# 1974 New York Sets season

The 1974 New York Sets season was the inaugural season for the franchise in World Team Tennis (WTT). The team had 15 wins and 29 losses and finished in last place in the Atlantic Section.

## Season Recap

The Sets were founded as a charter franchise in World Team Tennis by Jerry Saperstein, son of Harlem Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein. During the inaugural season, Saperstein sold the team to New York businessman Sol Berg.
On May 7, 1974, the Sets played their inaugural match on their home court at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the hamlet of Uniondale in the town of Hempstead, New York against the Hawaii Leis. The Sets drew 4,999 fans for their opening match. Under rules used only during the first few weeks of the season, the match comprised two sets of women's singles, two sets of men's singles and two sets of mixed doubles. No men's or women's doubles were played. WTT changed the match format on May 18, 1974, to one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. Pam Teeguarden lost the opening set of women's singles for the Sets, 6–4, to Valerie Ziegenfuss. The Leis went on to win four of the six sets and take the match, 29–25.
After opening the season with two losses at home, the Sets got their first victory in franchise history on the road beating the Cleveland Nets, 31–30, on May 12. Following the win over the Nets, the Sets lost 10 straight matches to fall to 1–12. They followed this with five wins in the next six matches to improve to 6–13. From there, the Sets lost seven of the next 10 matches and fell to 9–20. After winning three out of five matches, the Sets lost three straight to drop to 12–25 and assured themselves of a losing season. A three-match winning streak, tying their longest of the season, brought the Sets to 15–25. However, the Sets finished the season by losing four straight and cemented their position in last place in the Atlantic Section.

## Match log

Reference:
    Legend Sets Win Sets Loss Home team in CAPS
| Match | Date | Result | Record |
| 1 | May 7 | Hawaii Leis 29, NEW YORK SETS 25 | 0-1 |
| 2 | May 9 | Pittsburgh Triangles 28, NEW YORK SETS 23 | 0-2 |
| 3 | May 12 | New York Sets 31, CLEVELAND NETS 30 | 1-2 |
| 4 | May 15 | Toronto-Buffalo Royals 33, NEW YORK SETS 32 | 1-3 |
| 5 | May 17 | Boston Lobsters 31, NEW YORK SETS 28 | 1-4 |
| 6 | May 20 | Baltimore Banners 24, NEW YORK SETS 23 | 1-5 |
| 7 | May 22 | Minnesota Buckskins 25, NEW YORK SETS 17 | 1-6 |
| 8 | May 24 | Houston E-Z Riders 32, NEW YORK SETS 23 | 1-7 |
| 9 | May 25 | PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS 30, New York Sets 16 | 1-8 |
| 10 | May 28 | Los Angeles Strings 30, NEW YORK SETS 20 | 1-9 |
| 11 | May 29 | DENVER RACQUETS 28, New York Sets 18 | 1-10 |
| 12 | May 31 | SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATERS 27, New York Sets 19 | 1-11 |
| 13 | June 1 | LOS ANGELES STRINGS 29, New York Sets 25 | 1-12 |
| 14 | June 3 | NEW YORK SETS 27, Detroit Loves 26 | 2-12 |
| 15 | June 5 | NEW YORK SETS 24, Denver Racquets 21 | 3-12 |
| 16 | June 8 | BALTIMORE BANNERS 31, New York Sets 23 | 3-13 |
| 17 | June 10 | NEW YORK SETS 29, Baltimore Banners 27 | 4-13 |
| 18 | June 13 | NEW YORK SETS 26, Chicago Aces 23 | 5-13 |
| 19 | June 15 | New York Sets 24, BALTIMORE BANNERS 21 | 6-13 |
| 20 | June 16 | CLEVELAND NETS 31, New York Sets 17 | 6-14 |
| 21 | July 7 | BOSTON LOBSTERS 25, New York Sets 21 | 6-15 |
| 22 | July 8 | New York Sets 28, DETROIT LOVES 27 | 7-15 |
| 23 | July 9 | Cleveland Nets 32, NEW YORK SETS 19 | 7-16 |
| 24 | July 11 | NEW YORK SETS 23, Toronto-Buffalo Royals 21 | 8-16 |
| 25 | July 13 | MINNESOTA BUCKSKINS 26, New York Sets 25 | 8-17 |
| 26 | July 16 | Boston Lobsters 22, NEW YORK SETS 18 | 8-18 |
| 27 | July 18 | NEW YORK SETS 28, Florida Flamingos 22 | 9-18 |
| 28 | July 21 | PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES 28, New York Sets 27 | 9-19 |
| 29 | July 22 | PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS 30, New York Sets 10 | 9-20 |
| 30 | July 23 | NEW YORK SETS 26, San Francisco Golden Gaters 23 | 10-20 |
| 31 | July 26 | Philadelphia Freedoms 28, NEW YORK SETS 20 | 10-21 |
| 32 | July 29 | New York Sets 28, TORONTO-BUFFALO ROYALS 26 | 11-21 |
| 33 | July 30 | DETROIT LOVES 27, New York Sets 22 | 11-22 |
| 34 | July 31 | NEW YORK SETS 27, Cleveland Nets 25 | 12-22 |
| 35 | August 1 | HOUSTON E-Z RIDERS 30, New York Sets 19 | 12-23 |
| 36 | August 2 | CHICAGO ACES 25, New York Sets 20 | 12-24 |
| 37 | August 4 | HAWAII LEIS 22, New York Sets 21 | 12-25 |
| 38 | August 7 | NEW YORK SETS 29, Detroit Loves 24 | 13-25 |
| 39 | August 10 | New York Sets 28, FLORIDA FLAMINGOS 13 | 14-25 |
| 40 | August 11 | New York Sets 28, BOSTON LOBSTERS 22 | 15-25 |
| 41 | August 12 | TORONTO-BUFFALO ROYALS 27, New York Sets 25 | 15-26 |
| 42 | August 13 | Pittsburgh Triangles 25, NEW YORK SETS 22 | 15-27 |
| 43 | August 16 | Philadelphia Freedoms 25, NEW YORK SETS 24 | 15-28 |
| 44 | August 18 | PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES 32, New York Sets 19 | 15-29 |

## Team roster

Reference:
* Manuel Santana, Player-Coach
* Fiorella Bonicelli
* Carole Caldwell Graebner
* Ceci Martinez
* Sandy Mayer
* Charlie Owens
* Niki Pilić
* Gene Scott
* Pam Teeguarden
* Virginia Wade
* Sharon Walsh