A BIG THANK-YOU TO EVERYONE!!!
Tournament director Eric Voges, head referee Andrew Rogers, tournament desk extraordinaire Mary Cook, tournament organizer Eddie Baker and the staff of the Champions Club would like to thank everyone -- players, parents and spectators -- for a great five-day event. The problems were few, but the memories are many. Have a wonderful remainder of a summer and we all hope your visit to Chattanooga was enjoyable.
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AND THE SINGLES CHAMPIONS ARE ...
Diana Kussainova of Windermere, Fla., needed only one game to capture the National Open 12s girls' singles championship on Wednesday morning at the Champions Club, but her 5-3, second-set lead vanished when Vooha Vellanki of Norcross, Ga., charged back to deadlock the set at 5-all. However, the Floridian, seeded second, regained her composure to win the crown, 6-2, 7-5. Vellanki was one of the No. 5 seeds. In the boys' championship clash between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, top-ranked Tommy Paul of Greenville, N.C. put on quite a show to knock off David Beasley of Greenwood, Ind.
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AH, THOSE DOUBLES DELIGHTS
Shelby King (Cummings, Ga.) and Clare Raley (Atlanta, Ga.), the second-seeded duo in girls' doubles of the National Open 12s at the Champions Club, trailed the No. 1 tandem of Sofia Kenin (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Diana Kussainova (Windermere, Fla.) by 7-3 in Tuesday's title showdown. But the story changed, although it didn't happen in the blinking of an eye. The Georgians rallied back by playing defensive tennis and using patience on point after point to eventually pull out a 9-7 victory. Yes, King and Raley captured the final six games of the pro set, which took 2-hours, 3-minutes to settle the issue. Meanwhile, in the boys' final, fourth-seeded Michael Apple (Memphis, Tenn.) and Anudeep Kodali (Raleigh, N.C.) claimed an 8-5 decision over No. 2 Sebastian Bromley (Louisville, Ky.) and Lee Martin (Gainesville, Ga.)
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TUESDAY'S MATCH OF THE DAY
Daniel Rayl had a pair of No. 5 seeds staring him down at the Champions Club on Tuesday in the boys' consolation bracket of the National Open 12s Championships. But Rayl, a resident of Carmel, Ind., defeated one challenge and then the second to advance to Wednesday's 9 a.m.consolation singles title match against Jordi Bofill of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Rayl opened in the morning with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Lee Martin of Gainesville, Ga., and followed in the afternoon with a tight, but well-played 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) escape of Christian Hess of Charlotte, N.C. Oddly enough, Bofill is another of the No. 5 seeds.
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MONDAY'S MATCH OF THE DAY
Steven Karl spent Monday morning and afternoon on the tennis courts at the Champions Club -- literally. The Brentwood, Tenn., native opened his National Open 12s boys' consolation challenge in the morning with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 decision over Michael Apple of Memphis, one of No. 9 seeds. Then came another No. 9 seed -- Rohman Mitchell of Atlanta! Karl once again stood up the challenge, despite two "drizzle" delays forcing play off the court. The unseeded Tennessean dropped the opening set, 6-4, but rallied for the split by taking a 9-7 tie-breaker. Once in the winner-take-all match tie-break (first to 10 points, winning by 2), Karl held on and escaped 15-13 to advance to Tuesday's 8:30 a.m. consolation quarterfinal-round clash with No. 5 seed Jordi Bofill of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
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SUNDAY'S MATCHES OF DAY
Peyton Gollhofer, from just down I-75 in Cartersville, Ga., pulled off the biggest win of the day, stopping top seed Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., in a three-set come-from-behind. Gollhofer, a No. 9 seed, dropped the opening set 7-5, but rallied to the girls' singles victory, winning the second 6-3, and the match tie-break by 10-8. The win advances Gollhofer to Monday's quarterfinals against No. 5 Vooha Vellanki at 10 a.m.
Also, boys' third seed Anudeep Kodali of Raleigh, N.C., held off Alexander Del Corral of Doral, Fla., by 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), (12-10), to move into Monday's 10 a.m. quarterfinals against No. 5 Lee Martin of Gainesville, Ga.
And don't look now but No. 2 seed David Beasley of Greenwood, Ind., won his third consecutive 6-0, 6-0 match in the tourney, defeating No. 9 Noah Makarome of Wesley Chapel, Fla.
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SATURDAY'S MATCH OF THE DAY
Alexander Del Corral of Doral, Fla., didn't begin his tournament opener to his liking on Saturday, dropping the opening set to No. 9 seed Michael Apple of Memphis. However, Del Corral bounced back to topple Apple, 2-6, 6-4, (10-2), and later posted a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Noah Karoub of Farmington Hills, Mich., to advance to Sunday's boys's singles round-of-16. Del Corral's biggest challenge to date, however, will be Sunday morning when he goes against No. 3 seed Anudeep Kodali of raleigh, N.C.
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DEADLINE FOR ENTRY REFUNDS
The deadline to withdraw from the National Open 12s in Chattanooga and still receive your refund is Friday, June 26th, at noon (EDT).
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PLAYING FORMAT FOR SATURDAY (FIRST DAY)
On Saturday, July 4th, the first day of competition, two rounds of singles and one round of doubles will be contested.
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YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES
Attending the National Open 12s in Chattanooga will be professional tennis photographers Lloyd and Melissa Clayton from YourGameFace.com to provide tennis photography throughout the tournament. Please sign up early for your action posters. The Clayton's tournament phone number will be 214-543-5437.
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HIGH-TECH TENNIS AT CHAMPIONS
High-Tech Tennis (Atlanta, Ga.) will be at Champions Club July 4-6 ONLY for the National Open 12s to offer four Match Recording Packages so you can choose the one that's perfect for you. Almost all kids are visual learners ... and video is an excellent teaching tool, as well as a momento for a lifetime. Visit www.high-techtennis.com and click Services for more information, including samples and prices. Contact Danny and Julie Thiets (video@high-techtennis.com or 678-640-2723) to reserve your match time. High-Tech Tennis has eight digital camcorders and will video matches on a first-come, first-serve basis.
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PLEASE READ! THE SELECTION PROCESS!
All players who registered for the tournament, but who are not direct acceptance candidates, will be placed on the Alternate List. Any late applicants who have contacted the tournament will be placed in order of contact time, after all the current registered alternates. Players do not "jump the list" simply because they have a higher national ranking. The tournament's selection process is expected to begin Monday (June 8) or Tuesday (June 9).
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IF YOU'RE AN ALTERNATE SELECTED ...
If you're an alternate selected and contacted to play in the National Open 12s at the Champions Club -- and not selected by the USTA -- you will need to send a check to cover your entrance fee. Players on the Alternates List not originally selected for entrance into the tournament were not charged on their credit cards by the USTA. Selected alternates need to send a $75 check payable to Eric Voges, 1096 Lupton Drive, Lupton City, TN 37351.
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A NATIONAL LEVEL 2 EVENT
The National Open 12s at the Champions Club (Chattanooga, Tenn.) is a National Level 2 tournament and a Level 3 event in Southern (regional) rankings.
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IF YOU DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW ...
Lupton City, the mailing address of the Champions Club, is actually Chattanooga. And, if you didn't already know, Chattanooga is located 1-hour, 45-minutes north of Atlanta, and two hours southeast of Nashville. Chattanooga does have an airport with connecting flights from various cities, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Chicago, Washington D.C., Memphis, Dallas and Orlando, among others.
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HOST SITE, PRACTICE COURTS
The 20-court Champions Club will serve as host to both the boys and girls events. Furthermore, there will be six warm-up courts available (only 300 yards away) during the day on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Champions Club is located in Rivermont Park and has no real physical address. Directions to the Champions Club are listed in notes below.
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NEED TO PRACTICE/WARM-UP?
If you need to practice/warm-up with a hitting pro, contact Susannah Cook at 423-802-2050. You must set up your own times or sessions.
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JUST SO YOU KNOW ...
Bagels and juice will be served every morning at the Champions Club.
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LODGING
The Champions Club is located in the Hixson area, although downtown Chattanooga is only five miles away. Listed below are a few motels to check for vacancies:
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County Inn & Suites -- Hixson
5105 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343. Phone: (423) 308-2333.
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Holiday Inn Express -- Hixson
4820 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343. Phone: (423) 877-6464.
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County Inn & Suites -- Lookout Valley (Tiftonia)
3725 Modern Industries Parkway, Chattanooga, TN 37419. Phone: (423) 825-6100.
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Hampton Inn -- Hixson
1920 Hamil Road, Hixson, TN 37343. Phone: (423) 877-3100.
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DIRECTIONS TO CHAMPIONS CLUB
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(from Knoxville to Champions Club)
Take I-75 South to Highway 153/Chickamauga Dam/airport exit. Go 9 miles to Hixson Pike South (just past Northgate Mall), then 3 miles to Lupton Drive. Turn left onto Lupton Drive, then right 0.3 miles into Rivermont Park (Dixie Drive). Keep bearing left, following Champions Club signs and passing old tennis courts and baseball/softball fields.
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(from Atlanta to Champions Club)
Take I-75 North to Highway 153/Chickamauga Dam/airport exit. Go 9 miles to Hixson Pike South (just past Northgate Mall), then 3 miles to Lupton Drive. Turn left onto Lupton Drive, then right 0.3 miles into Rivermont Park (Dixie Drive). Keep bearing left, following Champions Club signs and passing old tennis courts and baseball/softball fields.
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(from Nashville to Champions Club)
Take I-24 East to Downtown Chattanooga (27 North), crossing over the Tennessee River and exiting at Dayton Boulevard. Go to traffic light No. 5 (the lights are numbered) and turn right onto Newberry. Go 2 blocks and turn left at four-way stop onto Easton, which turns into Lupton Drive. Go across big intersection at Hixson Pike, remaining on Lupton Drive. Take the first road at right (Dixie Drive), which is also the entrance to Rivermont Park. Go past the old tennis courts and baseball-softball fields to Champions Club.
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(from Birmingham to Champions Club)
Take I-59 to I-24 East, exiting at Downtown Chattanooga (27 North), crossing over the Tennessee River and exiting at Dayton Boulevard. Go to traffic light No. 5 (the lights are numbered) and turn right onto Newberry. Go 2 blocks and turn left at four-way stop onto Easton, which turns into Lupton Drive. Go across big intersection at Hixson Pike, remaining on Lupton Drive. Take the first road at right (Dixie Drive), which is also the entrance to Rivermont Park. Go past the old tennis courts and baseball-softball fields to Champions Club.
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USTA National Open. Online entry only. USTA chooses entries and
makes the seeds
4 players are selected for each site from the most recent National Standings List of the next lower age division and 28 players are selected for each site from the age division of the event
Entry to this tournament is restricted. To see how entrants will be selected, follow the “Selection Process” link to the left. It is the player’s responsibility to check the selection list(s) after registering online to be sure that a check mark appears beside the player’s name on the list, in order to insure proper registration. Entries must be submitted by Thursday, June 4, 2009 12 Noon Eastern Time. Only USTA members can register online if available.
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