BUTLERTWP — The fourth annual Butler Country Club Pro-Am tennis tournament is scheduled for Sunday at the club's courts.

The event features the top eight male and female tennis-playing members of the club, along with eight Pittsburgh area tennis pros. Each male and female player joins a pro to form a three-person team.

"The main purpose of this event is to reward our best men and women players with a tournament at the end of the season,"BCC tennis pro Whitney Snyder said. "We like to have it on the same weekend as the U.S. Open.

"This also gives us a chance to bring a very high level of tennis to Butler County for people to see."

This tournament is open to the public and admission is free. In the event of rain, the tourney will be moved to Lakevue Athletic Club, an indoor facility in Valencia.

Mixed doubles play begins at 2:30 p.m. Men's doubles will begin at 4. Results from both doubles divisions will be combined to determine winning three-person team.

Among the eight men representing Butler Country Club is one woman, Katy Trostle. She was part of the winning trio in 2004 as a member of the men's bracket.

The top two male players in Butler Country Club's junior tennis program, Stefan Kemp and Evan Kowalski, will be playing in this event as well.

"That will be a first for us,"Snyder said. "I want to see how they stand up to the adult competition."

Kemp and Kowalski are freshmen at Butler High School this year.

The other five men's players are Nate Succop, Chuck Lenns, Tom Bennitt, Doug Johnston and Jack Barkley.

The women players are Liz Giancola, Mary Jo Sylvia, Judy Barkley, Jenny Ivory, Caroline Haser, Ann Gatty, Annie Succop and Janet Platt.

Gatty is Kowalski's mother. Nate and Annie Succop are brother-sister.

Participating pro players include Allegheny Country Club pro Matt Riva and men's club champion Tom Kopf, independent Jay Barkley of Gibsonia, independent Koach Conroy of Finleyville, former Duquesne University men's tennis captain Rob Ojeda, Mt. Lebanon High School girls tennis coach John Nichols and Mt. Lebanon Tennis Center pro Dan Hersch.

An eighth pro will be added to the field.

The Barkley family has four representatives playing in this event. Jay and Judy Barkley are husband-wife, Ivory is their daughter and Jack Barkley is their son.

"There are a lot of family ties in the tournament this year,"Snyder said.

No one player has ever won this tournament more than once. Judy Barkley teamed with Bill Kemper and Vikas Punna to win it last year.

Trostle teamed with Giancola and Kenny Nieser to win in 2004 with Jay Barkley, Johnston and Judy Ferree winning the inaugural event in 2003.