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Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

Smith named director at Healy Point

Bonnie Smith has been named Director of Tennis for Canongate at Healy Point Country Club. Smith has diverse experience in management in the healthcare, managed health insurance and tennis industries.

She has been actively involved as a volunteer leader in the tennis community since 2002. Smith’s experience includes board service and committee leadership at the state and sectional levels of the United States Tennis Association, serving as director and/or referee for tournaments at the local, state, sectional and national levels and past service as both executive director of the Macon Tennis Association and President of the Middle Georgia Tennis Foundation. Her particular passion is for junior players, and she looks forward to the opportunities to enhance the programs and overall experience for tennis participants at every skill level at Healy Point.

Smith replaces Tim Child, who served a short stint as Director of Tennis in June and July.

NATIONAL COMPETITORS

A team from Cochran will join tennis teams from around the country as they compete for a national title at the 2009 USTA Junior Team Tennis Intermediate 14-and-under National Championships held Oct. 23-25 in Mobile, Ala.

Hosted by the Mobile Tennis Facility, the tournament will crown the national champion in the country at the intermediate level. Competing for the Bleckley County squad will be Anthony Blankenship, Sara Bowen, Stephanie Campbell, Anmol China, Chase Griffin, Dylon Jones, Valerie McLure, Rebecca Rowland and Brennan Sanders. The team qualified for the championships by capturing the state then finishing in 2nd place at the sectional tournament, earning the right to compete against the 16 other sections that make up the USTA for the national championship.

ATLANTA EXHIBITIONS

November and December are the months that current and former professionals spend a lot of time playing in exhibitions across the country. Atlanta will get its share as Pete Sampras, Melanie Oudin, Todd Martin, Mardy Fish, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan and John Isner will all make appearances.

On Nov. 7 at Atlanta Athletic Club, Sampras and Martin will square off in the inaugural Live United Tennis Classic. Gates open at 1 p.m. with silent and live auctions. The match begins at 4 p.m. Proceeds benefit United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. The Infinite Energy Atlanta Challenge will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 at Racquet Club of the South, featuring Oudin, the Bryan Brothers, Fish and Isner. Proceeds benefit the National Tennis Foundation.

Tickets to both events can be purchased by calling 1-800-514-3849 or visiting www.etix.com.

ADULT EVENT

The John Drew Smith Memorial will be held Nov. 15– 21 at the center that bears his name. Men’s and women’s 2.5–5.0 singles and 3.0–5.0 doubles; Mixed Combo 6.0–10.0. The cost is $33 for one event and $36 for two events. T-shirts are available for all participants, and an awards dinner will be held Nov. 21. The TennisLink tournament ID No. is 703498709. Call 477-1957.

HIGH AND MIDDLE SCHOOL EVENT

USTA Georgia is hosting the second annual high school and middle school team tournament with a regional stop Nov. 21-23 at JDS Tennis Center. Three levels of singles and two levels of doubles will be played, with the top singles and doubles positions earning Level 3 USTA GA rankings points, and all others earning Level 4 USTA GA rankings points. It takes a minimum of seven players and a maximum of nine, to field a team. Players may compete in singles or doubles, but not both, as was allowed last year.

The team captain cannot be the school’s official tennis coach, so it should be an interested parent or other volunteer. Entries are accepted first-come, first-serve, with a $250 entry fee per team.

The top team from each region will advance to the state tournament Dec. 5-7 in Macon. The team fee for the state finals will be $200. Schools can enter both a girls and a boys team or just one team. All points garnered are separate for the genders. The deadline to register is Oct. 25. For more information, e-mail Smith at bonnies412@gmail.com.

JUNIOR EVENTS

The Warner Robins Junior Championships Level 4 event will be held Nov. 7-8 at the recreation courts. T-shirt are available to all participants for boys and girls ages 10-and-under through 18-and-under singles with a first-match losers’ consolation. The fee is $38.13, and the entry deadline is Nov. 3. The TennisLink tournament ID No. is 703485709. This is a Championship event open to all players regardless of ranking. Call 397-5396.

The Middle Georgia Junior Fall Satellite Level 5 event will be held Nov. 14-15 at Tattnall Tennis Center. T-shirts are available to all participants for boys and girls 10-and-under through 18-and-under singles with a feed-in consolation. The cost is $33, and the entry deadline is Nov. 10. The TennisLink tournament ID No. is 703407809. This is a Satellite event open only to players with no 2008 year-end ranking. Call 751-9196.