home | Tennis Topics home

Tennis Topics

Published: June 16, 2009, Richmond Tennis Association website

Koontz feels right at home playing on clay -- and he should

by John Packett, RTA Staff Writer

Hunter Koontz enjoys playing competitively on clay courts. And no wonder, he's got one in his backyard.

"Hard courts are fine, but clay is more fun," said Koontz. "You can go out there and hit a lot of balls. The points are longer."

Koontz, who helped Deep Run High School reach the state Group AAA team final before the Wildcats lost to Mills Godwin last month, showed how proficient he is on the soft stuff by finishing tied for fifth in the Mid-Atlantic #3 16-under boys junior tournament.

The rising junior defeated Michael Katz of Owings Mills, Md., 6-3, 6-1 in one of the consolation-bracket finals yesterday at Westwood Club.

Tyler Carey, Cosby High's No. 1 player, wasn't as fortunate, bowing to Aaron Gomez of La Plata, Md., 7-5, 6-1 in another consolation final.

Those matches were moved from the Dominion Club to Westwood because of the morning rain.

Koontz had been beaten in the second round of the main draw by fourth-seeded Anton Kovrigin of Rockville, Md., who went on to win the tournament.

The 16-year-old had come into the sectional event on a high, having defeated Godwin's Kyle Parker in the team final. It was his first win over Parker, who is headed for the College of Charleston in the fall, in five meetings this year.

"That gave me a lot of confidence," Koontz said of the win over Parker. "But I had a match earlier in this tournament. Some kid [Kovrigin] came out and played pretty well and beat me pretty bad. That shattered my confidence, but I got it back together the last few days."

Koontz won back-to-back matches in the back draw, then got a default from Richmonder Max Schnur, who withdrew with a sore shoulder.

Deep Run's No. 1 player, Koontz survived against Katz without much of a serve, just trying to make sure he found the service box on each attempt.

"I couldn't serve at all," he said. "On this one side, you looked right into the sun every time. So I was just trying to get it in and I still couldn't even do that. The ones I went for, I missed. He wasn't really attacking that much, so it didn't hurt me that bad."

Koontz' steady ground strokes wore down Katz, and he seemed to get stronger as the match went on, exhibiting his skills on the clay.

This might have been Koontz' final tournament in the 16-under age group, since he turns 17 in September and is planning to play more 18-under events.

In the girls 16-under MAS tourney at Willow Oaks Country Club, Callie Whitlock lost in the quarterfinals of the main draw to Faby Chaillo 6-3, 6-3, before bowing in the consolation final to Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-3. Davis was the division's No. 3 seed, while Chaillo finished runner-up in the main draw.

In the boys 18-under group at Salisbury Country Club, Parker lost in the quarterfinals to Felix Sun 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and didn't play in the back draw because he was still bothered by the pulled stomach muscle that plagued him in the state Group AAA tournament.

The eighth annual Greater Richmond Rated Doubles Tournament came to an end last Friday, and there were six sets of winners at Robious Sports and Fitness Center.

This year's event was held in memory of Margie Rich and a portion of the proceeds from entry fees will be donated to the Massey Cancer Center.

Women's 3-0 final: Beth Farnsworth-Kelly Adams d. Jennifer Scheps-Gail Gold 6-3, 6-3.
Women's 3.5 final: Marilyn Downing-Laura White d. Jill Trapp-Karen Carter 6-2, 6-4.
Women's 4.5 final: Sandra Mason-Janine Johnson d. Kristi King-Linda Sheppe 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
Men's 3.0 final: Seth Worsham-John Rison d. Dan Yeary-A.J. Malhieros 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Men's 3.5 final: Doug Fraser-Ram Natarandan d. Bill James-Patrick Bray 6-4, 6-3.
Men's 4.0 final: Ron Burroughs-Shawn Burroughs d. Keith Biotnott-Dennis Diersen 6-2, 6-3.

Clark, Williams capture titles in CVITT in Lynchburg

Richmonders Carl Clark and Greg Williams won singles championships in their respective divisions of the 49th annual Central Virginia Invitational Tournament in Lynchburg over the weekend.

Clark, head pro at the Country Club of Virginia, claimed the men's 35 singles crown with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Tommy McDonald, while Williams edged fellow Richmonder Chris Blair 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in the men's 55 showdown.

Former Richmonder Mark Vines, now the director of tennis at Oakwood Country Club in Lynchburg (site of the tournament), captured the men's 45 title with a 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 2-1, retired (injury) verdict over Drew Robinson.

In the men's open division, former Clemson standout Nathan Thompson beat ex-Virginia star Treat Huey 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Huey and former U.Va. teammate Dominic Inglot took the doubles crown with a 6-1, 6-2 rout over Patrick Daciak and Nicolas Delgado of Virginia Tech.

Blair and Williams teamed to win the men's 55 doubles crown with 6-2, 6-3 decision over Winder Bill and Richard Stevens.

#####