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Young teen easily dispatches state competitors

By NANCY MORGAN
Published August 2, 2006

Anthony Barrancotto hits the ball so hard it sometimes goes through the fence at Egan Park in St. Pete Beach.

Last month, the 13 year old powered past competitors in the North Florida Designated Tournament in Tallahassee to win the 14-and-under singles title.

"This is my first year in the 14s and to win felt really good," Barrancotto said. "I'd won designateds twice in the 10s but none in the 12s. "I'd played all my opponents before - and beaten them - except for the final. This time, though, I won."

Fifth-seeded Barrancotto beat Geojun Wu of Heathrow 6-3, 6-3 in his first-round match and blanked Ilya Kovalenko of Tallahassee 6-0, 6-0 in the next. Barrancotto dispatched Beauregard Treyz of Ponte Vedra Beach 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 16 and upset No. 4 Michael Alford of Tampa in a quarterfinal. Barrancotto advanced to the final after he eliminated No. 2 Jon Leonick of Shalimar in a third-set tiebreaker.

In the final with No. 3 Zach McCourt of Sunrise, Barrancotto played to a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

"I think one of the biggest reasons I played well was because of the surface," Barrancotto said. "My game is suited for hard court because of how I hit. I play aggressively and like to hit a flat first serve and a kick second. I'm more of an all-court player and really like to use the drop shot. Another thing that has really helped my game is hitting live balls."

Barrancotto, who considers his dad Jim his coach and sometimes hitting partner, relies on opportunities to hit with college players from Eckerd and Hillsborough Community College. He's also trained some with Sam Vuille at Isla Del Sol and with Jimmy Brown in Wesley Chapel. Now, though, the teenager believes getting the live ball experience benefits him most.

"He's got the ability and desire to go as far as he wants and be right there with the top players," said his dad, a former teaching professional and competitive player. "He's already been looking at top schools and whether he goes to college for a while or chooses to try the circuit, I don't know right now.

"What I do know is that we want to give him the opportunity to do what he has the ability and desire to do. We don't want to look back in 10 years and regret that we didn't help him in whatever way we could to work toward his goal."

Among Barrancotto's goals are to reach the top five in the boys 14, then compete in the 16 division. Ultimately, Barrancotto wants to play the pro circuit.

Having raised his ranking from No. 23 to No. 12 after the designated win in Tallahassee, it shouldn't take long to reach the top five. Next weekend, Barrancotto is entered in another designated in Jacksonville.

NET SHOTS: Florida's Intersectional Team finished second in the USTA Boys and Girls 16-and-under Team Championships held in Shreveport, La., last month.

Among the four girls and four boys competing were Alexander Cercone, Lindsay Dvorak and Joel Samaha. Local teaching professional Page Buck coached.

- Unseeded Danielle Collins in the girls 18 and under and No. 2 David Teytelbaum in the boys 12 upset the competition to win their respective singles divisions in last weekend's Tampa Bay Junior Championships at the Tampa Tennis Complex. Placing second were Julia Teytelbaum in the girls 14 and Garrett Betsarakis in boys 18. Ashley Hood won the girls 18 consolation.

- Royal Racquet Club clinched the local 8.0 adult mixed doubles league title with its 3-0 win over the Racquet Club of St. Petersburg last month. Royal posted a 6-2 record, McMullen was 5-3 and the Racquet Club 1-7. Royal advances to October's state tournament in Daytona Beach.

- A Prince Tennis Doubles League for men and women is slated to begin next month. Three doubles positions per team, men will play Wednesday evenings and women Friday mornings or Saturdays at 1 p.m. Ten playing levels range from those that include Division I players to 3.0-plus. Cost is $30 per player. For more details, call 813 289-7865 or go to www.princetennisleague.com.

REC WORKSHOP: The St. Petersburg Tennis Center is the host site for the 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 19 USTA Florida Recreational Coach Workshop. The workshop is one of more than 180 being held throughout the nation.

Teachers, coaches and anyone interested in recreational tennis are invited to attend this interactive, on-court training. Cost is $25 and includes registration, training materials, lesson plans, sample equipment and lunch.

To register, contact site director Julie Panton by phone (744-3699) or e-mail (julikens@verizon.net) or call SPTC (823-2225).

COMING UP: The Florida State Closed Mixed Doubles Championships are at Royal Racquet Club beginning Aug. 12. Call 799-3200. ...Hot, Hot, Hot Rookie Tournament for juniors is Aug. 12-13 at Southwest Complex in Largo. Call 518-3125 or 403-8588.

News for this column may be faxed to Nancy Morgan, 445-4119; e-mailed to namorgan@tampabay.rr.com or sent to 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. Please include phone number.

[Last modified August 1, 2006, 23:14:42]