The Lawn & Tennis men's 4.0 team won the North Carolina USTA League State Championship Saturday afternoon.

The team defeated a squad from Greensboro, 3-2 to advance to the Southern Sectional Tournament on July 25 to Aug. 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

The Lawn and Tennis team was the only team from Moore County to advance to the Southern Sectional tournament.

More than 100 teams participated in the 2009 North Carolina USTA League Adult State Championships held this past weekend in Moore County. Matches were played at 15 sites throughout the Sandhills with 10 teams advanced to the Southern Sectionals.

Twelve 4.0 teams from across North Carolina competed in the state tournament. They were divided into two groups. The winners of each group played for the right to advance to the Sectional.

The Lawn and Tennis team finished 4-1 in group play and advanced to the final match by winning a tiebreaker.

Facing an unbeated team from Greensboro in the final, the Lawn & Tennis squad earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Page Pratt and Daniel Hall won their singles matches and Chad Esposito and Phil Miller secured the trip to Birmingham with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles.

Captain Alan Terry attributed his team's success to talent and depth.

"We have a nice nice blend of youth and experience and we get along real well," Terry said. "To win this thing you have to have some guys who are outstanding, but to get there you consistently have to have great contributitons from everybody."

Terry said the key to winning in Birminham is simple.

"Obviously the competition is going to be pretty significant," he said.

"What it comes down to is, who from your team is going to be able to go. The team that shows up with the most of their key players will win the tournament."

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.