2014 San Diego Aviators season

On January 15, 2014, Claude Okin, CEO of the New York Sportimes announced that the franchise had been sold to businessman Russell Geyser and his minority partner Jack McGrory, and the team would be relocated to San Diego, California and renamed the San Diego Aviators. Okin said, "This is a bittersweet event for me personally. I am very glad to have found a motivated and able new owner for the franchise: a person who will be able to re-imagine it in another great tennis town—but I will miss my team."[2][3] Geyser said that the team's new name was chosen "to be evocative of San Diego’s long storied history of military and commercial aviation."[4]

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Aviators disclosed a private placement seeking equity financing in the amount of US$900,000. The team was expected to net $860,000 after a broker's commission paid to Sandlapper Securities.[5]

The Aviators' first move after relocating to San Diego was to hire David Macpherson as their coach.[6] Macpherson immediately set to work recruiting players to fill the Aviators' roster while he was in Melbourne coaching Bob and Mike Bryan at the 2014 Australian Open. Since Macperson was the Bryan Brothers' coach, there was little doubt he was persuading them to play in WTT in San Diego. It didn't take long for Macpherson to convince the Bryans. However, the Texas Wild had the right to protect and draft them. Within a few days, on January 23, 2014, the Aviators acquired the Bryan Brothers in a trade with the Wild in exchange for undisclosed financial consideration. After the trade, Mike Bryan said, "Growing up in California, we know that San Diego is a great tennis town and we are excited to play in front of the fans, family and friends." Bob Bryan added, "We have always loved playing Mylan World TeamTennis. The competition is very tough and every point is huge. It’s fast-paced and intense, and we love playing with that type of energy. We want to win for our city and our teammates. So we can’t wait for the Aviators' season to start."[7]

With the Sportimes finishing with WTT's worst record in 2013, the Aviators had the top pick in each round of both WTT drafts. With the first overall selection in the marquee player draft, the Aviators chose Bob and Mike Bryan whom they had protected as a doubles team. Thus, the identical twins simultaneously became the first players who could call themselves San Diego Aviators. With the first pick in the second round of the marquee player draft (ninth overall), the Aviators selected Daniela Hantuchová who committed to playing in WTT full-time for the 2014 season.[8] The Aviators protected Květa Peschke, making her the only holdover player from the 2013 Sportimes on the 2014 Aviators' roster. With the first pick in the first round of the roster player draft, the Aviators selected Somdev Devvarman. They used their second round choice for Raven Klaasen. With Hantuchová committed to playing full-time, the Aviators knew they did not need all four of their picks in the roster draft. They also knew they could wait until the fourth round to take Peschke whom they had protected. So, the Aviators traded their third round pick to the Springfield Lasers in exchange for the Lasers' fourth round pick and cash consideration. The Lasers used the pick they acquired from the Aviators to select Michael Russell. Russell went on to have the highest winning percentage in men's singles in WTT in 2014. He also won the opening set of men's singles in the Western Conference Championship Match against the Aviators and paired with Ross Hutchins to serve out the match against the Bryan Brothers and eliminate the Aviators. The Aviators used their fourth round pick (22nd overall) to draft Peschke and passed on the fourth round pick (27th overall) that they acquired in the trade with the Lasers, since their roster was full.[9]

The Aviators played their home matches during their first season in San Diego at the Valley View Casino Center.[10] The Aviators' inaugural match was a 23–11 home victory over the Austin Aces on July 7, 2014.[11] Somdev Devvarman opened the match with a 5–2 set win in men's singles over Andy Roddick. Vera Zvonareva beat Daniela Hantuchová, 5–3, in women's singles to cut the Aviators' lead to 8–7. Raven Klaasen and Květa Peschke followed with a 5–2 set win in mixed doubles over Roddick and Zvonareva to extend the Aviators' lead to 13–9. A 5–2 women's doubles set win by Hantuchová and Peschke over Eva Hrdinová and Zvonareva gave the Aviators an 18–11 lead heading to the final set. Devvarman and Klaasen dominated Roddick and Treat Huey, 5–0, in men's doubles to close out the match and give the Aviators a 23–11 victory.[12][13]

In their seventh match of the season, the Aviators faced a major test on the road against the three-time defending WTT Champion Washington Kastles who were riding an 18-match regular-season and playoff winning streak. The Aviators proved themselves up to the task by taking four of the five sets and handing the Kastles their first loss of the season, 22–18. The Aviators got set wins from Somdev Devvarman (5–4 in men's singles), Daniela Hantuchová and Květa Peschke (5–3 in women's doubles), Hantuchová (5–2 over Martina Hingis in women's singles) and Devvarman and Raven Klaasen (5–4 in men's doubles). The Aviators improved their record to 5 wins and 2 losses with the victory.[14][15]

In their 11th match of the season, the Aviators completed a six-match road trip against the Austin Aces with a victory to give themselves a record of 4 wins and 2 losses on the trip. With just three home matches remaining after this one, this victory was the start of a four-match winning streak with which the Aviators ended the regular season. The Aviators won four of the five sets in this match led by Somdev Devvarman (5–4 over Andy Roddick in men's singles), Devvarman and Raven Klaasen (5–4 in men's doubles), Daniela Hantuchová and Květa Peschke (5–2 in women's doubles) and Hantuchová (5–3 in women's singles).[16]

On July 20, the Aviators defeated the Springfield Lasers, 21–15, to improve their record to 8 wins and 4 losses. The Aviators got set wins from Květa Peschke and Daniela Hantuchová (5–3 in women's doubles), Mike Bryan and Peschke (5–4 in mixed doubles), Hantuchová (5–3 in women's singles) and Bob and Mike Bryan (5–0 in men's doubles).[17] Later that evening, the Aviators clinched a playoff berth and home-court advantage for the Western Conference Championship Match when the Austin Aces defeated the Texas Wild, 22–16.[18]

In their final regular-season match, the Aviators defeated the Austin Aces, 22–12, at Valley View Casino Center to give them the best regular-season record in WTT in 2014. The Aviators and Washington Kastles both finished the season with 10 wins and 4 losses, but the Aviators won the only regular-season meeting between the teams, giving them a tiebreaker edge.[19] The Aviators won four of the five sets in the match against the Aces and were led by Somdev Devvarman (5–0 in men's singles), Bob Bryan and Květa Peschke (5–2 in mixed doubles), Daniela Hantuchová (5–3 in women's singles) and Bob and Mike Bryan (5–2 in men's doubles).[20] The first-place finish gave the Aviators the opportunity to host their first playoff game for the Western Conference championship.

The Aviators met the defending Western Conference Champion Springfield Lasers at Valley View Casino Center for the Western Conference title on July 24, 2014. Michael Russell got the Lasers started by winning a tiebreaker in the men's singles set against Somdev Devvarman. Květa Peschke and Daniela Hantuchová answered for the Aviators with a tiebreaker win of their own in women's doubles over Olga Govortsova and Līga Dekmeijere to tie the match, 9–9. Bob Bryan and Peschke gave the Aviators a 14–12 lead in the match with a 5–3 set win over Ross Hutchins and Govortsova in mixed doubles. Govortsova dominated Hantuchová, 5–0, to give the Lasers a 17–14 lead heading to the final set. Russell and Hutchins took the men's doubles from Bob and Mike Bryan, 5–3, to secure a 22–17 victory for the Lasers and the Western Conference Championship.[21]

The Aviators acquired the rights to Bob and Mike Bryan in a trade with the Texas Wild in exchange for undisclosed financial consideration on January 23, 2014. This allowed the Aviators to protect and select the Bryan Brothers in the marquee player draft. The selections made[8] by the Aviators are shown in the table below.

Daniela Hantuchová committed to playing full-time for the Aviators for the 2014 season.

With Hantuchová committed to playing full-time, the Aviators knew they would not need all four of their draft choices. After making their first two selections, the third player they intended to pick was a protected player (Květa Peschke) which they could choose in the fourth round. This gave the Aviators a valuable third round draft pick which they could trade. The Springfield Lasers had their eyes on an unprotected player and were willing to deal for the Aviators' pick. The Aviators traded the first selection in the third round (15th overall) to the Lasers in exchange for the sixth selection in the fourth round (27th overall) and financial consideration. With the pick they acquired from the Aviators, the Lasers selected Michael Russell. The selections made[9] by the Aviators are shown in the table below.

Legend
Aviators Win	Aviators Loss
Home team in CAPS

Legend
Aviators Win	Aviators Loss
Home team in CAPS

Western Conference Championship Match

• David Macpherson, Coach
• Ashley Fisher, Assistant Coach
• Bob Bryan
• Mike Bryan
• Somdev Devvarman
• Daniela Hantuchová
• Raven Klaasen
• Květa Peschke

• Russell Geyser, Principal Owner
• Jack McGrory, Minority Owner[34]
• Fred Luddy, Minority Owner[35]
• Billy Berger, CEO[36]
• Shelly Hall, General Manager[37]