This spring, the Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association (GACTA) sponsored the seventh season of its no-cut GACTA Middle School Tennis league, which provided 160 local middle school students, from beginner to advanced players, an opportunity to play tennis in a team format for their school. As in previous years, the season ran during the months of April and May following the high school tennis season. Volunteer parent-captains recruited middle school students from eight middle schools under the guidance of Anne Koterba, President of GACTA and coordinator of the middle school tennis program. This year, as in 2016, a group of players from Sidney Lanier Center, a school for students with developmental disabilities, joined the Westwood Middle School team. The other local schools included Lincoln, Jordan Glen, Oak Hall School, Kanapaha, Howard Bishop, and Oakview, and newcomers the Smashers, a home school team coached by Sandra Phillips.

This year, the Middle School League Team Championship, mirroring the FHSAA State Tennis Championship’s changed to a team vs. team format (but with an emphasis on doubles), was held at the Jonesville Tennis Center. This year, Jordan Glen took home the 2017 Middle School Championship, and Oak Hall ended up the Tournament Finalist. The number #1 doubles team of Graham Louis and Austin Jones (Jordan Glen) was also recognized.

GACTA’s no-cut middle school tennis program is sustainable because the hard costs are covered by a modest participation fee ($55), and because our local private and public tennis facilities generously provide teaching pros for practices and courts for both practices and matches. In addition, the parent-coordinators provide a great deal of volunteer help. The participation fee also generates enough revenue to provide scholarships for students from low-income families, as well as support GACTA’s Aces in Motion tennis outreach program for at-risk youth. Again this year, Elizabeth Patterson, the parent-coordinator for Westwood Middle School and Special Olympics tennis coach, provided a unified playing experience for several Sidney Lanier players. They attended practices and competed in matches as a part of Westwood’s team.

“Teamwork and sportsmanship is what this program is really about,” Koterba said. “We just want kids of all backgrounds and all abilities to be able to go out and play and learn how enjoyable the game can be. We like to emphasize that tennis can be a great team sport, whether playing for your school’s team or playing as a doubles team.”

This year, the Jonesville Tennis Center (JTC), Westside Tennis, and the Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club provided courts for match play for the middle school league, and all of these facilities, as well as the 300 Club, “adopted” teams for practices. The Jordan Glen team was coached by Dave Porter (JTC) and the parent-coordinator was Nicole Christie. The Oak Hall team was coached by Chris McDonald (JETA) and the parent-coordinator was veteran Tammy Miller.

For additional photos of the 2017 Middle School Tennis season or for more information on GACTA’s programs, please see www.gainesvilletennis.org or go to Gainesville Tennis or Aces in Motion on Facebook.

This spring, the Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association (GACTA) sponsored the sixth season of its no-cut GACTA Middle School Tennis league, which provided almost 150 local middle school students, from beginner to advanced players, an opportunity to play tennis in a team format for their school. As in previous years, the season ran during the months of April and May following the high school tennis season. Volunteer parent-captains recruited middle school students from nine middle schools under the guidance of Anne Koterba, President of GACTA and coordinator of the middle school tennis program. This year, for the first time a group of players from Sidney Lanier Center, a school for students with developmental disabilities, joined the Westwood Middle School team. The other local schools included Lincoln, Jordan Glen, Oak Hall School, Kanapaha, Howard Bishop, and newcomers PK Yonge, Queen of Peace, and Oakview.

This year, the Middle School League Team Championship, mirroring the FHSAA State Tennis Championship’s changed to a team vs. team format (but with an emphasis on doubles), was held at the Jonesville Tennis Center. This year, Lincoln Middle School won the 2016 Middle School Championship for the first time, upsetting Jordan Glen School, which had reigned as Tournament Champion for the past four years.

Jordan Glen ended up the Tournament Finalist, with Oak Hall School coming in third place. The number #1 doubles team of Ethan Cockey and Kejin “Jackson” Dong was also recognized.

GACTA’s no-cut middle school tennis program is sustainable because the hard costs are covered by a modest participation fee ($55), and because our local private and public tennis facilities generously provide teaching pros for practices and courts for both practices and matches. In addition, the parent-coordinators provide a great deal of volunteer help. The participation fee also generates enough revenue to provide scholarships for students from low-income families, as well as support GACTA’s Aces in Motion tennis outreach program for at-risk youth. This year, for the first time, Elizabeth Patterson, the parent-coordinator for Westwood Middle School and Taylor Byle, both whom had coached a Special Olympics tennis group, provided a unified playing experience for several of those players. They attended practices and competed in matches, as a part of Westwood’s team.

 “Teamwork and sportsmanship is what this program is really about,” Koterba said. “We just want kids of all backgrounds and all abilities to be able to go out and play and learn how enjoyable the game can be. We like to emphasize that tennis can be a great team sport, whether playing for your school’s team or playing as a doubles team.”

This year, the Jonesville Tennis Center (JTC), Westside Tennis, Oak Hall School, and the Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club provided courts for match play for the middle school league, and all of these facilities, as well as the 300 Club, “adopted” teams for practices. The new champions, Lincoln Middle School, was coached by Alexis King and Abdoulaye Toure, and the parent coordinator was Kim Beck.

For more information on GACTA’s programs, pleasego to Gainesville Tennis or Aces in Motion on Facebook.

By Anne Koterba

This spring, the Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association (GACTA) sponsored the fifth season of its no-cut GACTA Middle School Tennis league, which provided 100 local middle school students, from beginner to advanced players, an opportunity to play tennis in a team format for their middle school. The season ran during the months of April and May following the high school tennis season. Volunteer parent-captains recruited middle school students from seven middle schools under the guidance of Anne Koterba, President of GACTA and coordinator of the middle school tennis program. Both public and private middle schools participated in the program. Local schools included: Jordan Glen, Oak Hall School, Westwood, Kanapaha, Lincoln, Fort Clarke, and Howard Bishop Middle Schools.

As in the previous seasons, a two-day Middle School League Team Championship, with a similar format to the FHSAA District Tennis Championship format, with an emphasis on doubles, was held at the Jonesville Tennis Center. Jordan Glen School “four-peated” as Tournament Champion (22 points), and the Oak Hall School “four-peated” as Tournament Finalist (11 points). Lincoln Middle School finished a close third behind Oak Hall. When asked about the continuing dominance of the small, private, Jordan Glen School, Dave Porter, Director of Tennis at Jonesville Tennis Center and Jordan Glen parent, commented, “Jordan Glen has a well rounded curriculum with rigorous academics, and a strong focus on the arts and athletics. Students grow up playing multiple sports, developing their overall athleticism and confidence. The family-like atmosphere also fosters bonds among the kids on and off the court, which strengthens their teamwork.”

The GACTA middle school tennis program is sustainable because the hard costs are covered by a modest participation fee ($55), local private and public tennis facilities generously provide teaching pros for practices and courts for matches, and parents provide a great deal of volunteer help. The participation fee also generates enough revenue to provide scholarships for students from low-income families, as well as support GACTA’s Aces in Motion tennis outreach program for at-risk youth.

The no-cut feature of the program allows even true beginners, who may never have played tennis before, to experience match play, as GACTA volunteers go on court to help them with scoring and rules.

“We really want the kids to have fun playing for their school, no matter what their level of experience”, said Addison Staples, Executive Director of GACTA. “That’s what this program is really about,” Koterba said. “We just want kids of all backgrounds realize how enjoyable the game of tennis can be, so they will want to go out and play. Although tennis can be an individual sport, we like to emphasize that it can be a great team sport as well, whether playing for your school’s team or playing as a doubles team.”

This year, the Jonesville Tennis Center (JTC), Westside Tennis, Oak Hall School, and the Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club provided courts for match play for the middle school league, and all of these facilities, as well as the 300 Club, “adopted” teams for practices.

For more information on GACTA’s programs, please see www.gainesvilletennis.org or go to Gainesville Tennis or Aces in Motion on Facebook.

Fifth Season GACTA Middle School League

Tournament Results

Finals Main Draw:

Flight 1: Colby Stewart/Leo Asch (JG) def Ethan Cockey/Eric Chen (LIN)                                       6-3

Flight 2: Christian Mazpule/Nolan Louis (JG) def Stephanie Miller/Alden Laborde(OH)            6-2

Flight 3: Dagney Kaye/Jadon Kennard (JG) def Mac LaBorde/Kate Pickens (OH)                        6-3

Flight 4: James Donnelly/Isaac Kaye (JG) def Anna Liu/Mallory Tutton (LIN)                             6-1

Flight 5: Liz Arnold/Sidney Washburn (JG) def Adel Acs/Katie Kerensky(OH)                             6-3

Flight 6: Lincoln Weaver/Graham Shoemaker (JG) def Sydney Miller/Sophie Miller (OH)        6-0

Flight 7: Graham Louis/Lotus Campbell (JG) def Graham Bernstein/Avery Bernstein (OH)      6-3

Flight 8: Jaden Rosillo/Morgan Tooke (JG) def Davis Beck/Tahsin               Nabi                           6-0

GACTA Middle School Tennis Tournament Champions

Oak Hall GACTA Middle School Tennis Tournament Finalists

Flight 1 Champions: Jordan Glen’s Colby and Leo

Flight 1 Finalists: Lincoln’s Ethan and Eric