ATLANTA AND GEORGIA DOMINATE 2017 EVENT
| View team photos of champions and finalists |
With three champions and a finalist, Atlanta lead all cities in the 2017 USTA Southern Junior Team Section Championships. USTA Atlanta is the largest local USTA community tennis association in the country.
Among the section’s nine states, Georgia was the only state to capture multiple titles. Athens had the other Peach State champion.
Raleigh, N.C. had one champion and one finalist while Camden, S.C., and Knoxville, Tenn., ended up with two finalists/second-place teams each.
The champions and finalists/second-place teams were:
|
Level
|
Champion
(with captain/coach)
|
Finalist/
Second-Place Team
(with captain/coach)
|
Score in final
or
*champion’s score
in round robin
|
|
10 & Under
Advanced
|
Birmingham, Ala.
Milton Fleming
|
New Albany, Miss.
Robert Garrett
|
145-80*
|
10 & Under
Intermediate |
Atlanta
Alicia Shelton |
Camden, S.C.
Jill Sweat |
30-22 |
|
12 & Under
Advanced
|
Athens, Ga.
Amy Byrnes
|
Cary, N.C.
Reid Kinlaw
|
137-87*
|
|
12 & Under
Intermediate
|
Jackson, Miss.
Lynda Ratliff
|
Camden, S.C.
Susan Grumbach
|
38-21
|
|
14 & Under
Advanced
|
Atlanta
Cindy Pietkiewicz
|
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Heather Chatwick
|
299-97*
|
|
14 & Under
Intermediate
|
Raleigh, N.C.
Joshua Collins
|
Atlanta
Christy Winters
|
60-23
|
|
18 & Under
Advanced-High
|
Atlanta
Keri Magee
|
Knoxville, Tenn.
Ezequiel Gils
|
58-21
|
|
18 & Under
Advanced-Low
|
Lexington, Ky.
Laurie Larkin
|
Knoxville, Tenn.
Derek Stultz
|
216-95*
|
|
18 & Under
Intermediate
|
Hendersonville, Tenn.
Brannon Jones
|
Raleigh, N.C.
Joshua Collins
|
45-39
|
The growing youth team program has added an 18 and under advanced-low level that is contributing to the growth of the championships. Four teams played at that level, with Lexington Ky., winning the round robin.
This year’s event drew the top coed 62 teams and about 520 players from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. More than 1,000 persons were expected to stay in Rome and Floyd County, including parents, coaches and siblings of the competitors. Last year’s championships had 57 teams with about 450 players.
Matches were played Aug. 11-13 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Ga. The 60-court facility was opened last year.
Champions in 14-and-under and 18 and under levels will have the opportunity to advance to the Junior Team Tennis National Championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The 14 and under teams will play Sept. 21-24 and the 18 and under teams will play Sept. 28-Oct. 1.