Competing in the nation's largest recreational tennis championship, Team Utah will travel to Las Vegas this weekend and do battle with 17 sectional winners from across the country in the USTA League 4.5 Men's Adult National Championships.

In order to qualify, Utah won the Intermountain Sectional Championships in August, defeating teams from Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

Nationally, more than 700,000 players participate in USTA recreational tennis.

Captain Milton Talkington said his team has worked hard to achieve this goal, beginning in 2002, when he put this collection of mostly former high-school players together.

"I'm just a mad recruiter," he said about assembling this team of 16 players who live in cities from Clearfield to Provo and one who comes all the way from Vernal to participate.

He is also very aggressive in enlisting sponsors, as the Porcupine Grill helps support the team. "We are the only team that has a sponsor," said Talkington.

The USTA groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). It features adult and mixed doubles divisions, as well as a senior division (age 50 or older) and a super senior division (age 60 or older).

Talkington said his players range in age from 24 to 46. He says the 4.5 division is basically the top category for recreational players, as 5.0 and above are made up of college and pro players. The tournament format provides three doubles matches and two singles.

e-mail: wjewkes@desnews.com