3 Belton Champs & Bluffton Courts

TENNIS E-NEWS

Saturday, June 13, 2009 Vol. VIII, No. 68
2006 Winner of South Carolina Media Award
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Good News:

Bluffton High Tennis Courts Will Be Closed Starting Monday; Programs Have To Move.

BLUFFTON SC (TENNIS E-NEWS) – It’s good news that the Bluffton High School courts are being shut down from now through the end of July, at least. The closing is for construction of the fifth and sixth courts that were in the original plans but were budgeted out when the school was build. The existing four courts also will be refurbished and the entire area landscaped.

Finally having the six courts will enhance ability better handle high school matches, tournaments and instruction programs, said Coach Bob Brown, who is leading an ongoing fund campaign to add and upgrade the school courts and others in Greater Bluffton. “We are very excited (about the project), but being without courts until August meant moving six camps, Bobcat Girls’ pre-season workouts and a USTA team. Neighboring courts; Shell Hall, Hampton Hall and Palmetto Bluff have been very helpful.”

“We helped financially with resurfacing at Bluffton Recreation as well, and also made about $4,000 at Bluffton Today Open, which includes the Junior Benevolence Fund. Our funds still seek an application for public tennis in Bluffton, such as Buckwalter Park’s proposed 13-court projec).

The Palmetto Juniors

HHI’s Woodson Wins Singles, Doubles; O’Koniewski Repeats in Singles; Erkan Wins Singles

BELTON SC (TENNIS E-NEWS via TennisLink) – Hilton Head Island junior Jared Woodson won 14s singles and doubles championships, Molly O’Koniewski won for the second straight year and Lyla Erkan won 16s singles as play wrapped up on finals day of South Carolina’s most important junior tournament – The Palmetto.

The #2 seed Woodson defeated #4 Brent Lett of Elgin in singles, then teamed with Joel Roberts of Summerville to win the doubles. To repeat as champion, O’Koniewski, seeded #2, had to beat #1 seed Alex Martin of Mt. Pleasant and she did that handily 6-3, 6-0. She won in the 16s last year. Erkan rolled through four straight-set matches to win her championship.

Here is the rundown of Friday singles finals:

Girls' 12 -- #1 seed Katie Williams (Columbia) def. #2 seed Ellie Halbauer (Daniel Island) 6-3, 6-1

Boys' 12 -- #1 seed Adam Elliget (Summerville) def. #2 seed Hampton Drake (Columbia) 6-2, 6-1

Girls' 14 -- #1 seed Ansley Speaks (Simpsonville) def. #2 seed Ellie Halbauer (Daniel Island) 6-3, 6-1

Boys' 14 -- #2 seed Jared Woodson (Hilton Head Island) def. #4 seed Brent Lett (Elgin) 6-3, 6-2

Girls' 16 -- #1 seed Leyla Erkan (Hilton Head Island) def. #2 seed Meghan Blevins (N. Charleston) 7-5, 6-1

Boys' 16 -- #3 seed Benjamin Barnette (Spartanburg) def. #2 seed Kyle Koch (Irmo) 6-4, 6-2

Girls' 18 -- #2 seed Molly O'Koniewski (Hilton Head Island) def. #1 seed Alex Martin (Mt. Pleasant) 6-3, 6-0

Boys' 18 -- #3 seed Chris Cox (Myrtle Beach) def. unseeded Joel Cook (Easley) 7-6(4), 6-4

Here are results from Thursday and Friday involving HHI, Bluffton, Beaufort juniors (shown in color):

Boys' 18 Singles -- (Quarterfinal) -- Joel Cook, Easley, def. Mo Hookaylo, Hilton Head Is., 6-4; 6-4; (Playoff) Dave Fosnacht (5) Blythewood, def. Hookaylo 7-6, Wo (inj); Consolation (Third Round) -- Nicholas Kunz, Hilton Head Is., def. Peter Pritchard, Charleston, 7-6(2); 6-3; Ryan Drake (9), Hilton Head Is., def. Jack West (9) Greenwood, 7-5 Ret (inj); (Quarterfinal Qualifier) -- Drake def. Nathan Crocker, Clinton, 4-6; 6-2; 1-0; Kunz def. Elliott Sperr, Charleston, 6-4; 4-1 Ret (inj); Hookaylo def. Kunz 6-2, 6-1; (Semifinal) – Browning def. Hookaylo 6-1, 6-1; (Final) Bobby Browning (1), Florence, def. Drake Wo (inj)

Boys' 14 Singles -- (Quarterfinal) -- Jared Woodson (2) Hilton Head Is., def. Wood Benton (5) Spartanburg, 6-3; 1-6; 6-2; (Semifinal) -- Woodson def. Bailey Kirkland (3) Charleston, 6-2; 6-2; (Final) -- Woodson def. Brent Lett (4) Elgin, 6-3; 6-2; Consolation (Second Round) -- Jack O'Koniewski, Hilton Head Is., def. Seth Pinosky, Mt Pleasant, 6-3; 6-4; Colby Tubbs, Mt Pleasant, def. Merritt Wilburn, Hilton Head Is., 6-2; 6-0; Consolation (Quarterfinal Qualifier) -- Austin Heinz (5) Daniel Island, def. O'Koniewski 7-5; 6-4

Girls' 18 Singles -- (Quarterfinal) -- Alex Martin (1), Mount Pleasant, def. Alrissa Tobe, Bluffton, 6-2; 6-4; Katie Fosnacht (5), Blythewood, def. Samantha Droop, Hilton Head Is., 6-0; 6-1; Molly O'Koniewski (2), Hilton Head Is., def. Kristina Mathis, Daniel Island, 6-2; 6-2; (Semifinal) – O’Koniewski def. Corin Hallman (3), Mount Pleasant, 6-3; 6-1; (Final) -- O'Koniewski def. Alex Martin (1), Mount Pleasant, 6-3; 6-0; (Playoff) -- Droop def. Maria Hesketh (5) Simpsonville, 6-3; 5-7; 1-0; Consolation (Third Round) -- Kendal Drake, Hilton Head Isl., def. Taylor Patterson, Lexington, 6-3; 6-4; Michelle Green (4), Hilton Head Isl., def. Avery Owens Clinton, 6-0; 6-2; (Quarterfinal Qualifier) -- Jane Lucas, Greenville, def. Drake 6-4; 6-3; Green def. Jordan Lazarus, Myrtle Beach, 6-4; 6-1; Consolation (Final) -- Tobe def. Kristina Mathis, Daniel Island, 6-3; 6-1

Girls' 16 Singles -- (Quarterfinal) -- Leyla Erkan (1), Hilton Head Isl., def. Morgan Chumney (5), Fort Mill, 6-2; 6-1; Ashley Kitchen (3), Hilton Head Isl., def. Caroline Deloach (5), Columbia, 6-1; 6-2; (Semifinal)-- Erkan def. Kitchen 6-4; 6-1; (Final) -- Erkan def. Meghan Blevins (2), N Charleston, 7-5; 6-1; (Playoff) -- Kitchen def. Patricia Kirkland, Charleston, 6-1; 6-3

Girls' 14 Singles -- Consolation (Quarterfinal) -- Olivia Lucas, Greenville, def. Charlotte Bellomy, Beaufort, 6-2; 6-4

Girls' 12 Singles -- (Quarterfinal) -- Katie Williams (1), Columbia, def. Valerie Droop (5), Hilton Head Isl., 6-1; 6-1; Consolation (Second Round) -- Natalie Kitchen (5), Hilton Head Is., def. Alexia Steichen, Mount Pleasant, 6-1; 6-2; Samantha Schuster, Charleston, def. Sydnee Wheeler, Hilton Head Isl., 4-6; 6-3; 10-7; (Final) -- Melanie Allen (5), Mount Pleasant, def. Droop 6-0; 3-6; 10-4

Boys' 18 Doubles -- (Semifinal) -- Benjamin Barnette / Connor Evins (3) def. Jacob Behal / Nicholas Kunz 2-6; 6-4; 6-1

Boys' 14 Doubles -- (Semifinal) -- Joel Roberts / Jared Woodson (3) def. Brent Lett / David Parker (1) 6-4; 6-2; (Final) -- Roberts / Woodson def. Bailey Kirkland / Thomas Spratt (4) 6-3; 6-3

Boys' 12 Doubles -- (Semifinal) -- Kyle Barr / Amit Kohli (2) def. Jeffrey Dayton / Elijah Elie (4) 6-2; 7-6(7); (Final) -- Hampton Drake / Adam Elliget (1) def. Barr / Kohli (2) 6-0; 6-0

Girls' 18 Doubles -- (Semifinal) -- Maria Hesketh / Alex Martin (1) def. Sally Bartelmo / Michelle Green 6-4; 6-4; Meghan Blevins / Kendal Drake def. Corin Hallman / Alexis Prickett (2) 6-4; 2-6; 6-4; (Final) -- Hesketh / Martin def. Blevins / Drake 3-6; 6-4; 6-3

Girls' 12 Doubles -- (Semifinal) -- Kayla Calvert / Curran Carver (2) def. Valerie Droop / Savannah Gantt 6-4; 6-1; Natalie Kitchen / Katie Williams (1) def. Ellie Halbauer / Brittany Hellberg (3) 4-6; 6-3; 7-6; (Final) – Calvert / Carver def. Kitchen / Williams 4-6, 7-5, 6-1

Women on the Pro Tour

Ever Wonder How “Amateurs” Are “Paid”?

It is not a fine line between pro and amateur in tennis. One earns money; the other gets expenses paid … maybe. Former HHI pro Bunny Williams, who now travels the country out of Greater Bluffton, deals in the precise calculations as Women’s Tour supervisor at events like last week’s Head/Tail $10,000 Championships at Van Der Meer Tennis Center. That event had 20 amateurs among the competitors, and part of her job is figuring who gets what. It goes something like this:

At the end of a tournament, calculate the total amount of money all amateurs would have won had they been pros. Divide that by the number of total playing days and that establishes a per diem amount. Next, take the per diem and multiply that by the number of days each player played. Say the per diem was $42.36 and Sally Thumper played five days. Per diem x five and Sally’s total is $211.18 -- PROVIDING SALLY HAD EXPENSES TO COME UP TO THAT AMOUNT. Figure travel, lodging and meals and you can pretty much guess she spent that.

Another hitch is that a player cannot get any money without putting something into the pool. That is, the amateur must win sufficient matches to get her into a money round. Otherwise, no dough.

So, it’s not just the parents rooting for the amateurs. It’s the amateurs cheering for each other because their success puts more cash into the pot. That makes someone like Hilton Head Island trainee Alison Riske a hero to fellow amateurs. She made it all the way to the main draw finals. Had she won that final three-setter, it would have kicked the per diem for amateurs up about $5.

No matter. Bottom line for amateurs is that they get no more money than what they can show as bona fide expenses.

Senior Mixed Players Sought

4.0 or 4.5 -- Men and women wanted for Wexford 8.0 senior mixed team. Contact Patrick Mason at 686-8816 or email PMason@Wexfordplantation.com.

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Upcoming Tournaments/Activity:

June 18-21: Sun City Senior Doubles Tournament / Sun City Tennis Club / USTA-sanctioned age and rating divisions in men’s, women’s & mixed doubles / TennisLink ID #704100909 / for additional info contact Ernie Clark at tennisracquets@yahoo.com.

June 26-28: Beaufort Summer Splash!! / Beaufort Tennis Center/Beaufort High School / USTA-sanctioned / Men's, women's and mixed NTRP divisions (ID #704110609) / For information, contact Cathy McGill at catmcgill@embarqmail.com.

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