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3 Others at Midpack

     Bluffton 18s Miss Out on Junior Title at South Carolina State TeamTennis Championships in Sumter

        SUMTER SC (TENNIS E-News) -- Bluffton's 18 & Under Intermediates led Flight A going into Sunday's final matches at the South Carolina Junior TeamTennis State Championships and won that match. However, Odell Weeks of Aiken won big in its match and bumped its accumulated games won to 140, compared to Bluffton's 138 in the deciding category. Three Hilton Head Island and Bluffton teams finished in the middle of their respective standings.

    Coach Bob Brown's Bluffton 14 & Under Intermediates finished runnerup in their flight. Coach Eric Wammock's 14 & Under Intermediates from HHI Beach & Tennis Resort took third place in their flight. In the 18 & Under Intermediate Flight B, Hilton Head Island Middle, coached by Scott Nichols, moved up to finish third in their six-team division. Nichols flew in from California to coach the team he initiated before moving to the West Coast. 

    "This is the farthest we have ever gotten," Brown said of his teams' finishes, adding: "Holli Selman of Hilton Head (but on my team) and Richard Snyder went undefeated. USTA does fantastic job with this sanctioned tourney. I have never seen my kids fight so hard with miracle come-backs and other heroism along the way."

    The junior format plays boys' and girls' singles and doubles and mixed doubles, accumulating total games won and lost as the critical statistic.

    The state champions now have the chance to advance to Southern Section JTL playoffs in Mobile AL.

    Here is the rundown of the category champions:

Matches Start Friday Night

     Washington Kastles 1st To Clinch Semifinal Spot in World Team Tennis Finals Weekend at Family Circle Tennis Center

        DANIEL ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- The Washington Kastles, with a win Saturday over the Boston Lobsters, clinched one of the four semifinal slots in next weekend's World TeamTennis Finals that will be played, for the first time, at the Family Circle Tennis Center. The New York Sportimes, Sacramento Capitals and St. Louis Aces are in position to advance to the semifinals that will be played Friday night and late Saturday afternoon, setting up the final team championship on Sunday late afternoon. Tickets are available at www.familycirclecup.com. 

    The Kastles, featuring Venus and Serena Williams, Leander Paes and Bobby Reynolds, will face off in a Wednesday (20th) Tennis Channel-televised match against the Sportimes, with players including Martina Hingis and John McEnroe. Marty Fish, Vania King and Mark Knowles lead the Capitals, while the Aces have Mark Phillipoussis and Liezel Huber at the top of their lineup.

    The TeamTennis format includes men's and women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles -- each playing a pro set and with super tiebreaks as needed. Play is cumulative scoring no-ad with on-court coaching and player substitutions allowed during matches on the multi-colored court.

    Next weekend's schedule is a 7 p.m. Friday playoff between the Eastern Conference top two teams. On Saturday at 5 p.m., the  Western Conference top two will meet. The Sunday final will begin at 5 p.m.

    For additional information, go to www.wtt.com or www.familycirclecup.com.  

Talbert Sportsmanship Award

     HHI's Molly O’Koniewski Honored at International Tennis Hall of Fame Ceremony With Andre and Peachy
        NEWPORT RI (TENNIS E-News) – Molly O'Koniewski of Hilton Head Island SC was presented the 2010 Bill Talbert Junior Sportsmanship Award Saturday prior to the annual International Tennis Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Induction of Andre Agassi and Peachy Kellmeyer. O'Koeniewski, who next is headed to the University of Virginia, was one of four U.S. juniors honored. Others were Ashok Narayana of Houston TX and Jamie Pawid of Castro Valley CA and Samuel Shropshire of Philadelphia PA.
    Presented annually by the ITHF, the four recipients are selected from the 17 sectional nominations of the US Tennis Association Awards Committee. Each award winner must be a junior player who exemplifies the finest qualities of sportsmanship in tournament play as well as one who maintains the finest traditions of the great sportsmen/women of tennis, past and present. The award is given in honor of 1967 Hall of Famer Bill Talbert, who was highly regarded for his high standards of sportsmanship.
 

    Each winner was presented with an official sportsmanship trophy during the Hall of Fame Weekend Luncheon Saturday and participated in many of the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend events, during which Andre Agassi and Peachy Kellmeyer were inducted to the Hall of Fame.
 

    O’Koniewski, who trains at Smith Stearns Academy on Hilton Head Island, began her USTA involvement in the New England section, where she won both her first title and sportsmanship award at the age of 12 at the New England Section Singles Championship. She has been consistently regarded as an elite player and a consummate good sport throughout her junior career. Recently, she was awarded the Bill Ozaki USTA Southern Sportsmanship Award and the USTA Southern Closed Championships Sportsmanship Award. Off the courts, Molly is a dedicated student, a member of the National Honor Society and the editor of her school yearbook. Molly will attend the University of Virginia, where she will play tennis in the fall.
 

     Online Roster Signups Begin for HHI Super Senior 60s, 70s, 75s; Six Players Required To Start Scheduling
        HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- Online registration of players begins today for Hilton Head Island Super Senior 60s, 70s and 75s, with each team required to have a minimum of six players on roster to qualify for actual scheduling of team matches.

    Team numbers were out a couple days ago, but if anyone attempted to register online before today that person's name likely would end up on a team elsewhere in the state.  

    Team totals are up again among HHI Super Seniors: from 51 in last year's SS60s to 53 this Fall; from 14 in 2010 in 16 in 70s. The SS 75s, at this point, are the same as 2010 with six teams competing.

    Anyone interested in playing on a Hilton Head Island team and not now attached can contact Don Grider (dmgrider@roadrunner.com) for information on the men's teams and Mary Ellen Arboe (tennisbeachbums@aol.com) for information on the women's teams.  The leagues begin play just before or just after Labor Day, which this year is Sept. 5.

    Captains and players have been reminded that all Super Senior 60s results will count toward yearend ratings. Any 70s players who also are competing in the SS60s could get bumped to a higher rating based on results in 60s matches. "They could appeal but this would not be automatic," Grider added.

    HHI and CCTA teams will be competing for two very busy months to advance to the South Carolina Super Senior State Championships Nov. 1-6 at Wild Dunes Resort. The scheduling has expanded for this year's States, aiming to avoid 60s, 70s and 75s playing on the same days. Early word from States is that the 75s teams will lead off competition Tuesday and Wednesday of Championship Week. Final decision on scheduling to be announced later.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR A TEAM:

Looking for a team -- Open listing free to players

    8.5 or 7.5 Combo Player -- Looking for a 7.5 or 8.5 (preferably a 8.5) combo team in Bluffton or Hilton Head Island. Contact Tim Roberts 843-476-2574.

    7.5 Combo Player -- A 3.5 looking to play on a 7.5 Combo team -- David Ashburner. E-mail is Dashsa5@gmail.com and telephone number is 415-3108.

    2.5/3.0 Senior Men's -- Wanting to get on a 3.0 mixed or combo team. Contact Terry Hoffmann at (cell) 290-1255.

    3.0 Senior Men's -- I would like to join any 3.0 or Combo team. I am a 3.0, age 60, live in Hilton Head Plantation. Steve Ziplow, zip@hargray.com or 686-6089.