Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 1:48 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 1:48 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Althea Gibson Tennis Complex is scheduled to hold the USTA Tennis On Campus state championships.
Sixteen club teams, including two from UNCW, are competing for berths in the nine-state sectionals in Auburn, Ala.
"We are so pumped to have Wilmington host a tournament this year,'' UNCW club president and coach Jared Bryant said. "Teams from all over the south will be able to come and witness our beautiful city and see just how lucky we are to be here. ?'
Bryant believes both teams can advance to the gold bracket following pool competition and place in the top three. However, they are inexperienced, with seven freshmen and four sophomores among their 16 team members.
"We have incredible talent that could be a major force to be reckoned with in the years to come,'' Bryant said.
He says the current team already is better than the previous four years.
Two weekends ago, they finished fifth in the Virginia Tech Invitational, behind the Hokies and Virginia Cavaliers A and B teams.
Among the participants, ECU has the smallest club roster with 10, while North Carolina has the most with 80 members.
Besides the Pirates and two Tar Heels' squads, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Davidson, UNC-Greensboro, Charlotte, Western Carolina, Elon and Duke are registered.
The squads are familiar with each other, having squared off in dual home and away matches in the North Carolina Tennis On Campus League.
"They are self-driven and kind and they come up with their own team and make their own schedule,'' said Caroline Downs, USTA junior and college league coordinator.
The round robin format involves four pools, meaning each team plays at least three matches. Each match has men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles.
Daily matches begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the semifinals and final scheduled for Sunday.
Downs said, historically, five to seven teams from the state championships qualify for the sectionals.
The event has previously been held in Greensboro. However, the Gibson Complex's 19 courts have appealed to the USTA.
"They were accommodating and we are very exciting to have those courts,'' Downs said.
Chuck Carree: 343-2262
On Twitter: @StarNewsSports
Source: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20121114/articles/121119847
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