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New matches for a new month
The Banana Open Challenge will get the busy tennis month rolling with champions from East Coast states’ tournaments converging on Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center Oct. 3 - 5 to engage winners from the Hilton Head Island. Go cheer for the locals - there’s no fee for spectators.
The challenge features winners from Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles in divisions 2.5 through open. For more information, call Palmetto Dunes (PD) at (843) 785-1152.
While Banana action is going on at PD, the BMW Combo Leagues will wrap up the season during the first two weekends of the month. The 16 senior combo teams finished their regular schedule in late September; 27 adult teams will complete on Oct. 11. Local champions from six men’s and women’s adult divisions and four senior categories will head for the South Carolina State Championships the last week in the month. Joining them will be Hilton Head Island’s Super Senior Combo champions who played an early summer schedule.
The Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) will hold its annual Professional Development Weekend Oct. 16 - 19 at its international headquarters at Van Der Meer Shipyard Racquet Club. The four-day session is open to members and non-members and will include workshops on teaching kids, mental coaching, team coaching and play-action drills. Each day will begin with a cardio tennis workout.
For more information on workshop topics and speakers, contact Peggy Edwards at (843) 785-7244 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The Oct. 17 - 19 weekend will find local state champion teams at the Southern USTA Mixed Doubles League Championships in New Orleans. The number one teams from nine Southern states, plus a couple of wild cards will compete in adult and senior divisions.
The same weekend features the Sea Pines-Rosie Gwyn Junior Tennis championships take place on Oct. 18 to 20 at Sea Pines Racquet Club. Sponsored by Smith-Stearns Tennis Academy, the USTA-sanctioned event will be all singles – boys and girls with consolation draws in age divisions 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.
The 2007 tournament drew 257 players from throughout the Southeast and this one should have at least that many top-ranked entrants. As usual, spectators are admitted free to the matches, some of which will be played at satellite sites. For entry and tournament data, go to usta.com, then TennisLink, then Tournaments and use ID No. 704102108. For additional information, call Sea Pines Racquet Club at (843) 363-4495.
Jump from juniors to older players on Oct. 22 - 26 and you will find the long-running Vacation Company Adult Championships at Van Der Meer Shipyard Racquet Club again attracting entrants from throughout the East Coast. The tournament began in the 1980s as a senior event. This is the sixth year since expanding to adults and seniors. Admission is free to spectators.
The USTA-sanctioned tournament is a South Carolina Level Two, Southern 150-point event, meaning results carry extra weight in determining yearend age-division rankings. Playing divisions will include Open and five-year increments from 35 through 75 in men’s and women’s singles and doubles. The Open division also will serve as the third in the 2008 Van Der Meer Open prize-money series.
Last year’s tournament attracted more than 175 players. The 2008 edition will include catered happy hour parties each evening, as well as award presentations on finals Sunday. Entry can be made online at usta.com, using Tournament ID No. 704138108. For local information, contact Tournament Director Justyn Schelver at 785-8388 ext. 119 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The tournament overlaps the Oct. 24-27 South Carolina BMW Combo League State Championships on Daniel Island, Charleston.
HHI’s Special Olympics athletes also will be traveling this month. Training especially since the start of the school year, 16 local players will compete in the upcoming South Carolina Fall Games Oct. 24 - 26 in Anderson. The state will host about 750 athletes, of which 65 will be competing in tennis. For information, contact Myron Meister (843) 342-6236.
The end of the month and rolling into November will bring the annual Tennis Association of HHI (TAHHI) tournament, this year traveling under a new banner: “The Island Championship.” TAHHI is reworking its year-end format event with play Oct. 31 - Nov. 2. Early rounds will be at several clubs, with finals Sunday, Nov. 2 at Port Royal Racquet Club. Be aware that Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. that morning.
Members and non-members can play in the championship. Entry forms will be distributed to HHI clubs and will be available on the association’s Web site tahhi.org. Look for a big party at Port Royal during the tournament finals.
Running most weekdays all through this busy month will be the Super Senior season – 60s, 70s and 75s age divisions – which, this year, are split into separate operating divisions, with TAHHI handling the on-island leagues and the new Coastal Carolina Tennis Association doing the Bluffton/ Beaufort/other islands action.
The TAHHI and CCTA schedules will finish by the end of this month, setting up a weekend break before the South Carolina State Championships Nov. 7 - 9 at Wild Dunes, Isle of Palms. The two tennis bodies each will send category champions to the state playoffs.
Team rosters close before mid-month, so if you are interested in joining a team, Super Senior Islanders can contact Mary Ellen Arboe, via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Don Grider at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
To obtain additional CCTA info, please email Vivian Wayne, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Ernie Clark at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
TAKE A TIP FROM ...
Dennis Van der Meer, author of hundreds of tennis tips. With all the team play on Hilton Head Island, a critical decision for team captains is setting up doubles partners. Establishing consistent partners makes for winning teams and that means finding partners that complement each other’s games. “You need a setter-upper and a putter-awayer,” Van der Meer said. The consistent getter-backer keeps the ball in play until the putter-awayer, prowling at the net, steps in. Teams playing singles and doubles don’t often put the numbers one and two singles players together in doubles.
