4/30/2007

A bunch of serious players went to Virginia Beach Tennis and Country Club to compete in the Virginia Beach Tennis Patrons Association's Level 5 Satellite No. 1 from April 20-22.

The Peninsula area boasted a bunch of good finishes, including runner-up efforts by Claire Spencer of Newport News (girls 12s), Clare Spooner of Williamsburg (girls 18s) and Chiraag Shetty of Yorktown (boys 14s).

Sarah Haase of Yorktown got to the semis in girls 18s.

It's no coincidence: Many of the names you see in these results are the ones you'll see near the top of the local VHSL tournaments this spring.

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournamen...s.aspx?T=54046

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Looking for the next generation of young tennis stars on the Peninsula? Many of them could be found at the Level 3 Salisbury Country Club Training Center Classic in Midlothian from April 13-15.

Dennis Afanasev of Williamsburg, as tough a 10-and-under as you'll find around these parts, was a semifinalist in his division.

Also competing were Joshua Carnohan of New Kent County and Williamsburg players Tonya Malyarenko, Kurt Mittmann and Maxim Paskalutsa.

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Chris Jeter, a young Heritage High player, earned a first-round victory Saturday in the Mid-Atlantic Section boys 14-and-under Challenger at Centre Court Racquet Club. He beat Blake Culver 6-3, 6-2 before falling 6-0, 6-0 in the round of 32 to Benjamin Davies.

Tanner Baine of Virginia Beach was the highest finisher from Hampton Roads, reaching the round of 16.

Ankit Gupta (Suffolk), Chiraag Shetty (Yorktown), Zach Braig (Williamsburg) and Harrison Suttle (Newport

News) got valuable experience but lost their first match in a tournament without a consolation bracket.

Monday morning's semis will feature Alex Sidney against Edwin Zhang and top-seeded Jason Luu against Michael Katz.

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Maureen Slattery of Newport News finished as runner-up in girls 14-and-under in the April 13-15 Raintree Training Center Classic on hard courts in Richmond's West End. It was the best performance by a Peninsula player in a tournament that attracted 188 players to boys and girls 18s, 16s and 14s.

Slattery was unseeded, but she beat four opponents, including a pair of seeds, to reach the final. It took second-seeded Christina Harrington to end her run, 6-4, 6-1.

Shelby Harris of Newport News and Hampton Roads Academy reached the semis, beating three opponents in dominant fashion before losing 6-3, 6-4 to Harrington.

Slattery ousted No. 3 Saida Bennou 6-3, 7-5, then topped No. 8 Brittany Pilkington of Virginia Beach 6-4, 6-1 and Alexandra Baer 6-0, 6-4 in a semifinal.

Among the quarterfinalists: Jacob Braig of Williamsburg (boys 18s), Casey Dashiell from Norfolk Collegiate (girls 18s) and Jenny Astbury of Chesapeake (girls 18s), who beat Lafayette High standout Tori Ford of Williamsburg along the way. Christopher Ford and Zachary Braig, both of Williamsburg, got to the round of 16 in boys 14s.

BY SONNY DEARTH, 3/31/07

To you, I say: Enjoy this college prime time. It can't last forever. And except for the NCAAs, the season will be over by month's end.

As I was trying to get some exercise with a light run Friday afternoon, I realized that the state of college tennis in the state -- the Commonwealth, if you want to be technical about it -- maybe never has been better.

I'll itemize this stuff, and forgive me if I forget somebody.

MEN

U.Va. is ranked second in the nation to Georgia despite losing a pair of big-time players, Californians Doug Stewart and Rylan Rizza. Somdev Devvarman was the runner-up in NCAA singles last season, and he's ranked No. 2 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. If anyone can break the streak of four different Germans winning the NCAA singles -- one of the more interesting streaks in college sports --- this Indian could.

Old Dominion seems to be ranked an all-time best each week now. Right now the number is 18, three spots ahead of Duke. DUKE!

Harel Srugo, Henrique Cancado, Sasha Seleznev and Eidy Igarashi comprise a formidable top four, and the Monarchs have made themselves a York County fan club by starting Yakov Diskin at No. 6. If he can beat some of their top-notch rivals' guys down there, that would be quite a bonus.

Even without him and Rodrigo Souza winning, the Monarchs registered their first victory in memory over a Paul Kostin-coached VCU team a week or so ago. ...

And, speaking of VCU, the Rams are ranked 31st. This isn't Kostin's best team, by any means, but it's a pretty good one -- and it's probably headed to the NCAA tournament. It's still strange to see slugger Petr Olsak playing ahead of Arnaud Lecloerec, who has more finesse.

William and Mary, at No. 36, might not be exceeding coach Peter Daub's expectations -- but the Tribe certainly has gone beyond mine. I figured the Green and Gold would be lucky to crack the top 55 or 60 with such a young lineup, but Colin O'Brien and Alex Cojanu have been excellent. And freshman Keziel Juneau is racking up points like fellow Canadian Sidney Crosby.

Virginia Tech, coached by Jim Thompson, a guy who grew up in the Blacksburg "suburb" of Marion, is a solid 39th. A few more ACC wins, such as Friday's 6-1 whipping of No. 46 Georgia Tech in Blacksburg, and the Hokies will be in the field of 64. (Full disclosure:

Jim, I and GT coach Kenny Thorne grew up playing junior tennis together in the Richmond area, so I follow those teams pretty closely.)

If you lost count, that's five Virginia teams in the top 40. Not bad, huh? And we're not done yet ...

Radford is a Big South title contender, with Zach Watson of Basye -- the late Don Watson's nephew -- at the 6 spot. The Highlanders' top two are Hong Kong Davis Cupper Martin Sayer and James Lloyd, John Lloyd's nephew.

Virginia Wesleyan has its best team ever. The Marlins took nationally ranked Washington and Lee to a 6-3 match, winning a pair of doubles matches, and Eric Caudill and Jeff Zenisek are playing like they'll be in the VWC record book for a long time.

Christopher Newport, the team I know the most about, is trying to repeat as USA South champion and will have an interesting match at home against Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday. A 5-4 victory Friday over Averett, with Eddie Glidewell and John Mook winning at the top two spots over tough opponents from Lima, Peru, gave Rush Cole's Captains a serious boost.

Thanks to the new rules of Division III, a USA South tournament title this year would bring the Captains their first NCAA tournament berth. Methodist and Averett are the only serious obstacles to that goal.

Last I checked, Mary Washington is ranked ninth in Division III, and Washington and Lee is 17th. These teams figures to be going "Dancing" for sure. Credit Jason Dunn of Hampton with helping that UMW lineup.

WOMEN

Did you really expect William and Mary, with all of those freshmen, to beat then-No. 1 Georgia Tech? Not me. But the Tribe has been rocking all season, with its only loss coming to current No. 29 Colorado in Boulder, and is now at No. 12.

Friday's home match against No. 10 Northwestern, which I can't wait to see, should tell us a lot. A victory would help the Tribe gain a host role for the NCAA first and second round ... if those folks will cover up those feathers. (But the NCAA's picayune policies are a topic for another day.)

How good are Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic in doubles? Oh, they're only No. 1 in the country right now in doubles. Like I said, enjoy 'em while they're here.

VCU's at No. 30 -- much like the men, pretty good but not as tough as last season. Two matches with W&M will tell you how good the Rams are. We know they're tall

-- they look like a volleyball team more than a tennis squad.

Virginia's at No. 49, maybe with a chance to return to the NCAA tournament. For the sake of Williamsburg's Caroline Hammond -- a fantastic leader, gutsy 5-6 player and the team's only senior -- we'd love to see an at-large bid. But the Cavaliers had better bring their A-game in the ultra-tough ACC every day.

Virginia Tech's at No. 70, with Ashley James of Williamsburg anchoring that lineup with her steadiness and maturity. The Jamestown High alumna, like her dad, Kent, is a captain of a Virginia Tech tennis team.

Their friend Shirley Williams of Williamsburg wonders if such a thing has ever occurred before, and it seems rather unlikely.

Christopher Newport, by virtue of beating Methodist

5-4 Saturday before a delighted crowd, is 15-0 and has a great opportunity to be 21-0 heading into a presumable USA South tournament final in Burlington, N.C., on April 15. That probably will be a rematch with Methodist, which CNU beat in the final a year ago.

Frannie Shivar, who calls her transfer from Radford to her hometown CNU "the best thing I've ever done," is playing a great No. 3. Lindsey Pantele (Mills Godwin) and Stefanie Leblang (Menchville) have had excellent years, except for singles losses to Methodist, and want to atone for those.

Virginia Wesleyan's addition of freshman No. 1 Imee Bautista to an already formidable team featuring Lisa Fanney has worked out wonderfully. Bringing in Bautista, whose intensity was unmatched in Cox High's drive to two consecutive state Group AAA championships, brings the Marlins to another level.

Problem: 2006 national runner-up Washington and Lee is in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, same as VWC.

A conference title is out of the possibility, but a memorable season isn't.

So there you go. I've been meaning to do this for weeks. See you on the courts.

You may have seen the feature on Robert Screen's 1,000th collegiate coaching victory in Sunday's Daily Press. My next TENNIS BLOG installment will detail some memories Screen relayed to me Saturday during one of Hampton University's many romps over an outmatched rival.

January 23, 2007

Two of Newport News' brightest young tennis talents, Shelby Harris and Maureen Slattery, reached the main-draw quarterfinals and were unbeaten in the back draw of Mid-Atlantic Section girls 12-and-under Championship No. 1 last weekend in Maryland.

Each won four of five matches to, in effect, tie for fifth at the indoor hard-court tournament in the Tennis Center at College Park.

Harris beat Natalie Macdisi of Virginia Beach 6-4, 6-0 and ousted No. 4 seed Monet Graves of Washington 7-5,

6-3 before falling 6-3, 7-5 to No. 7 seed Abbie Pahz of Midlothian.

In the feed-in consolation, Harris topped No. 6 seed Gabriela Srodowski of California, Md., before beating Macdisi again, 6-1, 6-2.

Slattery beat No. 8 seed Elizabeth Stewart of Oakton

7-6 (7-5), 6-2 and Megan Hahn of Rockville, Md., 6-2,

6-1 before losing to No. 3 Laila Judeh of Potomac, Md., 6-2, 6-3.

In the back draw, Slattery topped Alexandra Baer of Virginia Beach 6-3, 6-2 and Stewart 6-3, 6-4.

Maureen Slattery of Newport News began her year in remarkable fashion, winning the 49-player Mid-Atlantic Section Challenger No. 1 for girls 12-and-under players at Mount Vernon Health and Racquet Club in Alexandria.

Seeded 10th, Slattery won 10 consecutive sets. She defeated No. 6 Abbie Pahz of Midlothian 6-4, 6-0 in a semifinal and No. 1 Laila Judeh of Potomac, Md., 6-1,

6-1 for the championship.

Slattery stood 19th in the final list for 2006 in the Mid-Atlantic Section, which encompasses Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and part of West Virginia.

The triumphs over Pahz and Judeh, who stand 14th and eighth, respectively, will elevate her on the next list.

BY SONNY DEARTH

sdearth@dailypress.com | 247-4640

Almost 200 young players will be in the area for the Peninsula Tennis Patrons Association Thanksgiving Classic this weekend, and the eight top seeds include two from Newport News.

Ian Sipe, who won the 12-and-under championship in this tournament two years ago, is the top seed in the boys 14-and-under group. Shelby Harris, last year’s runner-up in girls 12s, is the No. 1 seed this year in that group.

Tournament director Doug Post upgraded the indoor hard-court event last year from a Level 5 to a Level 3, attracting more players from not only southeastern Virginia but also from other parts of the Mid-Atlantic Section, which includes all of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., plus part of West Virginia. Some of the players decided to come in the nick of time.

"Most of the kids wait till the last minute," Post said of last Saturday’s entry deadline. "Ten to 12 of the people I entered were after 5 o’clock."

This event has been a staple of Centre Court Racquet Club’s schedule for about 30 years. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving weekend if Centre Court weren’t full. But after the rise to Level 3, just two notches below the peak of sectional competition, Post booked courts at William and Mary’s McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center to ease scheduling concerns.

Play will be contested Friday through Sunday at Centre Court, and Friday and Saturday at McCormack-Nagelsen.

All eight finals are Sunday at Centre Court.

"Last year we only had one day at McCormack, and we went late at Centre Court," Post said. "At least we’ll get home at a decent hour."

Perhaps Friday’s most anticipated match is at 2:30 p.m. at M-NTC. It pits reigning Peninsula District champion Tonique Merrell, a Heritage High junior who has won several tournaments this year, against 16s top seed Ben Fass of Baltimore.

Eastern Region girls champion Shannon Rogers of Virginia Beach’s Cox High, who recently signed with the University of Southern Mississippi, is a contender in 18s.

Some area players aren’t in this event because they are playing National Open events, such as Newport News’ Maureen Slattery in girls 12s in Queens, N.Y.

SEEDED PLAYERS

Boys 18s: 1. Philip Parrish; 2. David Lupinetti; 3.

Adi Shetty (Yorktown); 4. Casey Fashouer; 5. Bryce Parrish.

Boys 16s: 1. Ben Fass; 2. Ian Fraser; 3. Kevin Calhoun; 4. Cliff Reynolds; 5. Matthew Lichtenstein; 6. Douglas Gallagher; 7. Alexander Britcliffe; 8.

George Branche.

Boys 14s: 1. Ian Sipe (Newport News); 2. Patrick O’Keefe; 3. Louis Malfait; 4. Sammy Schwartz; 5.

Abdoulaye Camara; 6. Max Schnur; 7. Matt Waddell; 8.

Jay Soni.

Boys 12s: 1. Harrison O’Keefe; 2. Chiraag Shetty (Yorktown); 3. Tyler Searcy; 4. Arvind Kannan; 5.

Andrew Harrington; 6. Zachary Kim; 7. Maxim Paskalutsa (Williamsburg).

Girls 18s: 1. Jessica Armes; 2. Brittany Moreland; 3.

Michelle Meadows.

Girls 16s: 1. Audrey Nguyen; 2. Brittany Bolster; 3.

Tori Ford (Williamsburg); 4. Alison Wingo (Newport News); 5. Clare Spooner (Williamsburg); 6. Casey Dashiell.

Girls 14s: 1. Anna Jones; 2. Suhasini Ghosh; 3.

Karling Watson; 4. Faith Atiso.

Girls 12s: 1. Shelby Harris (Newport News); 2. Mary Ewens; 3. Ndindi Ndunda; 4. Anna Fuhr; 5. Natalie Macdisi; 6. Dylan Owens; 7. Lydia Carter.

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, Sept. 20, 2006

The Davis Cup semifinals this weekend probably will be overshadowed to some degree by the Ryder Cup matches, since Davis Cup matches are eight times as common as Ryder competitions.

But that doesn't mean they won't be incredibly interesting, and not just the ones involving the U.S.

On clay inside Moscow's Olympic Stadium -- the one built for the 1980 Games that the U.S. boycotted because of (how ironic) the invasion of Afghanistan -- Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers are taking on a Russian team that is deep. So deep, in fact, that it was difficult to figure out which fellows would play which roles.

Rumor has it that U.S. Open semifinalists Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny will play singles, while Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov will play doubles. But who knows? Clay is tough for Roddick and Blake, but if they're patient enough, they could prevail.

I don't give Australia much of a chance on clay against Argentina in Buenos Aires. Lleyton Hewitt could win a match, but Mark Philippoussis?? On clay??

No way, not against the kind of hombres Argentina can provide -- David Nalbandian, Juan Ignacio Chela, Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri.

The Aussies' only hope is for two wins by Hewitt and a doubles triumph by Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley. Most unlikely.

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It was awesome to see so many new college student-athletes from Hampton Roads making their debut at the Owl Creek college tournament last weekend.

Among them: Yakov Diskin (Old Dominion), Imee Bautista (Va. Wesleyan), Kelly Maxwell (James Madison) and Brittany Foster (Norfolk State).

That was just a taste of what should be an outstanding dual-match season to come, but since so many matches were decided by match tie-breaks (playing to 10) in lieu of full third sets, it's difficult to draw many conclusions of what's to come.

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Our prayers go out to a longtime Suffolk tennis pro, the legendary Howard Mast, as he fights for quality of life. For sure, his influence on local tennis -- and local life -- will be felt long into the 22nd century.

Thanks to Jan Grover for keeping everybody updated on his travails.

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What a stupendous women's tournament William and Mary hosted last weekend. It was like a fall mini-NCAA, which North Carolina's Jenna Long finally won over W&M's Megan Moulton-Levy in the top flight. In top-flight doubles, Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic took the title.

For further details, check out tribeathletics.com.

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The high-caliber men's equivalent of the Tribe tournament came at U.Va., where Wake Forest's Todd Paul defeated ODU's Harel Srugo in the final of a bracket that featured all 5.5-rated players and above.

That was sort of like the CAA and ACC tournaments all rolled into one. Virginiasports.com has all the pertinent info.

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Teams from Virginia Beach and Kingsmill won their divisions at the USA Senior League Mid-Atlantic Section championships last weekend at Huntington Park, earning national berths.

As you may have seen in the Monday Daily Press, Kingsmill handled teams from Northern Virginia (2-1) and Baltimore (3-0) in the 4.0 Super Senior sectional after winning a Richmond-based league. The teams of Gary Burger-Dan Sims and John Wendell-Fred Wells romped against NOVA, and Kingsmill swept Baltimore with victories by Wendell-Roy Carrithers, Rich Nelson-Fax McCandlish and Sims-Burger.

Those players, from Williamsburg and surrounding areas, will head to Daytona Beach next year to compete against top players from other sections.

The Virginia Beach tandems of Michael Aschkenas-Robert Vinson and James Laster-Glenwood Morris earned victories in a 2-1 triumph over a Northern Virginia squad, giving the Beach guys the top trophy in the 3.5 Super Senior bracket. That was the Beach team's fourth dual-match victory of the weekend.

In the women's 3.5 Super Senior bracket, the Virginia Beach team placed second among five teams. The Beach women went 3-1, losing only to Stonehenge from the Richmond area. Playing for the Beach team were Sarah McKown, Sharron Woods, Michaella Balaban, outstanding official Sharon Votava, Charlotte Damron, Martha Jacobs, Janet Gehman, Eleanor Holland, Sandy Monger, Renie Sparks and Betty Estes.

The Virginia Beach women's Super Senior 4.0s finished second to a NOVA team. Delores Collins captained that Beach team, which went 2-1 and featured play from Collins, Fran Baker, True Caprio, Connie Owen, Helga Johnson, Shirley Johnson, Judith Berman and Christine Watt.

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Sisters and former Hampton High players Gayle and Emily Smith are branching out into the travel-planning business. They're in a company -- yourtravelbiz.com --that's competing with such firms at travelocity.com and orbitz.com. Just from talking to them for a few minutes, you can tell how the Smiths clearly are enthusiastic about YTB.

Gayle, an Eastern Region champion for the Crabbers in the pre-Michele Fanney era, started for four years for the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.

Emily, her older sister, played basketball and tennis for Roanoke College. Their mom, Loukie, is still one of the better senior players on the Peninsula.

Thanks to YTB (yourtravelbiz.com), Gayle will be seeing some of New Zealand. Now that's a fun trip.

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If you see noteworthy stuff about Hampton Roads tennis, please e-mail sdearth@dailypress.com. Thanks!

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, Sept. 8, 2006

Vic Braden, who appeared at Huntington Park in Newport News to coach players, analyze strokes and do video presentations a couple of weeks ago, has a unique approach. Every serious tennis player or fan should see it at least once. Dozens of players took advantage of the opportunity in Newport News.

I first heard of Braden, who is based in California, from watching his segments on the Public Broadcasting System's pro tour broadcasts in the late 1970s, when I was just learning to play.

He emphasizes lifting the ball, at the same angle as the swing, rather than trying to hit down on it.

His credo is "one more ball over." With every ball you hit over the net, you increase your chances of winning.

When he was the featured attraction at the Tidewater Tennis Federation's End-of-Summer Jamboree, here were some of his more memorable remarks:

--When taping someone's strokes for instructional purposes, do so from behind the player, so his brain doesn't have to reverse everything during the analysis.

--Roger Federer hits through his backhand 61 inches (about 5 feet). No wonder he gets such depth and power.

"You look at Federer -- he looks so elegant. It's all because he prepares properly," Braden said.

--Braden emphasizes the importance of leaning forward with bended knees, similar to a sprinter at the starting line for the 100- or 200-meter dash. It's so much easier to move quickly to the ball that way than if you're leaning back.

--On groundstrokes, start the backswing low and elevate through the ball.

"I haven't seen one person in 61 years hit too low,"

he said about starting the backswing. "It's always too high."

--He compared serving to throwing a lasso in a rodeo and wants servers to toss the ball well in front.

"Roddick's 5 feet out in front of the baseline when he hits it."

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Thanks to Dave Howell, Alison Slattery and others for arranging the TTF festivities. It was well worth the afternoon.

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Toni Novack, who used to live in Williamsburg, has earned the No. 8 spot in women's 55-and-over singles in the new International Tennis Federation senior rankings. She's second among Americans, trailing only No. 7 Kathy Barnes.

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While at the U.S. Open on the Wednesday and Thursday of the first week, I enjoyed walking around the field courts, not just seeing matches on the "show" courts, which generally are considered to be Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadium, plus the Grandstand.

On one of those sojourns to courts where only a few handfuls of people are watching the slugfests, I ran into former Norfolk State No. 1 player Alfredo Galvez.

He was watching Luis Horna play Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in a first-round match.

As it turns out, Galvez taught Horna tennis in his youth and was thrilled to see him win a U.S. Open match. They hugged at match's end.

Such success stories occur all over the place, though TV networks and newspapers don't have time to devote to many of them.

Few people noticed Horna beat Garcia-Lopez. But many people were watching the next day in Ashe Stadium when Horna gave No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal a serious scare, winning the second set and nearly taking the third as well. It was a precursor to Mikhail Youzhny's quarterfinal stunner.

Horna was the only player from Peru in the draw, but there are plenty of Peruvians in Hampton Roads tennis.

Among those who come to mind: Charo Hunter and Gaby Rengifo (the Lopez sisters) and Enrique Zapatero.

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One man's opinion on the best viewing spot at Flushing

Meadows:

It's on the top row of Ashe Stadium, just to the left of the baseline on the end of the court you see on the lower side of the TV screen (with the chair umpire on the left).

You've got a great view of the big-time match below, and you can see about 12 of the outside courts -- seven where matches are played, plus five practice courts where big names often hit.

Plus, you've got a great view of the Manhattan skyline and the rest of Queens, though the auto junkyards around Shea Stadium aren't always what you'd call "scenic."

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From the Daily Press:

Headline: ‘Colonel’ visits Open for weekend of memories

William Shivar Sr., known in local tennis circles as "The Colonel," and his wife traveled to the U.S. Open from Thursday through Sunday for a reunion of a

1960-63 Fort Eustis tennis team that dominated almost all of its opposition and that nicknamed itself "The Mystic Knights of the James," based on a reference from the long-running radio program "Amos ’n’ Andy."

Shivar, 84, the manager of Newport News’ Centre Court Racquet Club since its inception in 1972, fondly recalls his Eustis days.

While stationed in St. Louis in 1962, he regularly beat a 14- or 15-year-old Jimmy Connors, who would become the world’s best player in 1974 and who now coaches Andy Roddick. Shivar was good enough to compete in the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon and in events that featured legends in the making such as Rod Laver and Roy Emerson. But on the Eustis team, Shivar said, he usually played only No. 4.

Shivar, who grew up in South Carolina, was assigned in

1957 by the Army to Eustis, where he ran the weather station. Maj. Gen. Norman Vissering, the post commander then, amassed great athletes to play for Eustis against other Army competition. Shivar noted that Vissering sometimes got Army Reserves on the Orioles and Redskins to compete for Eustis on the weekends, for example.

Tennis was no exception, as Vissering lured big-time players such as Norm Perry (captain of UCLA’s 1960 NCAA title team) and Jim Stewart to join the team.

"I think we had a record of about 47-1," Shivar said, noting that Eustis was scheduled to play a University of Miami team that had amassed a home winning streak of 97 matches.

"They canceled the match," he said.

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Also from the Daily Press, on the TCIS season:

If early indicators are accurate, the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools regular-season girls tennis title could come down to one afternoon: Oct. 6.

At 4 p.m. that day, Hampton Roads Academy will play host to Norfolk Collegiate in a matchup of two young but extremely talented teams. Norfolk Academy is the defending tournament champion, but the Bulldogs were hit hard by graduation and lost 8-1 to Norfolk Collegiate last week.

HRA loses only one starter from a team that placed second in the regular season and third in the highly competitive TCIS tournament. The Navigators then reached the state independent semifinals.

Coach Ray Smith said, "Our goal every year is to compete for the TCIS championship, and this year is no different."

The top two HRA players from last season, TCIS No. 2 flight champion Alison Wingo (recovering from a broken

toe) and Suzanne Edwards (surgically repaired knee), might miss some early-season singles, but Smith said they’ll be back by conference competition.

Elena Marsteller (TCIS No. 3 flight runner-up) and two flight champions, Emily Spellman (4) and Carmen Lucas (5), return, but who knows where they’ll play in the lineup? That’s because the Navigators have been augmented by a junior German exchange student, Sandra Wendt, and two highly talented seventh-graders: Taylor Wingo (Alison’s sister) and Shelby Harris.

Defending regular-season champion Norfolk Collegiate also is a state-tournament-caliber team and is guided by former Christopher Newport women’s coach Pat Accettola.

Walsingham Academy was fifth in last year’s tournament and could move up a spot or two. Nansemond-Suffolk Academy has two new coaches who starred as local

players: Michelle (Grover) Wood and Jessica

(Strickler) Manley, but needs more depth.

Peninsula Catholic, which finished last a year ago, lost its top players to graduation and is trying to rebuild. Two non-conference matches against StoneBridge are the Knights’ best chances to end their drought.

TEAMS TO WATCH: Hampton Roads Academy, Norfolk Collegiate, Walsingham Academy, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Peninsula Catholic.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Alison Wingo, HRA, So.; Suzanne Edwards, HRA, Sr.; Elena Marsteller, HRA, Sr.; Emily Spellman, HRA, Jr.; Malissa Sibly, Bishop Sullivan Catholic, So.; Michelle Meadows, Norfolk Collegiate, Jr.; Casey Dashiell, Norfolk Collegiate, Jr.; Katharine Napora, NSA, Sr.; Olivia Twiddy, Walsingham, Jr.; Clare Spooner, Walsingham, So.

MATCHES TO WATCH: HRA at Norfolk Academy, Sept. 15 at

4 p.m.; Walsingham at HRA, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m.; HRA at NSA, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m.; NSA at Norfolk Academy, Oct.

3 at 4 p.m.; Norfolk Collegiate at HRA, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m.; Walsingham at NSA, Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m.; Bishop Sullivan at HRA, Oct. 10; HRA at Walsingham, Oct. 12 at 3:30; StoneBridge vs. Peninsula Catholic (at Huntington Park), Oct. 16 at 4 p.m.; Norfolk Academy at HRA, Oct. 19 at 3:30; Conference tournament (at Huntington Park), Oct. 27-28 at 9 a.m. each day.

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From William and Mary:

William and Mary head women’s coach Kevin Epley announced the addition to Matt Halfpenny to the Tribe staff. Halfpenny joins the College as an assistant coach after serving in a similar capacity with the N.C. State men’s program since 2002. He replaces former assistant coach Erica Perkins, who left W&M to take the head women’s position at Michigan State.

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From the Daily Press:

Ed Kilgore of Newport News defeated the top two seeds last week to win the men’s 80-and-over singles title at the state senior clay-court championships at Roanoke Country Club. Kilgore, a longtime standout on the local tennis scene, defeated Carl Sherertz of Roanoke 6-0, 6-1 in the first round, then defeated No.

2 seed Robert Cage of South Boston 6-2, 6-1 in a semifinal and cruised past No. 1 Dana Hodgdon of McLean 6-1, 6-1 for the championship. The scores were impressive, considering Kilgore had lost to Cage and Hodgdon earlier this season in other state tournaments. Kilgore also played the 80s doubles in Roanoke, teaming with Jim Stennett of Roanoke to win a semifinal over Sherertz and Forrest Gager of Lynchburg 6-3, 6-4. Kilgore and Stennett lost 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in the final to Hodgdon and James Chavasse of Raleigh, N.C. Kilgore, a 1944 graduate of Virginia Tech who is a retired engineer at NASA Langley, was instrumental in the developmental of American space flight.

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Many of us saw Benjamin Becker end Andre Agassi's career at the U.S. Open. So here's what VCU's sports information department had to say ...

"Follow closely, this will be a bit academic.

"In high school algebra, the Transitive Property of Inequality tells us that if A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A has to be greater then C.

"So, using this logic, could VCU senior tennis star Arnaud Le Cloerec beat Andre Agassi? Algebra says yes.

On March 5, 2005, Le Cloerec defeated Baylor’s Benjamin Becker in straight sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

Becker, who went onto win the 2005 NCAA men’s singles title, eventually played his way into this year’s U.S.

Open, where he closed out Agassi’s career in Sunday’s third round, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.

Mathematically speaking, If Le Cloerec (A) is greater than Becker (B), and Becker (B) is greater than Agassi (C)…

We’ll probably never know."

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If the VCU algebra is true, then what does that say about Harel Srugo, Old Dominion's No. 1 player?

The quiet Israeli beat Le Cloerec twice last season (6-4, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2) en route to the NCAA tournament second round, so ... draw your own conclusions.

If nothing else, it shows how good college tennis is around the Commonwealth.

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, Aug. 14, 2006

To quote from Tuesday's Daily Press:

A team representing Huntington Park Tennis Center earned a trip to the Junior Team Tennis Nationals in Tucson, Ariz., in mid-October by winning the USTA Mid-Atlantic Section’s 18-and-under intermediate championship last Tuesday.

Huntington Park I came out on top of a field including teams from not only Virginia, but also Maryland and the District of Columbia.

The tournament began at the East Potomac courts in D.C., with Huntington Park I and Kingsmill advancing to the final. In order for the kids to be able to watch the professional Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the teams deferred the title match to last Tuesday at Christopher Newport University.

In the title match, the teams of Aaron Brownell-Chad Cutchin and Melissa Diskin-Kristine Alger won their doubles matches as Huntington Park defeated Kingsmill by winning 30 games to 26.

Kingsmill won three matches to Huntington Park’s two, thanks to victories by Joe Cross and Tori Ford in singles and by the Christopher Ford-Kelly Little team in mixed doubles. But because Huntington Park won four more games of the 56 played, it took the title.

As for further comments ...

These kids are fantastic players considering they were technically playing in the 3.0-and-below division.

Some of the area's best high school players -- on both teams, plus semifinalist Elizabeth Manor -- were involved. But what a great experience it will be for them to get to Arizona from Oct. 19-22.

WTT rules can be a bit strange, with games meaning so much and sets so comparatively little, but they do make you concentrate on each point. And the team spirit, as in the pro version of WTT you might have watched this summer on OLN, is fantastic.

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We now quote Corey Gordon, the area's junior team tennis coordinator, after a little editing:

In a triumphant return, the USTA’s Junior Team Tennis was reintroduced to the Peninsula this summer. There were two divisions: a 14s and 18s, that fielded nine teams.

The format used was "Modified World Team Tennis"

created by the legendary Billie Jean King. Seven of the participating teams traveled to D.C. to participant in the Mid-Atlantic Sectional Championship.

Congratulations to Huntington Park on its amazing run to win the sectional championship, defeating Kingsmill in the final. The team consisted of Tonique Merrell (17), Aaron Brownell (17), Chad Cutchin (17), Kristina Alger (17), Melissa Diskin (17) and Maureen Slattery (10).

All have honed their game here at Newport News' public park under the watchful eye and excellent instruction of tennis pro Harvey Robinson. They will be traveling to Tucson Ariz., Oct. 19-22 to participate in the national championship. We the Peninsula wish Huntington Park team well on their way to the national championships, along with any support they may need to make this venture possible.

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Let's give props to tennisrecruiting.net, perhaps the best Web site for those people who follow college tennis. Its information is extensive and interesting, and time will tell if its experts' ranking of this year's incoming women's freshman classes -- Virginia as No. 1 and William and Mary at No. 2 in the entire country! -- will be accurate.

I did have to e-mail the folks in Marietta, Ga., to tell them that Yakov Diskin of Yorktown is going to Old Dominion. He's a little precocious and bright, so he's 12 months ahead of what the Web site had projected as his graduating year.

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the tournament successes in the past week or so:

Alison Wingo of Newport News won four matches to take the girls 16-and-under championship in the Fredericksburg Country Club Junior Open.

Wingo, a Hampton Roads Academy student, beat the Nos.

1 and 3 seeds before topping Katelyn Stokes 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Tori Ford of Williamsburg was the consolation runner-up in Fredericksburg. …

Ed Kilgore of Newport News placed second in men’s 80-and-over singles at the Maryland State Clay Court Championships. He won two matches before losing 6-0,

6-2 to Eyup Tanman of Cambridge, Md.

In the Level 3 Charlottesville Junior Soft Court Championships at Farmington Country Club, there was an all-Virginia Beach final in girls 16s. Top-seeded Malissa Sibly beat No. 2 Michelle Meadows 6-2, 6-1.

Tori Ford won the consolation crown in 16s.

Sibly teamed with Allison Shulman to win the doubles final over Casey Dashiell of Norfolk and Clare Spooner of Williamsburg.

Also in Charlottesville, Lauren Goldberg of Norfolk breezed to the 14s championship. ...

At the Two Rivers Futures in James City County, congratulations to last weekend's champions who hope to build up to Level 5 and beyond:

Kevin Hamele of Va. Beach (B16s), Michael Harris of Yorktown (B14s), Shelton Clough of Virginia Beach

(B10s) and Austen Delnicki of Newport News (B8s).

Yes, 8s! That's about as young an age group as you'll ever see in a tournament -- or should ever see. If you're like me, you take losing too hard at that tender age. You barely know how to tie your shoes.

The girls champs at Two Rivers included Maddie Baine of Virginia Beach (16s) and Rachel Stratton of Yorktown (12s). Special mention goes to Amber Policare of Richmond, who's in some kind of shape. She was the champion in 8s and the runner-up to Baltimore's Alexa Corse in 10s.

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Look next week for some info on the Robious Junior Open in Richmond, which has a mere 170 players -- more than a handful from Hampton Roads. I'm just glad the temperatures aren't rising to the mid-90s this week.

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If you want to go to the U.S. Open, now's a good time to get tickets. With Andre Agassi playing his last official tournament, and with every round potentially his last match, they're gonna go fast.

Jan Grover's tips on going to Flushing Meadows on a non-extravagant budget were quite handy. Give those a look ...

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If you've got interesting news on Hampton Roads tennis, please e-mail sdearth@dailypress.com. Thanks!

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, Aug. 7, 2006

It didn't get much attention amid the bright lights and big names of the U.S. Open Series, but Tzipi Obziler showed she's still got plenty left at age 33.

Obziler, who moved to No. 1 in the nation in women's collegiate tennis during her all-too-short stay at Old Dominion, won the $75,000 Legg Mason Challenge in Washington on Sunday, getting second billing to men's champion Arnaud Clement of France.

Obziler outlasted the No. 3 seed, France's Camille Pin, for the championship. The Israeli player won the first set 7-5 but was trailing 2-5 when Pin believed it was too painful to continue. She had a hip strain and a tightly wrapped leg, and the combination made it difficult to deal with Obziler's superb shots.

Obziler, who beat top-seeded Severine Bremond -- a Wimbledon quarterfinalist -- in the first round and Aussie Nicole Pratt in a semifinal, kept rolling throughout the week. If she can continue her excellent play, she has a good chance to reach the WTA's top 100 for the first time, and perhaps to gain her most fame since, under ODU coach Darryl Cummings' tutelage, she took Justine Henin-Hardenne to three sets at the 2004 U.S. Open.

Obziler still may have to qualify for the U.S. Open, but by beating a player nine years younger and ranked 103rd, it's clear she'll have an excellent chance to remain in Flushing Meadows as the calendar turns to September.

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Congratulations to the Huntington Park Tennis Center squad that won Sunday's USA Junior Team Tennis Peninsula-area final at Christopher Newport University.

The Huntington Park team features some of the top high school players in Newport News, such as Tonique Merrell (Heritage), Aaron Brownell (Menchville) and Kristine Alger and Melissa Diskin (Warwick). Sprinkled in are Windsor's Chad Cutchin and Diskin's younger sister, Maureen Slattery, a 12-and-under player who could become a force to be reckoned with nationally.

Alison Slattery and Harvey Robinson's team can thank the World TeamTennis format for the victory in a classic match. Huntington Park lost three of the five matches but won four more games, therefore earning a trip west for the nationals.

Kingsmill placed second in a league that featured more than 10 teams, a number that bodes well for participation on the Peninsula. The Kingsmill squad was a Williamsburg-area team, plus Newport News 12-and-under tennis/road racing standout Graham Wilson. Joe Cross and Tori Ford (Lafayette), Emily Demeo (Bruton), Kelly Little (Jamestown), Elliot Mee and Christopher Ford are among coach Muri Ajibade's top competitors.

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Imee Bautista (18s), Katie Laderer (16s), Lauren Goldberg (14s) and Natalie Macdisi (12s) won the girls divisions at last weekend's Virginia Beach Tennis Patrons Association Level 5 satellite, a tournament that attracted 81 players to Thomas Bishop Lane.

Bautista edged Stephanie Macdisi 10-8 in an all-Beach third-set super-tiebreaker for the 18s round-robin championship.

Stephen Hardy of Fairfax, one of the few players not from Hampton Roads, made his presence felt. He won the boys 18s and 16s, and the only guy to get a set on him in seven matches was Whit Booth.

Hardy beat him 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3) in an 18s semifinal before topping Pranav Reddy 6-3, 6-4 in the title match.

Lewis Goode (12s) should be proud of his championship.

He was the master of the super-tiebreaker, winning one in each of his last three matches after splitting sets.

In the all-Beach final, he defeated Christopher Armistead 7-6 (7-1, 6-7 (0-7), 1-0 (10-6).

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As for you TV fans, I'm not seeing as many video replay challenges as I expected.

In the Legg Mason Tennis Classic final, for example, Scotsman Andy Murray left three challenges unused in a first set, which ended in his losing a tiebreaker to Clement. Murray's new coach, Brad Gilbert, who reportedly is being paid $940,000 per annum to work with the young Brits, couldn't be too happy about that

-- or with the blister that contributed to Murray's demise in a 6-2 second set.

The umpires and linesmen should be encouraged by the trend. The challenges aren't that frequent, and only about a third of them are leading to changed calls so far.

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Speaking from Raintree, the Richmond-area club where the state hard-court championships are beginning, the men's draw is looking like a U.Va. party.

A former Wahoo is the top seed: Huntley Montgomery, who has spent some good years in Futures and Challengers. The second seed is Rylan Rizza, who just wrapped up an excellent four years with the Cavaliers in May. And the fourth seed is Briton Dominic Inglot, who figures to start for coach Brian Boland's top team in the 2006-07 season. According to thesabre.com, a message board for Virginia fans, Inglot is a "recruited walk-on," has a 130-mph serve and likes to follow it to net. It should be interesting.

The women's tournament looks like Blakeley Griffith's to win. A standout player for the University of Tennessee who grew up in Loudoun County (Middleburg, known for its stellar horses), she's coming off an impressive run through the state clay-court championships last month at Salisbury Country Club in Midlothian.

If you've never seen Griffith play, think of Monica Seles when she was young and skinny. Two hands on both sides, laser-like flat groundstrokes. And an excellent competitor.

Longtime Richmond pro Rachel Gale, former Hokie Bridget (Bruner) Reichert and current Hokie Ashley James are the other seeds. The Nimitz sister (Cathy and Kristin) and Ashley's sibling, Mary Kate James, are among the other entries.

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If you've got interesting news on Hampton Roads tennis, please e-mail sdearth@dailypress.com. Thanks!

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, July 22, 2006

Peter Szewczyk of Yorktown has curtailed his summer season because of shoulder tendinitis, but not before he got to play one of tennis’ big names first.

Szewczyk was one of several players with past or current ties to the College of William and Mary to compete in the Metzger Open, the Pennsylvania State Clay Court Open, in late June in Harrisburg. By beating Joe Luisi of Mechanicsburg, Pa., 6-0, 6-1 and James Holland of Coatesville, Pa., 6-3, 6-4, Szewczyk earned the right to face top-seeded Jimmy Arias in the round of 16.

Arias, 41, who was ranked a personal-best fifth in the world in 1984, won five ATP Tour titles and played Davis Cup, beat Szewczyk 6-1, 6-1.

Szewczyk, an accomplished pianist, starred in tennis at York High, where he won the Bay Rivers District and Region I singles championships as a freshman in 2001 and kept the Falcons among the state’s top teams.

Szewczyk briefly played for the Tribe but is concentrating on his studies at W&M, where he will be a junior this fall.

(Also competing in the Metzger Open from W&M were current starter Alex Cojanu and alumnus Sean Kelleher, who both reached the round of 16, and current player Kavi Sud, who won one match to reach the round of 32.

Cojanu lost 6-4, 6-4 to No. 3 seed Luke Jensen, a former tour star who regularly does commentary for ESPN. And the No. 2 seed was the infamous Jeff Tarango, who called a chair umpire corrupt in 1995 at

Wimbledon.)

"We had the pro-am thing going there," Szewczyk said of the Metzger Open. "It was a lot of fun."

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Look out for Maureen Slattery of Newport News, one of the brightest young stars on the Peninsula horizon.

She won a tournament in her first try in the 14-and-under division last week.

That came in a Level 5 satellite tournament at McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Newport News, where she won the 12-and-under bracket with ease. In 14s, Slattery defeated Karling Watson of Virginia Beach 7-6, 7-5 for the title in the most competitive of her eight victories that weekend.

The M-NTC tournament often attracts players who are willing to compete in two divisions. Part of that is because, unlike almost every other event in July, it's indoors ... and air-conditioned.

Among the Hampton Roads boys with memorable finishes:

Elliot Mee of Williamsburg (boys 14s champ), Joshua Hunt of Williamsburg (14s runner-up), Wills FauntLeRoy of Williamsburg (18s runner-up), Ian Sipe (16s

runner-up) and Harrison Suttle of Newport News (12s runner-up).

The two highest girls divisions had highly competitive finals, with Stephanie Macdisi of Virginia Beach's Princess Anne High edging Jenny Astbury of Chesapeake's Western Branch 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in 18s and Kari Pope of Windsor topping Tori Ford of Williamsburg 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Ford stars for Lafayette, while Pope attends a school -- Isle of Wight Academy

-- that has no tennis team.

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Taylor Wingo, also one of Newport News' rising stars, went 3-3 in the USTA Girls 12 National Clay Courts this week, including a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Gabriella Castaneda of Miramar, Fla. Wingo and older sister Alison, Hampton Roads Academy's No. 1 player, are training for another week at the International Tennis Academy in Delray Beach, Fla., the tournament site.

Taylor lost her first two matches but then won three in a row before losing in a semifinal of her portion of the consolation bracket.

Their dad, Jim, is back to work at Riverside Regional Medical Center because, he half-joked, "Somebody's gotta pay for it."

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Thanks and please e-mail sdearth@dailypress.com with ideas!

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, July 16, 2006

When hundreds of players gather for the annual USTA/Virginia District Adult League Championships -- the state tournament for rated teams -- the sheer numbers make it likely that some famous names will appear.

For example, here are just a couple. They have connections to Atlantic Coast Conference basketball, one of my favorite sporting activities outside tennis.

On the women's 3.0 Roanoke team, you could have noticed Jeane Redick -- mother of J.J., the Duke legend/pariah who is the ACC's all-time leading scorer

-- playing on the Huntington Park courts in Newport News. Her team lost two matches.

Ironically, her other son, David, also had earned the right to come to the Peninsula last weekend to participate in athletics. As a recent graduate of Cave Spring High in Roanoke, he was a tight end for the West team in its 7-0 football loss to the East at Hampton's Darling Stadium in the Virginia High School Coaches Association's final all-star game of the week.

David has committed to play college football at Marshall in Huntington, W.Va., where Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and -- help us all -- Randy Moss became famous.

Also participating in the tournament, for at least the third time, was former Virginia Cavaliers basketball player Tim Mullen. (It may be painful, Wahoo fans, but he took the last shot in the final U.Va. game played by Ralph Sampson, a loss to eventual champion N.C.

State in the 1983 NCAA tournament.) Mullen has lived in Charlottesville for many years and was a doubles player for Farmington Country Club's men's 4.0 team.

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Two 4.0 teams based in Virginia Beach nearly won their state championships. A women's team captained by Mary Jordan won its flight and beat Sets Appeal 4-1 in the championship playoff, but lost by a relatively decisive 3-2 score to the champion Bon Air team from the Richmond area.

In men's play, Alex Perez's squad easily took its flight and won a round in the championship playoff, but the Big Shots from Northern Virginia edged them

3-2 despite doubles triumphs by the teams of Bobby Ashe-David Nekoumand and Doug Atkins-Jaime Conley.

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The 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 players will take center stage as the Virginia District tournament continues at Huntington Park this weekend.

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By boosting the prize money to $20,000 and allowing out-of-state players to enter, Salisbury Country Club pro Scott Steinour and his aides with the Mid-Atlantic Open Clay Court Championships turned their event into a must-see showcase for tennis fans in the Richmond area.

In men's singles, Evghenii Corduneanu -- a better name to read than to try to pronounce -- showed why he's well on the way toward making a bid on the pro tour. A Russian native and graduate of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was a Ragin' Cajun, Corduneanu hammered Penn State's Brendan Lynch and U.Va.'s Treat Huey before rallying past William and Mary graduate Trevor Spracklin 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the $2,000 first prize.

Unfortunately, Corduneanu didn't get the chance to win the doubles title. His partner, Old Dominion assistant coach Eric Christiansen of Newport News, wrenched his chronically troublesome knee during his round-of-16 match with top-seeded David McNamara, an Australian-rules footballer and former ATP pro. We in Hampton Roads would love to see Christiansen get over the balky knee and regularly stay on the court, as he has become one of the area's best.

In men's doubles, Spracklin and Carl Clark -- some surprise, huh? -- won the championship without too much trouble. Norfolk Academy graduate Andrew Downing of Virginia Beach provided excellent support for Huey, his U.Va. teammate, as the Cavaliers beat Scott and Sean Steinour en route to the final.

In women's doubles, Richmond pros Julie Kaczmarek and Rachel Gale beat Alison Ojeda and Melissa Schaub 6-2,

6-4 in the final for the crown.

Ojeda and Schaub were examples of players who never would have ventured to Salisbury before this year.

Ojeda, a former Tennessee Lady Vols No. 1 -- we remember her team winning a thriller at William and Mary in the 2000 NCAA tournament -- is now the head coach at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, where Schaub (women's team) and McNamara (men's team) are assistant coaches. Schaub, ranked nationally in ITA doubles this past season, hurt her leg in a women's singles loss to former Hokie Bridget (Bruner) Reichert and withdrew from mixed doubles, but soldiered on in women's doubles.

Blakeley Griffith, two-handed on both sides, won the battle of Tennessee Current vs. Tennessee Past.

Griffith, from Middleburg and Loudoun County High in Northern Virginia, beat Ojeda 6-4, 6-3 for the women's championship.

But what many folks around Richmond will remember is Griffith's quarterfinal victory. She did something that's virtually impossible to do: Beat the ultra-tough, superbly consistent Nataly Fleishman in singles. Of course, Fleishman's well into her pregnancy, and that might have tipped the scales -- literally and figuratively.

Through her college and pro career, I have watched Fleishman play a couple dozen matches -- and I had never seen her lose a singles match until she retired while trailing 6-7, 3-3 to Griffith. The Lady Vol's superior power and Cahana's trade of foot speed for a fetus were the final factors. But what a great match it was.

Ojeda and McNamara won the mixed doubles over Spracklin and Tami (Riehm) Bigger, who, like Scott Steinour and Fleishman, is a former Monarch. Tami said she's loving motherhood, but she showed she still has plenty of game. Her husband, Bruce, is a fine player too, so look for a Bigger to a be a big factor in Richmond-area junior competition around about 2018.

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Come back in a couple of days, and you'll hear a lot about the plethora of junior tournaments around the

area: McCormack-Nagelsen's satellite and the National Girls 16 Clay Courts among them. And if you have something to add, please e-mail sdearth@dailypress.com.

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, July 1, 2006

A trip to Roanoke was quite productive for a couple of practice partners, Ian Sipe of Newport News and Malissa Sibly of Virginia Beach.

Sipe beat all eight of his opponents in straight sets to win the boys 16-and-under and 14-and-under titles in the hard-court Roanoke Valley Invitational from June 23-25 at Hollins College. Winning so quickly -- only one of his sets, a 7-5 first set in a 14s semifinal against Patrick O'Keefe of Salem, went past

6-4 -- helped Sipe, a Hampton Roads Academy student, fight the inevitable fatigue factor.

Sibly won the girls 16s and, more impressively, the women's open. Her 6-4, 6-1 victory in the women's final over Longwood University player Brittany Huddleston, the top seed, was quite eye-opening.

Andy Downing of Virginia Beach won the men's doubles, thanks in part to picking a great partner: his U.Va.

teammate, NCAA singles runner-up Somdev Devvarman.

Devvarman, from Chennai, India, won the men's singles crown at Hollins.

The Wahoo pair won 7-6, 6-2 in the final over Virginia Tech assistant coach Jimmy Borendame, a former Butler University player and William and Mary assistant coach, and Hokies player Alex Sergeev.

Shannon Hudson of Virginia Beach came onto the scene, winning the 10-and-under girls title 6-3, 6-0 over Kassie Tulenko for her third triumph of the tournament. Also, Jacob Braig of Williamsburg was a boys 18s semifinalist.

The Level 4 event drew 264 players, making it one of the more popular tournaments in the state.

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It's great to see all the kids running around at tennis camps around Hampton Roads. They're everywhere!

This is the time of year when pros really earn their bucks, keeping the kids from getting too distracted ... or hungry ... or rambunctious. Hopefully they learn a little tennis along the way.

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"Dearth Vader" must thank the kind words about reaching the National Public Parks 35s semis last week in New York. However, just about anybody who plays in the 4.5/5.0 leagues around here (Hampton Tennis Center hosts at least two of them) would have had a great chance to get that far, given my draw. I was so lucky, some of the other players might have wondered if I surreptitiously had rigged the draw.

That tournament is almost impossible to seed because the players, except for the ones near the tournament site, have few common opponents. For example, the No.

1 men's open seed lost his first match 6-0, 6-0. (He had the misfortune of playing Derek Stephens, whom I learned was the No. 5 player for the Tennessee Volunteers this past spring.) Every match is basically a crapshoot.

But I'll say this: The entry fee, $40, is well worth it. You get to play on the same courts at Flushing Meadows where the U.S. Open is contested; one former Virginian, 45s-50s player Kevin Manning of Clearwater, Fla., told me he played in Arthur Ashe Stadium! And the entry fee included a good T-shirt and Mets tickets. (The game with the complimentary tickets include a cycle by former Tide Jose Reyes, for you baseball fans out there.)

Construction around the National Tennis Center could be a problem for those of you who go to the U.S. Open this year. Arrive early and stay patient. Better yet, fly to LaGuardia and take an MTA bus and train to the subway stop at Shea Stadium.

I love New York, as long as you don't have to drive on its streets.

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Let's give "props" to Dave Howell, Alison Slattery and a few other folks around the area for organizing and running the beginning-to-intermediate-level Tidewater Tennis Federation tournaments. That's becoming a breeding ground for youth tennis around here.

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As a tennis fan, I hope against hope that Andre Agassi will play James Blake in the AnthemLive! exhibition at Constant Center in December, as has been rumored. Both of these guys are two of the great role models in tennis, especially American tennis. And obviously, you won't see Agassi on the court too much longer.

If anybody has made a more dramatic turnaround in image/attitude in pro sports than Agassi has, I've yet to see it. When he came up with the Day/Glo clothes, the long hair and the tanked sets, I thought he'd be one of the first big-time players to leave the game early.

If someone had told me in, say, 1992 that Agassi would be balding, be married to Steffi Graf and remain one of the best players in the world in 2006, I would have wondered which parallel universe I was in. But it's true, and we can all be thankful. Let's hope somebody can pick up that torch.

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Look for lots of good tournaments coming up around the area, at a dozen or so levels. If you play 'em, just keeping drinking water and stay in good shape. It's hot and it's gonna get hotter. But to play good tennis, it's worth staying in shape.

BY SONNY DEARTH, dailypress.com, June 13, 2006

Here's a smorgasbord of stuff collected over the past couple of weeks, especially from the many high school tournaments around the area:

Jamestown High boys tennis coach Bob Artis is one of the more entertaining, gregarious people in the area.

He had this to say about Old Dominion-bound Grafton High senior Yakov Diskin, who won his third consecutive Group AA state singles championship last