Two hundred tennis players from across Kentucky recently rallied at Ruff Park for a doubles tournament that glimpsed Hopkinsville’s ability to host championship-level events.

Local tourism official Cheryl Cook said the community has always excelled at putting on sporting events. Landing a state championship and all the visitor spending that comes with it, however, is becoming more competitive, she said.

Typically, championship tournaments are played in Louisville, Frankfort or Lexington.

That’s why the impression Hopkinsville made while hosting the 2010 U.S. Tennis Association’s Tri-Level State Championship is cause to celebrate.

“From what we were hearing (from players), is that they like Hopkinsville and want to come back,” Cook said.

Out-of-town players came from Louisville, Frankfort, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Paducah, Henderson, Mayfield and Murray.
 
Cook didn’t swing a racket but she stayed on her feet plenty. The competition packed 27 hours of tennis action into one weekend. The tournament began Friday night on Aug. 27 and wrapped up the following Sunday night.

Cook delivered water and snacks to Ruff Park on behalf of the Convention & Visitors Bureau as well as spending the entire day onsite as a gopher for organizers.

Staff from the City’s Public Works Department, including Grounds Maintenance and Parks and Recreation, worked with tournament organizers for weeks to ensure that the courts and facility were in top condition.

Those most responsible for laying out the welcome mat, however, were members of the Pennyrile Area Tennis Association. Volunteers, with some tables, flowers and posters, created a clubhouse ambience in the park restrooms.  Nets were measured, scorecards distributed and cans of tennis ball opened. Computers were set up to download results instantly to the USTA Web site www.ustaky.com.

Two local PATA members, Lori Harper and Richard Wimsatt, officiated the entire tournament.

USTA Kentucky State League Coordinator Kathy Klein was so impressed with Harper and Wimsatt that she invited them to officiate an upcoming tournament in Bowling Green, Ky.

But it was the wider team effort that grabbed Klein’s attention.

“The Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Pennyrile Area Tennis Association organizers were thorough in making sure everything went without a hitch,” Klein commented.

That attention to detail extended to the players’ reception halfway through the tournament. The party was thrown at the James E. Bruce Convention Center immediately after 12 hours of competition. More than a hundred visitors came and raved about the food and entertainment provided by thumb picker Eddie Pennington.

The big crowd was partly the result of growing interest in the tournament. Last year’s registration was half of this year’s.

Cook estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the participants were from outside Christian County.

“Whenever you have an event that brings people from out of town, and they eat in a restaurant and fill up with some gas, it adds to the overall economic picture of Hopkinsville,” she said.

Hopkinsville had to bid for the tournament against other locales. Cook said the community’s athletic facilities and tourism magnets featured prominently in the bid package.

Tri-level competition matches up doubles teams according to their skill ratings.

Winners among the six divisions included three local teams. The team captained by Janine Cundiff took the senior women’s division. With Cundiff were Barbara Sholar, Pat Carter, Ricky Lee, Mardi Pittman, Nancy Scott Raelene Thrasher and Lori White.

Faisal Naviwala’s team prevailed in the men’s division. He was joined by Don Wood, Prasad Alapati, David Freeman, Will Anderson and Bryan Wyatt.

Finally, the senior men’s team topped their competition. The group included William Anderson, Michael Derosier, Ken Koch, Robert Pinholster, Gerald White and Michael Wright.

These teams advance to the regional championship in Jackson, Tenn. on Oct 15th.