Youth display love for tennis
Youths involved in tennis at Butler Country Club and with the Butler Junior Tennis Association have developed a love for the sport.
And last Friday provided a perfect time to show it.
Four players from each club competed at the 12th annual West Penn Interclub Junior Tennis Team Championships, held at Butler Country Club.
They were BCC's Jack Boros, Jessica Holden, Jack Standbridge and Katelyn Latuska and Butler Junior Tennis' Kemper May, Courtney Gallagher, A.J. May and Maddy Miranda.
Also participating were Lakevue (Valencia), Forest Hills (Pittsburgh), Club 4 Life (Monroeville), Allegheny (Sewickley), Chapel Gate (Fox Chapel) and Oxford North (Wexford).
All clubs sported two mixed-doubles teams, one competing at the varsity level (ages 13 to 18) and another at junior varsity (12 and under).
The results from both divisions were combined to determine the final team standings.
Oxford North defended its 2006 title by placing first. Butler Country Club tied for third, Lakevue finished seventh and Butler Junior Tennis was eighth.
But regardless of finish, it was a good experience for everyone involved.
"This event included the best players from the respective clubs," said Butler Country Club tennis pro Whitney Snyder. "The four kids that competed for us earned their spots by winning a playoff."
Standbridge and Latuska made the finals of the junior varsity division before falling in a tiebreaker to Oxford North.
"I thought we played well," said Latuska, 12, of Gibsonia. "But I like playing singles better."
Her teammate has a different opinion.
"I like doubles because you don't have to run the whole court," said Standbridge, an 11-year old from Hampton Township. "We did well, but it was a tough loss at the end with that tiebreaker."
Holden (five years) and Boros (six) have more than a decade's worth of experience at Butler Country Club.
"I like playing the baseline and Jack was up at the net running around with the volleys," said Holden, 15, of Hampton Township. "I played with his older brother, Joe, last year in the same event."
Holden and Boros played three matches, winning one.
"We made some mistakes here and there, but we did well for not playing together that much," said Boros, 13, of Saxonburg. "We found out we'd be playing together three days before the event."
Charlie Poe, a tennis pro at Lakevue Racquet Club, coaches members of the Butler Junior Tennis Association, which includes about 70 youngsters.
"It's been very rewarding for me," Poe said. "I've never met such a large group of kids so eager to learn."
