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.
Sport | Team tennis |
---|---|
Founded | 1996 |
League | World TeamTennis |
Team history | Springfield Lasers 1996–present |
Based in | Springfield, Missouri |
Stadium | Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex |
Colors | Kingfisher daisy and deep sky blue Alternate: Han violet-blue and bright turquoise |
Owner | Springfield-Greene County Park Board |
Head coach | John-Laffnie de Jager |
Championships | 2 (2018, 2019) |
History
The team advanced to the league final in 1999, 2001, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019, and only in the last 2 years have they won the championship.[1][2] In 2010, the Lasers had the best regular season record (10–4) in World TeamTennis and advanced to the WTT Western Conference Championship but lost to the Kansas City Explorers, 20 to 17.[3] The Lasers faced the Philadelphia Freedoms in the 2018 WTT Championship match on August 5, 2018. The Lasers defeated the Freedoms 19-18 for their first WTT Championship in team history.
In 2015, the Lasers made slight modifications to their team logo. The words "Springfield" and "tennis" were also relocated. Affair purple ( ) was replaced with kingfisher daisy, a deeper shade of purple. Pacific blue ( ) was also replaced with deep sky blue. At the same time, the Lasers began using an alternate logo with the same design but a different color scheme. In place of kingfisher daisy was Han violet-blue ( ), and bright turquoise ( ) appears where deep sky blue is seen in the main logo.
Current squad
John-Laffnie de Jager, head coach Jack Sock Miomir Kecmanović Vania King Daniel Nestor Abigail Spears
As of June 16, 2018[4]
References
- Smith, Doug (August 24, 2001). "Lasers battle Freedoms for team title Saturday". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- Emerick, Thomas (July 26, 2009). "Kastles survive Lasers rally, claim first WTT title". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- "Match Statistics". World TeamTennis. July 23, 2010.
- http://www.springfieldlasers.com/players
- "About Us". Springfield Lasers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- "Tennis: Navratilova, Connors picked". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. March 27, 1998. p. 3C.