'Tis the season to take a look back

By NANCY MORGAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 27, 2000

Here are some of the year's highlights among juniors and adults.

JUNIORS: Nearly 20 players took on national, state and local tournament competitions.

Qualifying for national events among the boys were Sukhwa Young, Ryler DeHeart and Dillon Brozyna in the 16-and-under age division, and Yuichi Uda and Evan Dufaux in the class for 14-year-olds.

Girls included Kelly McCain (18), Cristina Lucin (16) and Brianna Williams and Stacia Fonseca (14).

Young reached the round of 16 in the national hard courts. Fonseca was fourth in the clay court nationals and made the round of 16 in the hard courts. Uda advanced to the round of 32 in the hard court competition, as did McCain.

Second-seeded Young won the Bush Florida Open Championship beating the top seed in the final.

Ashley Harkleroad, McCain, Fonseca, Young, Brozyna and Shaun Kraft entered the annual East Bowl Junior International Championships.

Sixth-seeded Harkelroad won the division for 18-year-olds, Young advanced to the quarterfinal round in the class for players 16, and McCain reached the girls 18 round of 16.

Harkelroad represented the U.S. in the 11th Connolly Continental Cup international team competition. The U.S. captured its first title since 1984.

Fonseca and Young were state champions in their respective singles divisions.

Other state finishes included Laura Goia (12), third; Jamie Mera (10), among the top eight; Miranda Gutierrez (14), consolation semifinalist; Uda (14), fourth; and Dax Hankerson (18), in the top eight.

Achieving top doubles rankings in the state were Brandon Wagner and Dan Friedman (18), DeHeart and Jason Cordova (16), Fonseca and Becky Gordon (14) and Dufaux and Konstantin Lazarov (14).

Goran Dragicevic won more than six state-sanctioned singles tournaments, an open men's event and a state-designated competition since the native Bosnian arrived in New Port Richey this year.

ADULTS: Longtime teaching professional William "Pro" Lufler celebrated his 91st birthday in February.

Lufler's teaching spans 60 years and includes private clubs, colleges and organizations.

The well-known professional has been recognized by the USTA, University of Miami Hall of Fame and Tennis Coaches National Collegiate Hall of Fame for his contributions to the development of tennis.

Jose Campos, teaching professional at Cheval Country Club, won the men's 30-and-over state singles championship and played with Christine Mott to capture the USTA National Indoor Mixed Doubles Championship.

Phyllis Gary and Joan Holland won the women's 65-69 doubles at the Florida Senior Games and are eligible to compete in the National Senior Games in July in Baton Rouge, La.

Ria Graham continued to add singles championships to her resume in the 55-and-older and the 60s divisions -- first in St. Petersburg, then in Venice.

Bob Graham, 85, Ria's brother-in-law, entered his first competition and finished second.

Retired high school teacher Margaret Groth captained the Spring Alley Cats, who won the Nature Coast Daylight League team title after three seasons.

Edward Wilson and Steve Ullrich were among 30 USTA referees selected from Florida to officiate this year's U.S. Open Championships in New York.

Teachers Pam Scott, Marie Maguire and Jim Smith combined efforts and expertise to offer tennis in the middle schools.

Kathy Greaves and Betty McIntyre were finalists in K-Swiss 7.5 women's doubles.

Kelly O'Keefe won the 4.5-minus singles play in the Hillsborough County division of the K-Swiss league.

Through the Zephyrhills Tennis Association's leadership of Barry Roades as president, Barry Herscovitch vice-president, Dot Worrell treasurer and Josephine Cerny secretary, the community tennis organization has reclaimed its prominence in the area.

Free summer camps for kids were offered, and a variety of monthly round-robin tennis socials were held.

Among some of the round robin winners were Roades and Mona Vieregg in mixed, Anna Vu and Lani Prilliman, Chris Skinner and John Thai in men's doubles, Roy Nyren and Warren Gray in senior men's doubles and Danny Cuizon in singles.

Karen Herscovitch was selected twice as one of the round robin's most valuable partners, along with Gary Goodwin and Peter Burgoyne.

USTA LEAGUES: County players participated in adult and senior mixed doubles leagues, adult and senior men's and women's doubles leagues and super senior men's and women's super seniors doubles leagues with teams from Pinellas and Hernando counties.

Local winners included the women's 3.5 division in the adult and senior leagues and the senior men in the 3.5 north division.

The super senior men's team placed second behind Tmber Pines Tennis Club.

COUNTY LEAGUES: Seven Springs Middle School physical education teacher Lori Jorgenson won two sessions of the Pasco County Parks and Recreation Department singles leagues.

Winning county singles league titles were Melinda Prevatt and David Katcher.

Dale Thelan won three sessions, as well as the open singles tournament.

Marge and John Kuhn took two sessions of the mixed doubles and were joined by Joanne Baker and Bob Allen in mixed, Kuhn and John Hutchinson in men's, and Eileen Locke and Hope Smith in women's doubles.

Baker paired with George Oullis to win a mixed doubles tournament. Ken Lampman won a singles competition.

WEEKLY LEAGUES: Pasco players teamed with Pinellas competitors and won Innisbrook's fourth Satellite Ladies Doubles League championship in five seasons.

The team entered the league in 1996 and has won each year, excluding 1998 when it finished fourth.

Innisbrook's players continued to be ranked among the top half of the 24-team Pinellas Area Doubles League for women.

CHARITY BENEFITS: The eighth annual Pasco County Medical Society Tennis Classic, spearheaded by Lynn Goldman, had 160 players and netted $50,000 for the Good Samaritan free clinic.

Maureen and Ron Sternberg won the 6.5 mixed doubles title in the seventh annual Humane Society Tournament.

Maureen teamed with Debbie McGinley to capture the 3.5 women's doubles in the eighth annual Frenchy's Gumbo Tennis Classic.

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