Pierremont Oaks’ Grady Wilson talks USTA Southern 16s delay
Jimmy Watson, [email protected]
Some of the top junior tennis players in the South will hit courts at Pierremont Oaks and Southern Hills this weekend when the inaugural Walk-On’s Independence Bowl Junior Tennis Classic gets underway.
Classified as a USTA Southern Level 2 tournament, the Classic is one of the highest level junior tournaments in the South and has attracted nearly 200 entrants.
Among the approximately 20 local participants are Times Sports Award honorees Andrew Otzenberger (Calvary), Stafford Yerger (Loyola) and Tiffani Nash (Loyola).
“We are excited about bringing back the old I-Bowl tennis tournament,” said tournament director Grady Wilson. “We were happy to partner with the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl to bring this back.”
The competition begins on Friday at 5 p.m. with doubles matches. The singles will launch Saturday morning and doubles will close out the day. The same will be true Sunday and the event will conclude Monday with only singles events.
The competitors will range in age from 12 to 18 and must reside in the USTA’s Southern Region. There are entries from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Wilson said he had hoped for more entries but he was happy with the number for their first effort since the tennis tournament ended in the early 1980s when the USTA revamped its tournament schedules. Now, thanks to a rapid rise in youth tennis participation in the Southern Section, more junior events are being added. A group of Southern tennis players recently won the USTA Southern 16s event at Pierremont Oaks.
“The tournament is great for the area and we have some beautiful trophies from Lee Michaels and Dynamic Trophies,” Wilson said. “We’re providing a great lunch for the kids on Saturday and Sunday.”
All 21 courts at Pierremont Oaks and 10 at Southern Hills will be utilized for the event. There is no admission charge at either site and play will begin Saturday through Monday at 8 a.m.
“Through our efforts here at Pierremont Oaks Tennis Club, and working closely with the Independence Bowl Foundation officials, Todd Killen, David Kimball, the Northwest Louisiana Community Tennis Association, USTA Louisiana and USTA Southern, we have been able to bring this great tournament back to the Shreveport-Bossier area,” Wilson said in a release.
The singles will be double elimination, while the doubles are single elimination. The 12s and 14s will compete on clay while the 16s and 18s will play on hard courts.
Twitter: @JimmyWatson6
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