Northpinellas: Yogus starts to see tournament success

"I know that without their support and guidance, and without my living with them since I was about 6, I would not be playing tennis today," Yogus said. "They continue to support me and I really appreciate all that they have done for me."

When her parents divorced, Yogus began living with her father's parents near Shipwatch Tennis Club. While walking around the area and watching tennis, Yogus became intrigued.

"It looked like fun and they signed me up for a Pee Wee class," Yogus said. "From the first time I hit the ball, I really liked it."

Michael Fallon, then the teaching professional at Shipwatch, taught Yogus for 10 years until she turned to Carl Gavine at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort last summer.

"Amanda has natural power for such a slightly built girl," Gavine said, "and she hits incredibly hard. We've been working on getting her to be more of an all-court player and to take advantage of the short balls she gets as a result of her big strokes.

"She's been having some good results in her tournaments, which shows the degree of her improvement."

Yogus recently competed in her first national tournament in New Orleans, and even though she felt ill from the time she arrived, her results were impressive.

Following her first-round win, Yogus upset the No. 9 seed and extended the No. 4 seed to three sets before losing.

"I think my best strength is my anticipation of the ball," Yogus said. "Michael Fallon saw that in me early in my training with him and I've continued to take advantage of that ability.

"I'm also pretty fast, agile and flexible, so I can move around the court pretty well."

Last weekend, Yogus followed up her singles win at the Sarmiento's Annual Championships in St. Petersburg with a runner-up finish at the Clearwater Spring Classic.

"I hope to be able to play well enough to earn a tennis scholarship to college," Yogus said. "It would also be a dream to turn pro. At some point, I would like to work in sports medicine."

While preparing for her future, Yogus also competes as the No. 1 singles player at Seminole High, where she is 9-1 this season.

NET SHOTS: More than 120 players competed in the state-sanctioned Clearwater Spring Classic last weekend at McMullen Tennis Center. Top area finishers included Danielle Collins (girls 10 champ) and Philip Barlow and Zev Mandelker, the boys 16 and 10 winners, respectively. Among the area finalists were Nicole Mera (girls 12), Ashley Hungerford (14), Yogus (16) and Austin Kondor (boys 12). Semifinalists were Jamie Mera (girls 16), Nicola Wellman (12) and Ryan Buchanan (boys 18).

In last month's Sarmiento's Annual Championships in St. Petersburg, Yogus, Barlow and Collins defended their top seedings in their respective divisions. Kondor was a boys 12 finalist along with Stephen Segura in the boys 18.

This week, Charles Irizarry of Clearwater is in Palm Beach competing in the Florida Open 2003. Irizarry is No. 6 in the wheelchair B singles division and will play doubles with David Mayo of Pensacola.

With two weeks of matches remaining in the Pinellas Area Doubles League, Royal Racquet II owns a three-point lead over Vinoy I with 94 points, although Vinoy I has yet to receive its bye week. Bardmoor III has 86 points and a one-point edge over Racquet Club I and Seminole Lakes. There's a three-way tie at 79 among Belleair, Countryside I and Phil Green Tennis Academy II. Close behind are Countryside II and Treasure Island I, deadlocked at 77.

ADULT LEAGUE UPDATE: In the fourth week of the women's local USA Adult League Tennis, the Renaissance Vinoy 3.0 team, with Jayma Main as its captain, stretched its lead to 4-0 with a 4-1 win over Crescent Oaks. Feather Sound Country Club and McMullen both posted 3-2 wins. Among the division's eight teams, the Vinoy is the only one that's undefeated.

Feather Sound and captain Kari Kiewatt scored a 5-0 victory over the Vinoy to improve its record to 3-0 in the 3.5 Shot Makers division. Feather Sound is the lone unbeaten team in the seven-team division.

In other women's action, Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club is 3-0 and McMullen is 2-0 in the 3.5 Tie Breakers division. Phil Green Tennis Academy is 4-0 and the Racquet Club of St. Petersburg is 3-0 in the 4.0 division. McMullen is unbeaten among three teams in the 4.5.

In men's competition, Treasure Bay beat the Vinoy 5-0 to improve to 4-0 in the 3.5 South division while the Racquet Club beat Bardmoor 4-1 to improve to 3-1. Shipwatch Tennis Club took the lead in the 3.5 Central division while Countryside and East Lake are tied in the 3.5 North division.

Seminole Lakes (Red McGarry's team) leads the 4.0 Blue flight with a 3-0 record and Seminole Lakes (Dan Callahan's team) is first in the 4.0 Red flight with a 3-0 record. Seminole III, also with McGarry as captain, is 2-1 after a 5-0 loss to Seminole (Callahan's team) in the Red flight.

The Racquet Club has a narrow lead in the five-team 4.5 division.

MIXED DOUBLES TEAM CLASSIC: In the 14-team main draw of the Fourth Annual Mixed Doubles Team Classic, the Seminole Lake-based All Family Injury and Wellness team defeated East Lake's Costanza Homes squad 24-17. Winning team members included: Lindsay Dvorak and Marq Foster (A); captain Lynn Lion and Nik Sukhasam (B); and Lisa Moyers and Joel Dean (C).

In the consolation championship, McMullen's Clearwater Beach.com edged Carrollwood's Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance 23-22. Winners were: Janet Eschenroeder and Isaac Vicente (A); Patti Barfield and John McGee (B); and Maria Pezzuti and captain Jim Dunne (C).

COMING UP: The F.A.J. Super Series begins Saturday for juniors at the Cheval Golf and Country Club. Call (813) 948-2282. ... The Suncoast Tennis Foundation Rookie Grand Circuit finale is this weekend at the Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club. Call 391-2205. ... The East Lake Junior Rookie I is April 12-13 at East Lake Woodlands. The state-sanctioned clay-court event includes a consolation draw for players 18-and-under. Call 785-2212 by April 9.

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