4 BCC junior tennis players compete in Pro-Am event
PENN TWP — The 19th annual Butler Country Club Tennis Pro-Am took place Sunday afternoon — with a different twist.
Four of the amateurs were extremely young amateurs. Three of them — Elizabeth Swift, Lauren Miko and Kenzie Gumto — play for their respective high school teams.
The fourth, Mason Hoffman, is 12 years old.
By comparison, the eldest player in the eight-team doubles event was Dave McKeown, 72.
“These four are some of the better junior players in our program,” BCC tennis director Whitney Snyder said. “I wanted to give them the opportunity to play in an event like this.
“It's a good experience for them and they're excited about it.”
And a little nervous.
“It's going to be fun, but, yeah, I'm a bit nervous,” Hoffman admitted before the event. “I haven't played much tennis with adults.”
A Penn Township resident and an eighth-grader, he's only been playing tennis for four years.
“I tried baseball before and wasn't very good at it,” Hoffman said. “My mom was playing tennis and I was looking for a new sport.
“I tried tennis and it just stuck. I love it. I know I'll learn a lot playing with and against adults.”
Hoffman teamed with Dave Pfaff, a longtime player from Pittsburgh. They went 2-5 in their seven matches.
Swift, 15, is a Penn Township resident who plays at No. 3 singles for North Catholic. Coming from a tennis-playing family, she's been involved in the sport since age 5.
She's been in the BCC junior tennis program for six years.
“Snyde just makes it fun,” Swift said. “We learn a lot about sportsmanship with him, too.
“This will be a laid-back, fun event. But I'm competitive and once I'm on the court, I'm playing to win.”
And win she did.
Teaming with Dave Bender, former tennis coach at Carlynton High School, her team won seven of its eight matches and won the event. They met McKeown and Wyatt Geller, who were 6-0, in the final match of the day.
Bender and Swift won that match by a 3-1 score.“That was some pretty good drama there at the end,” Snyder said. “The winner of that match was going to win the whole thing.”Gumto, 15, is another Penn Township resident and plays No. 2 doubles for Knoch. She teamed with Will Kleeman, an assistant pro at Edgeworth, and finished 2-4-1.“This is definitely different,” Gumto said. “It's good practice, playing with older players.”She has been a member of BCC's junior tennis program for 10 years.“I learned how to play the game here,” Gumto said.Miko, 17, is an Adams Township resident who plays No. 2 singles for Mars. She's been with the BCC program for 12 years.Miko teamed with Jody Offstein and finished 3-4 on the day.“The adults have more strength, obviously, and that makes the game different from what I'm used to,” Miko said. “Still, you play to win. That's what we're all doing.“I've learned so much here, about tennis, sportsmanship and other areas of life, that I wouldn't get from just taking lessons somewhere else.“Snyde makes this thing go. I love coming here. We all do. Days like this are special,” she added.
1. Dave Bender-Elizabeth Swift 6-12. Wyatt Geller-DFave McKeown 6-13. Dan Craig-Ralph Kuhn 4-34. Ken Boben-Maria Silvaggio 3-3-15. Jody Offstein-Lauren Milko 3-46. Will Kleeman-Kenzie Gumto 2-4-17. Dave Pfaff-Mason Hoffman 2-58. Ryan Martin-John Ivory 1-6
