The San Diego Aviators were a World TeamTennis (WTT) team based in Carlsbad, California. The team played at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The Aviators, founded in 1995, were the oldest continuously operating franchise in WTT.
The team is the successor to two WTT franchises. The first was created in 1995, as the New York OTBzz, later renamed the Schenectady County Electrics and then the New York Buzz. The second was created in 2000, as the New York Hamptons, later renamed the New York Sportimes.
The team won the King Trophy as WTT champions three times: once playing as the New York Sportimes in 2005, once as the New York Buzz in 2008, and once as the San Diego Aviators in 2016. The three championships is the second most of any active WTT franchise behind the Washington Kastles, who have won six.
Team history The history of the San Diego Aviators begins with the 1995 WTT expansion franchise known as the New York OTBzz. The team's name was changed in 1999, to the Schenectady County Electrics and again in 2001, to the New York Buzz. The history of the Aviators also includes the 2000 WTT expansion franchise known as the New York Hamptons. That team's name was changed in 2003, to the New York Sportimes. In 2011, the Buzz and Sportimes merged with the combined team called the New York Sportimes. The combined team continued to utilize both of the former separate teams' home arenas and retained the rights to protect and retain players that had played for both formerly separate teams. In 2014, the Sportimes were sold to San Diego businessman Russell Geyser and his minority partner Jack McGrory who relocated the team and renamed it the San Diego Aviators.
New York Buzz
Early years as New York OTBzz
The New York OTBzz were founded by Nitty Singh as a WTT expansion franchise in 1995. The team was named pursuant to a sponsorship agreement with the Capital Region Off-Track Betting Corp. The OTBzz made their debut with a 23–21 overtime loss on the road against the Florida Twist at the Country Club of Sarasota Tennis Center in Sarasota, Florida on July 14, 1995. Their home debut the following day resulted in a victory against the Charlotte Express. The four primary players for the OTBzz during their first season were Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Roger Smith, Dave Randall and Rachel Jensen. Schultz-McCarty and Randall were the top-ranked mixed doubles team in WTT in 1995. The OTBzz finished their first regular season with 10 wins and 6 losses, second in the East Division, and lost 28–19 in the semifinals to the defending champion New Jersey Stars who went on to repeat as champions led by Martina Navratilova. Schultz-McCarthy was named WTT Female Rookie of the Year.
For their first 13 seasons (1995–2007), the OTBzz played most of their home matches outdoors at Central Park Tennis Stadium in Schenectady, New York. In instances where heavy rain was in the forecast making it impossible to play outdoors, and in the case of a power failure at Central Park Tennis Stadium before the opening match of the 2005 season, matches were occasionally moved indoors to Sportime Schenectady in Rotterdam, New York, just outside Schenectady or to the Tri-City Racquet Club in Latham, New York, a bit further away from Schenectady. Some matches featuring opposing teams with marquee players were scheduled to be played indoors. For the OTBzz's first season at Central Park Tennis Stadium, the team had to play all its matches in the daytime, because the stadium had no lights. The Schenectady Common Council had lights installed in the stadium allowing night matches to be played starting in 1996. No admission was charged to the OTBzz's home matches for their first three seasons. In 1998, the team started charging $7 for general admission tickets.
In 1996, Dave Randall was the only one of the OTBzz's four regular players from the successful 1995 team to return, and New York dropped off to a record of five wins and seven losses, fifth in WTT, and missed the playoffs. The OTBzz finished 1997, with five wins and nine losses, sixth in WTT, and again missed the playoffs.
First appearance in WTT Final In 1998, spurred on by the performances of male rookie of the year Geoff Grant, female rookie of the year Nana Miyagi and veteran Dave Randall, the OTBzz finished first in WTT with a regular season record of 11 wins and 3 losses. Mary Joe Fernández also appeared for the OTBzz during the regular season as a marquee player. After beating the St. Louis Aces, 28–18, in a semifinal match, the OTBzz faced the defending champion Sacramento Capitals in the team's first ever WTT Final. The OTBzz were routed by the Capitals, 30–13, losing all five sets. OTBzz coach Inderjit Singh (husband of team founder and owner Nitty Singh) was named WTT Coach of the Year. Singh retired following the season and was replaced by Gerry Cuva. Randall, the last player remaining on the team from its inaugural 1995 season, also retired at the end of 1998.
Name change to Schenectady County Electrics
Following the 1998 season, Capital District Off-Track Betting Corp. withdrew from its sponsorship agreement with the OTBzz, and the team changed its name to the Schenectady County Electrics for the 1999 season. The name of the team's location was changed from New York to Schenectady County in exchange for a subsidy approved by the Schenectady County legislature.
The Electrics drafted the legendary Martina Navratilova as their marquee player prior to the 1999 season. Navratilova committed to play two matches. After losing their first two matches of the 1999 season, the Electrics bounced back in the next two matches to even their record. Jana Novotná, then ranked number 4 in the world, was scheduled to play for the Electrics in their fifth match. However, she had to pull out with a left ankle injury and never ended up appearing in a match for the Electrics. Despite the presence of Navratilova, the Electrics finished with 5 wins and 7 losses, fourth in WTT and lost to the Sacramento Capitals in the semifinals.
The Electrics protected Navratilova for the 2000 season, and she was the only holdover player from the previous year. In the marquee player draft, the Electrics selected Mary Pierce, then ranked number 4 in the world, and Pierce committed to play at least three matches. In the roster draft, the Electrics selected Rita Grande, then the number 1 Italian player, Nannie DeVilliers, former WTT male rookie of the year Michael Hill and Brent Haygarth. The Electrics traded their own former male rookie of the year, Geoff Grant, to the Delaware Smash for cash consideration. The Electrics finished the season with 8 wins and 6 losses, second place in the Eastern Conference.
Name change to New York Buzz
Following the 2000 season, the Electrics were renamed the New York Buzz. The Buzz continued to retain the rights to Martina Navratilova, but for the second consecutive season, she was the only returning player. The new players selected by the Buzz in the roster draft were Mahesh Bhupathi (frequent mixed doubles partner of Navratilova), Justin Bower, Jana Nejedly (top ranked Canadian female at the time) and 1996 NCAA singles champion Jill Craybas. In May, Navratilova announced should would not be able to play for the Buzz in 2001, due to scheduling conflicts. In July, she signed with the Delaware Smash and played two matches with them filling in for Serena Williams. The Buzz finished the season with 9 wins and 5 losses, second in the Eastern Conference, just one match behind conference champion Philadelphia Freedoms.
Eastern Conference Championship Prior to the 2002 season, improvements were made to Central Park Tennis Stadium, and the venue was renamed Central Park MVP Stadium. The Buzz selected former world number 1 Lindsay Davenport (ranked number 9 at the time) as their marquee player replacing Navratilova. Mahesh Bhupathi and Nannie DeVilliers returned to the team. Justin Bower and Liezel Huber were added to the roster, and the Buzz had its best season to date winning the Eastern Conference championship with 11 wins and 3 losses, the best record in WTT. Bhupati was named WTT Male Most Valuable Player. Buzz coach Eric Kutner was named WTT Coach of the Year. Because she advanced deep into a WTA tournament, Davenport was not available for the WTT Final. In the second trip to the WTT Final for the Buzz franchise, they met the same opponent as in 1998, the Sacramento Capitals who defeated the Buzz, 21–13, for their fifth title in six years. Bhupathi was not available for the final, because he was playing in an ATP Tour doubles match that had been rained out the previous day.
Buzz falls on hard times Boris Becker was chosen by the Buzz in the 2003 marquee player draft. Nannie DeVilliers and Justin Bower returned from the 2002 Eastern Conference Champions. Don Johnson and Eva Dyrberg were the other newcomers. Jolene Watanabe was named the new coach of the Buzz becoming the first female coach in WTT history. The Buzz struggled in 2003, finishing the season with 4 wins and 10 losses.
Martina Navratilova returned to the Buzz for the 2004 season after a four-year absence when she was selected in the marquee player draft. Justin Bower was the only returning player from the previous season. Marissa Irvin, Bryanne Stewart and Shaun Rudman made up the rest of the team. The Buzz struggled again in 2004, posting only 5 wins against 9 losses and finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference.
In 2005, Jim Courier was selected by the Buzz as its marquee player. Bryanne Stewart was the only player returning from the previous season. Evie Dominikovic, Brian Vahaly and Jaymon Crabb were newcomers. For the second straight year, the Buzz finished with 5 wins and 9 losses. They were fifth in the Eastern Conference.
For the 2006 season, Central Park MVP Stadium was renamed CDPHP Tennis Complex pursuant to a sponsorship agreement with Capital District Physicians Health Plan. The Buzz decided not to draft a marquee player for the 2006 season, and none of their players from 2005 returned to the team. The players the Buzz selected in the roster draft were Viktoriya Kutuzova, Gastón Etlis, Scott Lipsky and Julie Ditty. Jolene Watanable continued coaching the team. Despite the completely new roster, the results were the same as the Buzz finished with 5 wins and 9 losses for the third consecutive season, last place in the Eastern Conference by virtue of the Boston Lobsters winning the standings tiebreaker.
Another Eastern Conference Championship The Buzz completely remade its roster again in 2007. For the second straight year, the team elected to pass on making a selection in the marquee player draft. Julie Ditty was traded to the Boston Lobsters. The Buzz selected 2005 WTT Rookie of the Year Rik de Voest in the first round of the roster draft and Ashley Fisher in the second round. In the third round, the Buzz traded down in exchange for cash consideration from the Newport Beach Breakers. The Breakers used the Buzz's number 2 pick to select Lauren Albanese while the Buzz used the Breakers' number 10 choice to take Gabriela Navrátilová. The Buzz drafted Gréta Arn in the fourth round. After four straight losing seasons, the Buzz finally turned its fortunes finishing with 8 wins and 6 losses tied for first place with the Philadelphia Freedoms in the highly competitive Eastern Conference. Only 2 match wins separated first place from last place in the conference. The Buzz won a standings tiebreaker over the Freedoms making it the top seed in the conference.