On Saturday, Oxford College hosted the firs-ever PATA Spring Fling Junior Tennis Tournament. Having 42 local juniors ages 18 and under, the Piedmont Area Tennis Association looked to get their first tennis tournament of the year off with a bang.
The tournament was divided into seven divisions with four divisions set for the 24 boys while the 18 girls were divided into three divisions.
The Spring Fling Tournament was a round robin based format that allowed all competitors to play everyone in their division in a seven games total match. The top two game winners from each division moved on to the finals to play in an eight-game pro-set.
Refereeing the event was 2006 and 2007 NJCAA National Tennis Champions coach Brandon Feldman. "It was great for the kids who were getting their first exposure" Feldman said. "They put on a great tournament and made sure everyone was taken care of."
Doing all the behind the scenes work like restocking the snack tables and handing out trophies to the winners and the finalist of each division was tournament coordinator James Hull.
"I was really impressed with how everything turned out today," Hull said. "The temperatures on the courts were in the mid-90s so the kids' endurance was really tested over the course of the day. There were some great matches today and fun was had by all, including the players, family and spectators."
According to spectator Joan Hull all participants were well supported by their families and friends.
"The tournament ran so smoothly, like clock-work, everyone was so pleased with the event," Hull said.
In boys division 1, Logan Plumley defeated Tyler Spence 8-3. In boys division 2, Lamar Dove defeated David Arrue 4-3. In boys division three, Sam Cooper defeated Sutton Trulock 8-5 while in division four, Logan Hull defeated Ryan Azar 8-1 to round out the boys play for the day.
"It was a fun tournament" said division four winner Hull. "It was very hot out there but they had plenty of snacks and drinks for everyone. I enjoy getting to play people I don't know and getting to make new friends."
In girls action, division 1 winner Jennifer Mobley defeated Courtney Perry 8-5. Reynolds Rogers defeated Katrin Neihoff 8-1 in girls division 2 play; and finishing out the day was division 3 winner Hannah Howell who defeated Maya Tome 8-7 to finish up the first annual PATA Spring Fling Tennis Tournament.
PATA is made up of the surrounding counties - Newton, Rockdale, Henry, Morgan and Walton - is a non-profit organization ruled by the United States Tennis Associtaion. Established more than twenty years ago, PATA provides year round youth, adult and senior tennis programs and leagues. The programs are available to all and the leagues feature local, state and cumulate to a national level for each skill level (2.5-5.0).
Providing opportunities like the Spring Fling Tournament, PATA looks to host another junior tournament in the fall of 2008 called Turkey Tennis.
For further information regarding local juniors tennis, contact James Hull at treylog@aol.com or for more information regarding local tennis for juniors and adults visit www.conyerstennis.com.
