teams split into two conferences (Eastern and Western). The Eastern Conference had six teams, and the Western Conference had five teams. Each team played a 14-match regular-season schedule with seven home and seven away matches. The top teams in each conference were the conference champions. WTT Championship Weekend matches were played at Allstate Stadium at Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, California. The conference champions and runners-up qualified for the playoffs. In addition, there was a wild-card team that was either the host team (the Sacramento Capitals) or the team with the best record among teams that did not finish first or second in their conference, if the Capitals qualified based on finishing first or second. The teams were seeded 1 through 5, regardless of conference, with the top three seeds getting a bye to the WTT Semifinals. The fourth seed and the wild card met in a wild card match with the winner facing the number 1 seed in the semifinals. The other semifinal match pitted the number 2 seed against the number 3 seed. The winners of the semifinal matches met in the WTT Final to decide the winner of the King Trophy and the league championship. Higher seeded teams were treated as "home" teams in playoff matches and had the right to determine order of play.[1][2]

Franchise contraction and expansion

The Houston Wranglers folded following the 2007 season. Owner Linda McIngvale said, "This is not the right type of community for the Wranglers. We're just too big of a city with too many options. There's a jillion other things to do in the summertime in Houston." The team sold fewer than half of the 4,500 available tickets for a match that featured Anna Kournikova playing for the visitors. Late in the 2007 season, attendance at Wranglers' home matches was typically less than 1,000.[3]

The Washington Kastles joined the league as an expansion franchise, making their debut in 2008. The team was founded by a group led by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Mark Ein, a native of Washington. At the press conference announcing the team's creation, Ein said, "I am thrilled to bring World TeamTennis to our area. WTT tennis is great entertainment emphasizing fan interaction, and it is the only major sport with men and women playing together on the same team. The Washington Kastles season will be an exciting summertime addition to our local economy and a fun activity for our entire community." The team was named after Kastle Systems, LLC, a provider of building and office security systems, of which Ein is the majority owner and managing member.[4]

Drafts

Marquee player draft

The 2008 WTT Marquee Player Draft was conducted in New York City on March 19, 2008. The order in which teams selected was based on the results the teams achieved in 2007 with weaker teams selecting earlier and stronger teams selecting later. The draft order is ordinarily determined as follows:

  1. Nonplayoff teams ranked from worst regular-season record to best
  2. Conference championship loser with the worse record of the two
  3. Conference championship loser with the better record of the two
  4. WTT Final loser
  5. WTT champion

Expansion teams select in the middle of each round. If there is an even number of teams, an expansion team selects in the middle position that is closest to the first pick. There were seven nonplayoff teams in 2007, and ranked from worst record to best record, they were

  1. Houston Wranglers
  2. Newport Beach Breakers
  3. St. Louis Aces
  4. Boston Lobsters
  5. New York Sportimes
  6. Delaware Smash
  7. Kansas City Explorers

However, the Wranglers folded prior to the draft. Therefore, the Breakers, Aces, Lobsters, Sportimes, Smash and Explorers were assigned the preliminary first through sixth draft positions. The Philadelphia Freedoms lost the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship Match and had a worse record than the Springfield Lasers, who lost the Western Conference Championship Match. Therefore, the Freedoms were assigned the preliminary seventh draft position and the Lasers the eighth. The New York Buzz lost the 2007 WTT Final and were assigned the preliminary ninth draft position. The 2007 WTT champion Sacramento Capitals were assigned the preliminary tenth draft position. The addition of the expansion Washington Kastles resulted in 11 teams in the league, and the Kastles were assigned the sixth draft position putting them in the middle with five teams drafting before them, and five teams drafting after them. This resulted in the Explorers, Freedoms, Lasers, Buzz and Capitals each moving down one position.

Teams could protect up to two marquee players or doubles teams to which they held the rights from the previous season or acquired in a trade. Rights to marquee players could be traded from one team to another before or during the draft, and the acquiring team could protect and then select those players. The selections made[5] are shown in the tables below.

Roster player draft

The 2008 WTT Roster Player Draft was conducted in Miami, Florida on April 1, 2008. Teams selected in the same order as was determined for the Marquee Player Draft. Teams could protect up to four players to which they held the rights from the previous season or acquired in a trade. Rights to roster players could be traded from one team to another before or during the draft, and the acquiring team could protect and then select those players. In addition, the rights to make a selection in a particular position within the draft could be traded from one team to another. The selections made[6] are shown in the tables below.

Notes:

  1. 1 2 The St. Louis Aces traded the second pick in the first round to the Sacramento Capitals in exchange for the rights to Anna Kournikova and the 11th pick in the second round.
  2. 1 2 3 The Delaware Smash traded the fifth pick in the first round to the Kansas City Explorers in exchange for the seventh pick in the first round and other undisclosed consideration. The Smash used the seventh pick to select Alex Bogomolov Jr. and then traded him to the Philadelphia Freedoms for the eighth pick in the third round and other undisclosed consideration.

Roster-Exempt Player Draft

WTT conducted its 2008 Roster-Exempt Player Draft on the same day as its Roster Player Draft. Teams drafted in the same order as in the Marquee Player Draft and the Roster Player Draft. Teams were permitted to select part-time players classified by the league as either roster-exempt based on their recent appearances in international team events or featured roster players based on WTT's discretion. The selections made[6] are shown in the table below.

No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 Newport Beach Breakers Pass –
2 St. Louis Aces Pass –
3 Boston Lobsters Pass –
4 New York Sportimes Pass –
5 Delaware Smash United States Liezel Huber Y
6 Washington Kastles Pass –
7 Kansas City Explorers Pass –
8 Philadelphia Freedoms Pass –
9 Springfield Lasers Pass –
10 New York Buzz Pass –
11 Sacramento Capitals Russia Dmitry Tursunov N Featured roster player

Event chronology

Off-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Standings

Eastern Conference
Pos TeamMPWLPCTMB
1 New York Buzz 14 10 4 .714 0
2 New York Sportimes 14 10 4 .714 0
3 Boston Lobsters 14 7 7 .500 3
4 Philadelphia Freedoms 14 7 7 .500 3
5 Washington Kastles 14 6 8 .429 4
6 Delaware Smash 14 3 11 .214 7
New York Buzz and New York Sportimes split their head-to-head meetings during the regular season, 1 match each. Buzz wins the tiebreaker on games won in head-to-head meetings, 43–33.
Boston and Philadelphia split their head-to-head meetings during the regular season, 1 match each. Boston wins the tiebreaker on games won in head-to-head meetings, 44–37.
Western Conference
Pos TeamMPWLPCTMB
1 Kansas City Explorers 14 13 1 .929 0
2 Sacramento Capitals 14 8 6 .571 5
3 Newport Beach Breakers 14 5 9 .357 8
4 Springfield Lasers 14 5 9 .357 8
5 St. Louis Aces 14 3 11 .214 10
Newport Beach and Springfield split their head-to-head meetings during the regular season, 1 match each. Newport Beach wins the tiebreaker on games won in head-to-head meetings, 37–36.
Delaware won its only head-to-head meeting during the regular season with St. Louis and wins the tiebreaker in the overall standings.
Qualified for 2008 WTT Playoffs

Results table

Abbreviation and Color Key:
Boston Lobsters - BOS • Delaware Smash - DEL • Kansas City Explorers - KAN • New York Buzz - NYB
New York Sportimes - NYS • Newport Beach Breakers - NPB • Philadelphia Freedoms - PHI
Sacramento Capitals - SAC • Springfield Lasers - SPR • St. Louis Aces - STL • Washington Kastles - WAS

Win  • Loss  • Home  • Away

TeamMatch
1234567891011121314
Boston Lobsters NYS NYB DEL WAS PHI NYB NYS KAN SPR PHI WAS NPB NPB SAC
18–19L 23–19
(OT) 		22–19
(OT) 		21–22
(STB,
6–7) 		19–20
(STB,
4–7) 		23–17 17–22 23–19
(OT) 		23–15 23–14
(OT) 		18–21
(OT) 		18–16
(OT) 		13–21
Delaware SmashNYB STL WAS BOS PHI PHI NYS SPR SPR KAN SAC PHI WAS NYB
16–2421–20 19–21
(OT) 		19–23
(OT) 		15–25
(OT) 		17–19 17–22
(OT) 		20–19
(STB,
7–6) 		21–23 20–22
(OT) 		18–20
(OT) 		12–23 20–16 9–25
Kansas City Explorers SAC NPB SPR SAC STL STL BOS NYB PHI DEL WAS STL SPR NPB
22–2120–18
(OT) 		24–19
(OT) 		25–15 22–18 25–17
(OT) 		22–17 17–23 23–18
(OT) 		22–20
(OT) 		24–13 20–19
(STB,
7–6) 		23–16 23–16
New York Buzz DEL STL BOS NYS WAS WAS BOS PHI KAN SAC PHI NYS STL DEL
24–1623–18 W 20–22
(OT) 		22–21
(STB,
7–4) 		21–22
(STB,
4–7) 		20–19
(STB,
7–4) 		18–22
(OT) 		23–17 23–20
(OT) 		15–25 23–11 25–13 25–9
New York SportimesBOS PHI NYB WAS DEL PHI BOS PHI WAS SPR NPB NYB NPB SAC
19–18 21–18
(OT) 		22–20
(OT) 		21–20 22–17
(OT) 		19–18
(STB,
7–5) 		17–23 21–15 17–18
(STB,
5–7) 		24–19
(OT) 		22–14 11–23 17–15
(OT) 		19–20
Newport Beach Breakers SAC KAN SPR STL SPR SAC WAS SAC STL NYS BOS BOS NYS KAN
21–16
(OT)		18–20
(OT) 		18–21 18–22
(OT) 		19–15 20–21
(STB,
3–7) 		16–18 23–16 23–14 14–22 21–18
(OT) 		16–18
(OT) 		15–17
(OT) 		16–23
Philadelphia FreedomsWAS SPR NYS DEL DEL BOS NYS NYB NYS KAN BOS NYB WAS DEL
19–23
(OT)		22–23
(STB,
2–7) 		18–21
(OT) 		25–15
(OT) 		19–17 22–21
(STB,
7–6) 		18–19
(STB,
5–7) 		22–18
(OT) 		15–21 18–23
(OT) 		15–23 25–15 23–19
(OT) 		23–12
Sacramento CapitalsNPB KAN STL SPR KAN SPR NPB NPB STL WAS NYB DEL BOS NYS
16–21
(OT)		21–22 22–21 19–22 15–25 18–14 21–20
(STB,
7–3) 		16–23 25–12 20–15 20–23
(OT) 		20–18
(OT) 		21–13 20–19
Springfield LasersSTL PHI KAN NPB SAC NPB SAC DEL DEL BOS NYS STL STL KAN
23–21
(OT)		23–22
(STB,
7–2) 		19–24
(OT) 		21–18 22–19 15–19 14–18 19–20
(STB,
6–7) 		23–21 19–23
(OT) 		19–24
(OT) 		23–24
(STB,
5–7) 		10–25 16–23
St. Louis Aces SPR DEL NYB SAC NPB KAN KAN SAC NPB SPR SPR KAN NYB WAS
21–23
(OT)		20–21 18–23 21–22 22–18
(OT) 		18–22 17–25
(OT) 		12–25 14–23 24–23
(STB,
7–5) 		25–10 19–20
(STB,
6–7) 		13–25 17–22
Washington Kastles PHI DEL BOS NYB NYS NYB NPB NYS SAC BOS KAN PHI DEL STL
23–19
(OT)		21–19
(OT) 		19–22
(OT) 		21–22
(STB,
4–7) 		20–21 22–21
(STB,
7–4) 		18–16 18–17
(STB,
7–5) 		15–20 14–23
(OT) 		13–24 19–23
(OT) 		16–20 22–17

Playoff bracket

  Wild Card Match
(July 24)		     Semifinals
(July 25–26)		     WTT Final
(July 27)
                           
      1  Kansas City Explorers 21  
  4  Sacramento Capitals 22     4  Sacramento Capitals 10    
  5  Boston Lobsters 15         1  Kansas City Explorers 18
      2  New York Buzz 21
      2  New York Buzz 25*    
        3  New York Sportimes 17  

*Indicates match went to overtime

Playoff match summaries

All playoff matches were played as part of WTT Championship Weekend at Allstate Stadium at Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, California. Higher seeded teams (shown in CAPS below) were treated as "home" teams and had the right to determine the order of play.

Wild Card Match

July 24: #4 SACRAMENTO CAPITALS 22, #5 Boston Lobsters 15[7]

WTT Semifinals

July 25: #1 KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS 21, #4 Sacramento Capitals 10[8]

July 26: #2 NEW YORK BUZZ 25, #3 New York Sportimes 17 (overtime)[9]

WTT Final

July 27: #2 New York Buzz 21, #1 KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS 18[10]

Individual honors

Reference: [10][11]

Award Recipient Team
Female Most Valuable Player Rennae Stubbs Kansas City Explorers
Male Most Valuable Player Ramón Delgado Newport Beach Breakers
Female Rookie of the Year Yaroslava Shvedova New York Buzz
Male Rookie of the Year Travis Parrott Philadelphia Freedoms
Coach of the Year Brent Haygarth Kansas City Explorers
WTT Championship Most Valuable Player Rennae Stubbs Kansas City Explorers

See also

References

External links

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