Staff Reports, newsroom@bossierpress.com
After a layoff of almost ten years, the area’s annual City tennis tournament came roaring back last August.
The weekend was a resounding success. Hundreds of spectators came to watch the rebirth of The City.
Three local tennis enthusiasts — Rick Holland, Bossier Tennis Center pro Todd Killen and Jeffrey Goodman — were the group behind bringing The City back.
They started small, wanting to make sure the event after being dormant for so long would be a success. Last year’s City only had two divisions — men’s open Singles and men’s Open Doubles.
But this year it’s an entirely different story. The tournament starts Aug. 12 and runs through Aug. 18 at Bossier Tennis Center. There will be seventeen divisions with at least one that should be appropriate for anyone that plays competitive tennis.
There will be unique divisions like and mother/daugher and father/son doubles.
There will be a different food truck every night along with water slides and bounce houses for the kids, smoothies and snow cones. And of course, plenty of tennis.
Players can register at https://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=237357
“The City was something special,” Goodman said in a press release. “So much more than just another tournament. It was the one time a year the entire tennis community — young/old, boys/girls, men/women, beginners/the highly advanced — got together to hang out and celebrate tennis in our area.
“All of us (Todd, Rick and I) grew up playing in The City and we felt strongly that our area needed it back.”
Unlike last year, which was only for the most advanced male players in the area, this year’s City is for everyone — from people that have never played in a tournament before to current and former collegiate players and everything in between.
“If you play tennis at any level, we hope you will play in this year’s City.,” Goodman said. “There will be great competition in 17 different events and it will be a week-long celebration of this sport that we all love.”
In the tradition of years past, this year’s City will feature a virtual who’s who of the most accomplished players in our area including last year’s singles champion Anthony McMaster, last year’s runner-up Todd Killen, four-time state champion John Gray Pou, former NSU standout Bianca Schulz and a former player on a nationally-ranked Virginia Tech team, Ginger Lowdermilk Morris.
This group will have to share the court and maybe a title or two (or three) with the deepest and richest crop of young talent the area has had in years.
These players include: Bossier City’s Tiffani Nash (No. 2 ranked player in the state in her age group, Anna Katherine Harvey (current member of ULL tennis team), Calvary Baptist state singles champ Andrew Otzenberger, Loyola College Prep state doubles champs Stafford Yerger and Griffen Valiulis, Dakota Bobo (No. 3 in the state in his age group), Jackson Hindeberger (No. 1 in the state in his age group) and Raleigh Morris (No. 1 in the state in his age group).
