Despite the gusty winds on a recent fall Saturday, participants of the Bucks County Tennis Association’s public park tennis programs ably vied for gold and silver medals in a team competition that enabled them to test their tennis skills against their peers in Yellow, Green and Red Ball divisions. The event was held at Council Rock High School North tennis courts, and included plenty of player support by family and friends.
The BCTA organizes two Team Tennis Challenges each year to give its public park tennis athletes a chance to experience competition in an informal, fun format. Athletes are divided into two teams, Northern and Southern Bucks, and compete to combine their individual points with their respective teammates to arrive at a total team match score. For many players, this is their first time entering a competitive event.
The Yellow Ball division was very competitive as the team lead bounced back and forth. At the end of this 90-minute round-robin match play, the Northern Bucks team bested the Southern Bucks team 114-103 points for the gold medal.
The gold medalists of team Northern Bucks are: Aiden Pastermaster, Anastasia Korshun, Asher Schmidt, Brad Schmidt, Collene Check, Daria Zhukova, Davith Som, Dracen Som, Francis Pierce, Grace Byrne, James Gavin, Jen Gavin, Keira Calista, Marissa Berical and Sarah Olguin.
The silver medalists of team Southern Bucks are: Alan Miller, Chris Louie, Emily Ferris, Jailan Elsarha, Jefferson Louro, Jillian Smith, Julian Corbin, Kate Kartavseva, Leah Jiorle, Lucas Wambold, Michael Dimino, Nunzio DeMarchis, Sofia Corbin, Thomas Cronin and Vincent Malizia.
In the Green Ball division, competitors were involved in long rallies and many players implemented savvy strategies. After a bonus-point team game, the Southern Bucks Blue Coats team edged out the Eagles team by 233-230 points.
The gold medalists of team Blue Coats – Southern Bucks are: Aarya Patel, Cailin Stamate, Christian Santamaria, Cooper Kelso, James Amatucci, Michael Stanca, Nora Hammett, Shane Baranski, Trevor Malizia and William McGettigan.
The silver medalists of team Eagles – Northern Bucks are: Addie Baab, Anna Shorr, Cheyanne Derstine, Lucas Munn, Nicholas Bonvino, Rohit Apte, Sophia Hinkle, Violet Friemann and Vivian Bender.
The Red Ball division is played on modified 36-foot courts, and the competition definitely illustrated the young players’ ability to keep a rally going. A bonus-point team game of “Tennis Sandwich” resulted in the Riddling Rallyers of Southern Bucks taking the gold medal from the Crosscourt Warriors by a score of 257-240 points.
The gold medalists of team Riddling Rallyers – Southern Bucks are: Adhruth Arvindhakshan, Andrew Qiu, Ari Peymani, Eric Abrahamyan and Kaden Bernstein.
The silver medalists of team Crosscourt Warriors – Northern Bucks are: Aevin Blankenship, Carson Kim, Ella Koshy, Kayla Schickling, Madison Robinson and Riya Bhagat.
BCTA coaches Steve Johnson, Tom Donney, Barbara Carlin, Susan Gordon and Mike Dickey kept the ball rolling on the courts and encouraged players with helpful tennis tips. Parents and family members were on hand to support the players, with parent/family volunteers helping on-court with scorekeeping. USTA Middle States provided sportsmanship awards.
“What a fabulous end to our 2024 outdoor season,” said Johnson. “The courts were filled with smiles, sportsmanship and great play. The sheer number and range of ages was a testament to how impactful BCTA is in the Bucks community.”
Donney added, “It was a terrific day for tennis.”
Visit buckscounty.usta.com for more information.
