A team of 14 tennis professionals from...

A team of 14 tennis professionals from the South Bay were national finalists last week at the U.S. Tennis Assn’s Open Team National Championships at Las Vegas.

The Redondo Beach Grinders finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, losing to a team from Phoenix, 2-1, in the championship match Sunday.

In the final, the Grinders split their two doubles matches and lost in singles. Mike Costigan (Redondo Beach) and Bennet Slusarz (Hermosa Beach) defeated Kevin Carbar and Jon Perran, 6-2, 6-4, and Kurt Kredel (Palos Verdes) and Paul Landry (Redondo Beach) lost to Joe Ragland and Dennis Schmidt, 6-2, 6-2. In singles, Jens Capp (Redondo Beach) lost to Joel Finnigan, 6-2, 6-3.

The tournament attracted teams from 12 regions of the United States. The Redondo Beach team, coached by Steve Hunt, qualified by winning the Southern California Sectional title.