Youth tennis event rolls on
PENN TWP — The 24th annual West Penn Junior Inter-Club Mixed Doubles Team Championships took place recently at the Butler Country Club courts.
Five teams participated. Each year, BCC tennis pro Whitney Snyder hopes for more.
“We invited 25 different clubs in the Pittsburgh area, all the clubs that have junior programs,” Snyder said. “Most of these pros aren't willing to give up four hours one day to come up and support their kids.
“It's a sad commentary on where we're at today. Still, we had a great day. All of the kids and programs that were here walked away having a great time.”
Participating teams were Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Butler Junior Tennis Association, Oxford Athletic Club and Butler Country Club. Each program had an 18-under mixed doubles team and a 12-under mixed doubles team.
Each doubles team played the other four in their respective divisions in a round-robin format to determine the champions.
Mt. Lebanon won the event by finishing in first place in the varsity (18-under) and junior varsity (12-under) divisions. Butler Junior Tennis placed third, BCC fifth.
But this day wasn't really about competition.
“This event is about socializing and celebrating the sport,” Snyder said. “The atmosphere is intended to be relaxed. We played music the entire time the kids were playing to promote that atmosphere.”
Sportsmanship awards were presented to Geoffrey Heatherington of Mt. Lebanon and Lexi Chappel of Butler Junior Tennis. Other Butler Junior Tennis players in the event were Jack Somerville, Alison Smith and Marcus Montebell.
Picking up extra effort awards were Keely Stiegel of Peters Township and Will Parraca of Butler Country Club. Other BCC players were Maura Offstein, Kailyn Plant and Patrick Miko.
“What pleased me the most about this event was the interaction of the kids,” Snyder said. “USTA junior tennis tournaments can be cut-throat and you rarely see any doubles tournaments for kids, let alone mixed doubles.
“These kids signed in at registration in the morning having never met each other. By early afternoon, they were sitting on a bench together, eating pizzas and talking with each other.
“The kids get to know each other and some friendships are formed. That's what I love about this,” Snyder added.
And while club participation in this West Penn Junior event has dwindled in recent years, Snyder is grateful it remains alive.
“I'm grateful that Butler Country Club continues to support it,” Snyder said. “We always hope to grow it. It's a lot of fun.”
