[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 130 (Thursday, September 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING THE SPRINGFIELD LASERS

 Mr. BLUNT. Madam President, Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; 
Washington, DC; San Diego, CA; Austin and Irving, TX; and Springfield, 
MO, are the seven cities represented by teams in the World Team Tennis, 
WTT, league. For the second year in a row, the Washington Kastles and 
the Springfield Lasers met in the Mylan WTT finals. With similar 
results as 2013, the Kastles prevailed at the Springfield home court, 
Mediacom Stadium in the Cooper Tennis Complex. The Springfield Lasers 
were the WTT Western Conference champions in 1999, 2001, and 2009. This 
year's Springfield squad, led by head coach John-Laffnie de Jager, made 
the finals with a changing roster of 12 different players rotating in 
and out of 4 spots on the team.
  The Springfield Lasers are a remarkable story. The franchise was 
purchased and donated to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board in 
1996 by the Cooper family, who also donated funds for the municipal 
tennis complex. The complex includes 12 indoor tennis courts and 16 
outdoor courts, including the center court stadium used for WTT events.
  Now preparing for their 20th season, the Lasers are one of the oldest 
teams in the WTT league, and Springfield, by far, is the smallest 
market in the 40-year-old tennis league. However, the Lasers play in 
front of big crowds--an average of more than 1,400 turned out for the 
first six home matches this season. The James Blake-Andy Roddick match 
drew more than 2,400 spectators.
  Harry and John Cooper and family continue to support the team as 
their biggest fans. The new Lasers' general manager, Paul Nahon, Jr., 
has worked on building a fan base with a growing demand for season 
tickets. Nahon has hinted at more innovations to grow that base for the 
upcoming 2015 season.
  The Springfield Lasers continue to make the State of Missouri proud 
with their success, and I wish them many more years of great tennis, 
growing and building the fan base for tennis in my hometown.

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