Hot Shot Champions

Nationals Next Stop
Sun City Hot Shots Sweep Southerns
MOBILE AL (TENNIS E-News via TennisLink) -- The Sun City Hot Shots that "came to Mobile to do three things: compete, win, and buy a round-trip ticket to Vegas" scored on all three by taking all three courts in the Senior Women's 3.0 finals today at the USTA League Southern Section Championships. The win qualifies the team for Nationals in the fall.
“We are expecting to come to Sectionals and win," Team Captain Sandra Maylen said in a story Thursday on http://www.southernleaguegtennis.com . "We have trained hard and are ready to endure the heat. We are going to take the whole thing; the other teams just don’t know it yet.”
True to their word, Maylen and partner Joyce McGaughan took a 6-3, 6-2 win at #3 doubles against unbeaten foe Louisiana/Shreveport. Things weren't quite so cut and dried on the other courts.
At #1, Karen Benedict and Jean Bergenthal took the first set 6-4, but dropped the second 7-5. Because USTA doesn't post actual scores of third-set match tiebreaks, all we know is that Benedict and Bergenthal won it "1-0". Maybe it was 10-1 or maybe 15-13. Whatever, they won.
On #2 court, Jerrilyn Brennan and Toni Valenstein fell behind and lost the first set 6-3, but then turned it around and won 6-3 in the second, following that up with a (you guessed it) 1-0 win in the match tiebreak.

What a roll for the Hot Shots! They took a 17-0 season record into sectionals, losing only one court all year … and that was during the South Carolina State Championship finals.

The Hot Shots' title was the only official one that the Hilton Head Island league teams captured at Southerns. Two other teams -- Senior Men's 2.5 Moss Creek Rat Pack and Senior Women's 2.5 Country Club of Hilton Head Volley Girls -- won South Carolina championships but had no teams from Southern's other eight states enter Sectionals, thereby "winning" their levels. Yes, we still are championing awards for our 2.5 champions.
The Long Cove Retreads, captained by Bill Cale, won States and three rounds in Southerns before losing to Louisiana champion Baton Rouge, which ended up falling 3-0 in the Senior Men's 3.5 final to Louisiana state runnerup Shreveport.
Here is the Hot Shots' trail to the championship:
Thursday the 26th
8 a.m. -- SW3.0 -- Sun City Hot Shots 3, TN (B)/Memphis Germantown Parks & Rec 0
#1 -- Karen Benedict/Diane Craig won 7-6, 6-3
#2 -- Sandra Maylen/Joyce McGaughan won 7-5, 6-2
#3 -- Toni Valenstein/Jerrilyn Brennan won 6-4, 6-1
Friday the 27th
8 a.m. -- SW3.0 -- Sun City Hot Shots 2, AR/Little Rock Burns Park 1
#1 -- Karen Benedict/Diane Craig won 6-4, 2-6, 1-0
#2 -- Sandra Maylen/Joyce McGaughan lost 4-6, 6-4, 1-0
#3 -- Jerrilyn Brennan/Toni Valenstein won 6-4, 6-2
1 p.m. -- SW3.0 -- Sun City Hot Shots 3, NC/Southport St. James 0
#1 -- Diane Craig/Karen Benedict won 6-4, 6-2
#2 -- Jerrilyn Brennan/Toni Valenstein won 7-5, 6-3
#3 -- Joan Eckhardt/Jean Bergenthal won 7-5, 6-3
Saturday the 28th
1 p.m. -- SW3.0 -- Sun City Hot Shots 3, MS/Southwest 0
#1 -- Diane Craig/Karen Benedict won 2-6, 4-4, retired
#2 -- Toni Valenstein/Jerrilyn Brennan won 6-2, 6-1
#3 -- Joyce McGaughan/Sandra Maylen won 6-1, 6-2
Today the 29th
8 a.m. -- SW3.0 -- Sun City Hot Shots 3, LA/Shreveport Miss Hits 0
#1 -- Karen Benedict/Jean Bergenthal won 6-4, 5-7, 1-0
#2 -- Jerrilyn Brennan/Toni Valenstein won 3-6, 6-3, 1-0
#3 -- Joyce McGaughan/Sandra Maylen won 6-3, 6-2.

TENNIS E-News FootNote
ooooO
( ) Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress,
( ) but then I repeat myself.
(___) -- Mark Twain

Combo & Prexy Seats

July 10, 2007 Vol. VI, No. 80 South Carolina Tennis 2006 Media Award Winner Hilton Head Island SC

Pre-Registration of Teams for Adult and Senior Men's and Women's Combo Still Open
HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- There is still time to pre-register for Combo league that will begin play next month, Coordinator Kathy Foulke says. She reports that 6.5 adult and senior women's leagues are filling up but more teams are being sought for 7.5 adult women's teams and more 6.5 and 7.5 men's teams.
The season will run through early October and culminate in division champions advancing to the South Carolina State Championships in late October. To pre-register a team or to get in contact with a team, call Foulke at 681-9649 or email kathyfoulke@netscape.net for pre-registration forms.

Fundraiser Tops $3,500
And the winner of the drawing for two USOpen Seats in the President's Box is …………..
HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- Public Tennis, Inc., raised more than $3,500 in its drawing for two seats in the 2007 USOpen President's Box, and the winner of Monday's ticket-draw at Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center pro exhibition was Pieter Swarz of Van der Meer Tennis. Imagine that: a working person, here from South Africa, kicks in $25 toward public tennis courts on Hilton Head Island in the faint chance of getting a neat seat at the USOpen.
Swarz won from about 160 tickets sold from PTI's original lot of 200. Final accounting is not complete, but combine the totals of the HHI effort with that by PTI/Bluffton and about $5,000 has been raised to fund additional tennis courts at Chaplin Park and at Bluffton High School. Both drives are ongoing.

Two Teams Headed for State Chmps.
Villains Chased by Badcatz for Junior Team Tennis Title
HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- With more than 50 kids participating, the USTA Junior Team Tennis Spring '07 season has ended with The Villains (Sea Pines Racquet Club Village, coached by Scott Nichols) in first place. The Bluffton Badcatz took second, coached by Robert Brown and Doc Molloy, The newly formed Chaplin Park Land Sharks, coached by Tim Austin and Cameron Everett, placed third and the Wexford Warriors, coached by Steve Black and Patrick Mason, ended in fourth place.
The Villains and the Bluffton team (from Fall 2006) will represent our area the weekend of July 20th at the State Championships in Sumter, with a chance to advance to a National title. The team format for "18 and Under Intermediates" (level 3.0 and below) featured boys and girls singles, boys/girls doubles and mixed doubles playing as a team accumulating the most games won as match criteria. This format, now in year three, is the area's largest league play outlet for youth from ages 6-18 and is played twice a year in between high school boys and girls seasons (May through July and November through January). "This is a great way to keep kids playing lots of tennis year round and is perfect for anyone wishing to play tennis for their school," said League Coordinator Robert Brown. More information is available at http://www.usta.com or by calling 290-2833.

USTA League Mixed Doubles & Super Senior Combo Standings
HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- The USTA League Adult and Senior Mixed Doubles and Super Senior Combo are back in action after the 4th of July fireworks.
Here are the standings to date as reported on TennisLink:
Super Senior Combo
Women's 6.5 -- 4 teams -- Wexford Ladies of the Net lead at 4-1
Women's 7.5 -- 3 teams -- Indigo Run Hotshots lead at 3-0
Senior Mixed
6.0 -- 4 teams -- SL The Odd Couples lead at 4-0
7.0 -- 14 teams -- Wexford Topspinners lead at 4-0
Adult Mixed
5.0 -- 3 teams -- Wexford Wildcats lead at 2-0
6.0 -- 7 teams -- Wexford Rackets tied at 3-0
7.0 -- 7 teams -- Bluffton 7.0 lead at 4-0
8.0 -- 4 teams -- SCYacht Anglers, Beaufort tied at 1-0

Parent-Child Doubles Included
HHI Junior Tennis Championships Coming Up July 27-29 at Chaplin Park
HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News)-- Entry is open for the annual Hilton Head Island Junior Tennis Championships that will be played July 27-29 at Chaplin Public Tennis Center and satellite sites as needed. Play will be in boys and girls singles and doubles as well as parent/child doubles.
Entry fees are $25 for singles, $20 per person for doubles or $40 per person for singles and doubles. Water, soft drinks, T-shirts and continental breakfast included with entry fee.
Playing categories are 10 & under, 12 & under, 14 & under, 16 & under and 18 & under, as well as the Parent/Child Division. Matches will begin Friday and continue Saturday, with finals Sunday.
To enter, go to http://www.islandreccenter.org .org/> or stop by the Island Recreation Center. For information call Director of Tennis Cameron Everett at 681-7273. Tournament director is Jedd Vance.

TENNIS E-News FootNote
ooooO
( ) Take a word of phrase, scramble the letters and come up with a new but related word of phrase:
( ) A decimal point: I'm a dot in place
(___) Eleven plus two: Twelve plus one
Mother-in-law: Woman Hitler
-- Columnist Bob Thomas
-- Dennis Malick

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