home

RICHMOND TENNIS NEWS

Visit our "What's the Call" Archive

RTA's US OPEN RAFFLE WINNER-- "Trip of a Lifetime Travelogue"

9/14/09 - When Hugh Waters called to anounce that I had won the raffle for two to the US Open, my first comment was, " Is this a joke? Read more

Raintree Summer Slam is Just That

7/31/09 - This week Raintree Swim & Racquet Club was the site for an L5 tennis tournament affiliated with the RTA. Read more

Woodlake Gets In on the Action

7/21/09 - This week Woodlake Swim & Racquet Club hosted an RTA supported tennis event, the RTA McDonalds Novice #3 L6. Read morea

McDonalds Mid-Atlantic $30,000 Championships Underway

7/16/09 - The USTA-MAS McDonald's Men's and Women's Open Clay Court $30,000 Championships began earlier this week at Salisbury Country Club. Read more

Richmond Hall of Fame

7/12/09 - In 1990 the Richmond Tennis Association (then the Richmond Tennis Patrons Association) established and inducted the first class of the Richmond Tennis Hall of Fame. Read more

RTA Sponsors High Level Tournament at Hermitage CC by Charles Tilley

7/10/09 - This week, Monday July 6th through Thursday July 9th, Hermitage Country Club held an L4 tournament which was affiliated with the RTA. Read more

Dominion Club Holds Largest RJTC Event of Summer by Charles Tilley

7/2/09 - Out at Dominion Club on Saturday a staggering 108 players entered the Richmond Junior Tennis Circuit event. Read more

Richmond Tennis Championships Are Here by Charles Tilley

6/27/09 - The Davenport & Company Richmond Age Division Tennis Championships are set to begin on June 27, and will continue through July 2. Read more

College Week Tennis Camp is a Blowout Success by Charles Tilley

6/26/09 - Willow Oaks Country Club hosted the College Week Tennis Camp this past week, June 22-26. Read more

ACAC Hosts Saturday RJTC Tournament by Charles Tilley

6/24/09 - The Atlantic Coast Athletic Club played host to the third installment of the weekly Richmond Junior Tennis Circuit 2009 series. Read more

Southeastern Open Tournament Combines All Ages by Charles Tilley

6/24/09 - The Southeastern Open Tennis Tournament, held at Battery Park, is an incredibly unique tournament in that it brings together players both young and old. Read more

RTA Vice President Eric Perkins Honored

RTA Vice President Eric Perkins was recently recognized for 10 years of volunteer service to the USTA. He received the award at the USTA Awards Luncheon on March 15 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, California. Other 10-year service awards were given to former USTA President Jane Brown Grimes and former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, among others. Eric currently chairs the USTA Tennis Rules and Regulations Committee.

Virginia State Championships Winners

The Virginia State Men's 50s singles and Women's 55s singles Championships were held at the Country Club of Virginia on April 26.

Men's consolation final, left to right: John Wilroy def. Daniel Friend 7-6(8), 0-6, 10-8

Men's Final, left to right: Winder Bill and Chris Reynard - Reynard def. Bill 5-0, retired (injury)

Ladies Final, left to right: Sue Melzig def. Hilary Long - 6-2, 7-5

2009 Tennis Camp Scholarships Available

The Mid-Atlantic Tennis & Education Foundation, the grant-giving arm of the USTA/Mid-Atlantic Section, partners with 4-Star Summer Camps at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia; William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; and the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to provide an academic plus tennis summer experience to at-risk children with household incomes under $60K. The Foundation is offering full scholarships to children who match this criteria.

This year’s Summer Camps are:

4-Star Summer Camps:
July 26-31, 2009 (Sunday-Friday)
(For rising seventh-ninth graders)

William & Mary
Four-day camps, starting on Thursday
June 18-22, 2009
June 23-27, 2009

University of Mary Washington
July 5-9, 2009
July 12-16, 2009
(For rising sixth-12th graders)

If you have any potential campers in your program that meet the criteria above, please print all the mandatory forms, located on the lower left side of the web page, and send them to:

Mid–Atlantic Tennis & Education Foundation
Attn: Summer Camp
7926 Jones Branch Drive
Suite120
McLean, VA 22102-3367

or fax to: (703) 556-6175

Please have your completed forms in by June 1, 2009, to reserve your spot. Indicate which week of camp you are attending.

All medical and permission forms must be filled out and signed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail Chris Tran at chris@vajrtennis.com or Suzy Kelly at suzywkelly@aol.com.

Forms & more information are available here:

http://www.midatlantic.usta.com/foundations/custom.sps?iType=1534&icustompageid=19415

Virginia State Indoor Men's

Consolation final
Left to right: John Leitch/Kevin Beale def. David Young/John Wilroy
6-3, 6-1

Main draw final
Left to right: Chris Blair/Greg Williams def. Stewart Chase/Chris Reynard
6-4, 7-5

Powhatan Junior Starting Third Year as Ball Person at Sony Ericsson

Junior USTA and RTA Member Amanda Maready from Powhatan will be starting her third year as a ball person at the Sony-Ericsson Open Tennis Tournament on Key Biscayne in March. The Sony Ericsson Open is one of the nine ATP Masters Series events, a top tier event on the WTA tour, and features the top men's and women's tennis players in the world.

Amanda began training and working as a ball person in 2007. During her first year, she was required to attend three qualifying training sessions on Saturdays in February for five hours each day as well as a final training session in March. During the training sessions, she is rated on her speed at getting to the ball, rolling the ball fast and straight, catching the ball and entering and exiting properly with her team. She must also be able to completely follow the scoring, stand perfectly still during play and provide the players with shade, towels and drinks during changeovers. Each year, she continues to attend training sessions prior to the tournament.

This year, the tournament will take place from March 25 through April 5. During the tournament, she will work at least seven shifts, each eight hours long beginning at either 7 am or 4 pm. Amanda is now considered a veteran ball person and often serves as team captain on the court. She says that you don't think about who the players are, just about keeping the court organized while not impeding play. The sign of a good ball person team is when the spectators don't even remember seeing the ball kids. They should be invisible to get the job done. During the past two years, she has worked for Amelie Mauresemo, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfredo Tsonga, Feliciano Lopez, Ai Sugiyama, John Isner and many others. This year, she hopes to work on the Stadium Court.

Over the years of attending the tournament she has seen many players compete, including Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadel, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Venus and Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi. She has also had the opportunity to play doubles with Bob and Mike Bryan and return serves from Andy Roddick.

Amanda is home schooled, which gives her the opportunity to travel during the year. During the tournament she says with her family in Miami, where she was born and raised. She has lived in Powhatan for over two years and plays in the USTA Richmond Junior Team Tennis League as well as in local tournaments.

CCV Members Guests Tournament

Red Division (8.5 & below)
Main Draw Clifford Foster/Andy Todd champions 6-1,6-4
Massie Meredith/Ty Crone finalists
from left to right Clifford Foster/Andy Todd, Massie Meredith/Ty Crone

"A" Flight Red Division
Finalists John Antrim & Tom Bell
Champions Tom Cricchi & Dale Ennis 6-3, 6-1
from left to right Dale Ennis/Tom Cricchi, John Antrim/Tom Bell

"AA" Fl ight Red Division
Finalists Teddy Damgard & Wilson Davis
Champions John Cronly & Patrick Gee 6-3, 6-1
from left to right Davis Wilson/Teddy Damgard, Patrick Gee/John Cronly

Blue Division (9.0 & above)
main draw - Tut Bartzen & Clint Greene champions 6-0, 6-4
Finalists - Jim Cain & John Dodge
from left to right Jim Cain/John Dodge, Clint Greene/Tut Bartzen

"A" Flight Blue Division
Finalists Kevin Beale & Sean Steinour
Champions Bryan Bostic & John Bristow 6-3, 4-6 (10-3)
from left to right John Bristow/Bryan Bostic, Kevin Beale/Sean Steinour

Green Division ( 7.0 & below)
main draw - Tom Vance & Rod Smyth champions 5-7, 6-1, (10-3)
finalists - Charles Blackburn & Peter Cunningham
from left to right Peter Cunningham/Charles Blackburn, Rod Smyth/Tom Vance

"A" Flight Green Division
finalists Greg Ballowe & David Smith
cha mpions Frank DeVenoge & Matt Aprahanian 6-1, 6-3
from left to right Matt Aprahanian/Frank DeVenoge, David Smith/Greg Ballowe

Congratulations to the Richmond Tennis Associations 2008 Junior Player Award Winners

• Sam Woods Award for Most Improved Boy -- Bret Moorhead
• Ellen Smith Award for Most Improved Girl -- Emily Hahn
• Richard Passloff Award for Sportsmanship (Boy) -- Colin Elliott
• Sue Cain Award for Sportsmanship (Girl) -- Lilly Ellick
• Greg Semon Award for Enthusiasm for the Game (Boy) -- Kevin McMillen
• Dorothy Chewning Award for Enthusiasm for the Game (Girl) -- Nicole Parker

SMARTBOX Virginia State Indoor Tennis Championships

Final results from the SMARTBOX Virginia State Indoor Championships held Dec. 6 - 10 at the Country Club of Virginia:

• Mens Singles final: Romain Ambert d. Carl Clark 6-0, 7-6 (7-4)
• Mens Doubles final: Carl Clark/Romain Ambert d. Scott Steinour/Anthony Krawiets 6-1, 6-1
• Womens Singles final: Tatsiana Uvarova d. Olga Borisova 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1)
• Womens Double: Olga Borisova/Viktoriya Konstantinova d. Julie Ogborne/Kirsten Elim 6-0, 6-0

Romain Ambert/Carl Clark def. Scott Steinour/Tony Krawietz 6-1, 6-1 -- men's doubles championship	Konstantinova/Borisova def. Elim/Ogborne 6-0, 6-0 -- women's doubles championship
Carl Clark and Romain Ambert -- Ambert def. Clark 6-0, 7-6(4) -- men's singles championship	Tatsiana Uvarova def. Olga Borisova 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(1) -- women's singles championship

Virginia State Mixed Doubles Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia

An 8.0 Richmond team from Raintree Racquet Club recently competed in the state champsionships in Charlottesville. Eight teams from around the state qualified for the tournament by winning their local leagues.

The team from Raintree won their individual flight and then proceeded on to win the tournament. The team won 2-1 in the final match against Northern Virginia (NOVA) and all 3 matches went to 3rd set tie-breakers.

Team members are: Wendy Miller, Brian Pilgrim, Donna Moody, Marjorir Orlan, Louise Holmvik, Maureen Blackwood, Kosta, Dombrovsky, James Hensley, Beth Motley, Ty Levy, Jeff Lynch, Dawn Moses, Jen Cofer, Lisa Dudley, Keith Adams, and Drew Hendley.

Ridge Top Wins Second Annual Recreational Club Challenges

Over 130 tennis players participated in the 2nd Annual Recreational Club Challenge hosted at Avalon. The weekend proved to be as spectacular as the tennis. Avalon, Kanawha and Ridge Top battled it out over two days in what ended up being a close finish. After day one, only a tenth of a point separated the teams. Each club fielded teams at the 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 level. Saturday evening the players put down their rackets and enjoyed a dinner catered by Chef Maura.

Sunday the teams got back to the business of tennis and a tight points race that came down to the last five matches between Ridge Top and Avalon.Ridge Top’s Pat Anderson and Charlie Palmer cheered their teams on in a nail biter as Ridge Top squeaked by Avalon to steal the title in a 65 to 61 point victory. The tournament was sponsored by local businesses (Private Stock Wine and Beer, Mr. Able Propane, MeGeorge Mercedes, Westwood Pharmacy, Monument Builders and Richmond.com) and the Richmond Tennis Association. The Tournament Committee co-chaired by Holland Gravely, Bill Carli and Kerri Rhodes voted to have the tournament proceeds go to go to the RTA’s Inner City Winter program that will enable at-risk youth the opportunity to play indoor tennis. Sharing our love of a sport many of us hope to play a life time with those that may not otherwise have that opportunity was a motivator for all who participated.

We all look forward to the 3rd Annual Recreational Club Challenge.

 
Pat and Charlie cheer on their teams (l), Tournament Co chairs: Bill Carli, Kerri Rhodes and Holland Gravely (r)

 
Ridge Top fans look on (l), Louis Allin is ready to receive (r)

 
Louis Allin hits a back hand (c), Kanawha serves it up (r)

 
Mary Beth is ready (l), the Blouch Brothers play doubles (r)

Tennis Central (c),

Richmond Junior Tennis Circuit Masters Tournament Results

The Richmond Junior Tennis Circuit 2008 series recently held its Masters Tournament at The Country Club of Virginia on September 6-7. The Masters Tournament is where the top eight juniors in points in their respective age group qualify to compete in a single elimination one day tournament. The qualifiers for this event should be congratulated on making it to the Masters as there were nine tournaments held throughout the summer at various clubs throughout Richmond. In the four different age groups for boys and girls there were over 800 total participants in the tournaments with over 300 different juniors participating. Listed below are the winners and runners up in the four different age groups for the boys and girls. A special thank you to all the clubs who hosted a RJTC tournament this summer and to all the juniors who've made this circuit such a huge success.

 
Whitaker and Bernstine (left), Troiano and Hensley (right)

 
Riggs and Key (left), Wideman and Sullivan (right)

 
Audrey and Blair (left), Raper and Hughes (right)

 
Ellick and Wilson (left), Click and Price (right)

2008 US Open Travelogue

WOW! What an incredible experience. First of all, thank you to Ward Hamilton General Manager at Robious Sports & Fitness, for giving Melissa and me this great trip that he won through the RTA raffle. Thank you to Joe and Shima Grover for donating the President's Box tickets. Friday we watched some great tennis including Safin, Monfils, Federer and watched Genepri lose a tough match to Celic, and we also met up with some friends from Richmond. The day concluded with one of the best dinner experiences we have ever had. The name of the restaurant was Spark's Steakhouse. The atmosphere, food and service were all perfect.

Saturday we got to wake up on our own, instead of the sound of one of our children calling at the crack of dawn. We met friends for breakfast and did a little shopping before we caught the shuttle to Flushing Meadows. We got to avoid lines to get in the stadium and when we got to the President's Box we were greeted very nicely by Shima Grover. From this point on it felt like we were treated like royalty! We went upstairs to have a wonderful lunch with Shima, Eric Perkins and Tracy Jones (sitting in for Chrissie who just had a new baby). After lunch was probably our favorite part of the trip ... we got a tour of Ashe Stadium! We saw the media rooms, interview rooms (in which we sat in for part of an interview in a language we didn't understand), the players lounge, restaurant, spa, childcare room and excercise room. Can you believe they have a mini salon under there? Players can get a pedicue, manicure or haircut! During the tour, we got to see up close Jankovic, Monfils, Petrova, Djokovic; Melissa was pretty starstruck but thought giving Jankovic a hug was too aggressive!

This was a fantastic experience! Thank you again to all involved and to the RTA for driving this opportunity.

Cris and Melissa Robinson

Cris and Melissa Robinson enjoy the sights and sounds of the 2008 US Open over Labor Day weekend

Nomads Win Mid Atlantic Section Championship

The Richmond Nomads, a 14 advanced team playing in the USTA Junior Team Tennis program, won the Mid-Atlantic Section Championship on August 9, 2008. They will be representing Mid-Atlantic , Virginia and best of all, Richmond, at the National Championships in Mobile, Alabama beginning October 24. The seven players going to Nationals include Abigail Randolph, Leah Maready, Caroline Mosberg, Katie Leal, Thomas Hunold, Thomas Morris and Owen Devalk. They come from all over the west side of Richmond including Glen Allen, Powhatan, Short Pump and the Raintree area.

The Nomads began playing together in the Spring league against teams from Raintree Swim and Racquet Club and The Dominion Club. That season ended with two losses to the defending Mid-Atlantic Section Champion Team from Raintree. They began the Summer season again competing against Raintree and a new team from Woodlake Swim and Racquet Club. They ended the season undefeated and earned an invitation to play in the District (State Level) Championships.

At District s, they came in a very close second place with the State Title going to the Raintree team. Lucky for them, the top two teams from Districts advanced to Mid-Atlantic Sectionals the following weekend. In what was becoming an intense rivalry, they once again had to play Raintree. It all came down to one final team match with the winners advancing to Nationals. It was a hard fought, well played match with The Nomads winning 38-20.

To raise funds for the trip, they will be having a Family Friendly Buffet Dinner and Silent Auction on October 4 from 6-9 pm at the Wembly Swim and Racquet Club. The club is located at 1311 Gaskins Road. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children.

Please come out and support the Richmond Nomads on their quest to Nationals. Team Sponsorship is also available that includes tickets to the Dinner and Auction as well as corporate recognition on their team banner and shirts. Contact Team Captain Lynn Maready at 598-7722 or 467-7875 for more information.

The team is training hard and will do their absolute best to represent Richmond Junior Tennis at Nationals in Mobile in October.

Ridge Top Hosts Quickstart Tennis Tournament

1 Recreational Tennis Facility = Free of charge20 adults and teens volunteering 1 Saturday morning= 4 hours
40 kids having a fun and playing their very first tennis match=PRICELESS

Saturday August 9th, Quickstart tennis came to Ridge Top Recreation Center. Pat Anderson and Kerri Rhodes organized and the Richmond Tennis Association sponsored the area's 2nd Quickstart Tennis Tournament. Quickstart tennis is a new USTA initiative that gets kids 10 and under on the tennis court playing matches. The courts are smaller than regulation and matches are completed in less than 10 minutes so participants are able to play several matches in one tournament. Ridge Top's 5 court complex was coverted to an 11 court facility where all kids played at least four matches all before 11:00 am. For most of the participants it was their very first tennis match. Many of Richmond's tennis professionals (Pat Anderson, Cris Robinson, Damion Sancilio, Jamie Morgan and Merrrell Harmon), were on hand to support this initiative and volunteer their time. Many of the top junior players in Richmond were also there lending a hand. Check out the pictures from this event below and check this website for upcoming Richmond Quickstart events.