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Letter to the editor

Juniors continue to play despite heat

By NANCY MORGAN, Times Sports Correspondent
Published August 15, 2007

The temperature reached the mid 90s this weekend, but that didn't keep juniors from the tennis courts.

Locally, more than 160 players competed in either a rookie singles tournament at the Southwest Complex in Largo or in a local-sanctioned contest at East Lake Woodlands. In both cases, the events provided opportunities for players to hone their tennis skills and earn standing points for ranking purposes.

USTA Florida, the state's governing body of tennis, has devised a series of tournaments from beginner level to advanced, and it awards points for matches won in order to determine rankings. The first on the road to competition are rookie tournaments, followed by local sanctioned, super series, designated and state closed.

Linda Kettell, tennis director at the Southwest Complex, hosted its Hot, Hot, Hot Rookie Tournament for nearly 60 players.

"Mostly, these players are kids that have taken lessons about a year and want to test their skills," Kettell said. "Ours run very smoothly, and in this type of tournament, the kids feel very little pressure. It's an education process for both the players and the parents. Helping parents understand things, like what a consolation draw is and that no coaching is allowed, are both part of the process."

Kettell was particularly proud of one of rookie competitor, Alex Jones, 12, of Southwest, who competed in her first contest and won the girls 12-and-under rookie division. Another was Eliana Schaaf's consolation win in the girls 10.

Other local finishes include winners Megan Lauser in the girls 14 and Julian Haerle in the boys 12; and finalists Caroline Templer girls 10, Kelley Walker (girls 14), Aaron Swartz (boys 10), Logan Elder (boys 12) and Peter Golomb (boys 16).

East Lake's tennis director Jake Bryan managed more than 100 juniors in the East Lake Summer Local Junior Tournament.

"At the local-sanctioned tournament level, the intensity level increases and there are more rules and more discipline compared to the rookie level, which is as it should be," Bryan said.

Among the players achieving champion awards were top-seed Yasmin Franco in the girls 12, Alexandra Kitchen (girls 14), Becky Bodine (girls 18) and Jason Shim (boys 14). Danielle Collins reached the girls 18 final round before falling to Bodine 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

This weekend, juniors may test their skills again in the Hunter's Green Rookie III Tournament (Call (813) 973-4220) or the Tampa Palms Junior Summertime Classic (Call (813) 632-1676) sanctioned contest.

LEAGUE NEWS: Countryside Country Club 3.0 men's team claimed the USTA Florida Adult League Championship last weekend and notched a spot in the USTA League National Championships this fall.

Other results include Countryside's 3.5 women's team finishing second to Pensacola. Countryside 2.5 women, Southwest 3.5 men and McMullen 4.5 men took third, and Seminole's 4.0 men's squad was fourth.

Joan Simmons and Maria Drew defended singles for the women's 4.5 state championship team from Tampa, which had a 4-0 record.

- The South County Pinellas Doubles League begins Sept. 19 for women's divisions and Sept. 28 for men's. Call Sam Vuille at 867-9105.

COMING UP: Royal Racquet Club hosts a Summer Designated Classic beginning Saturday for men's and women's open, 35-and-over, 45 and 55 age divisions. Call 799-3200. ... The SPTC Junior Super Series begins Aug. 25 at the St. Petersburg Tennis Center. Call 823-2225.

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 14, 2007, 22:17:59]