School is out and the preps calendar is in the rear view. The North-South festivities, high school summer practice period and Greenbrier Classic are on the horizon.
That means the Charleston Area Public Courts tennis tournament is next in line. But the next few weeks are critical to the fate of the event, which is putting on its 57th tournament in 58 years.
Sign-ups for the tournament, which has 70 events ranging from 12-and-under division to 80-and-over brackets, are underway. As per usual, there are open divisions, rated divisions and mixed offerings. Plus many, many more.
The Gazette-Mail will assist with the registration process. On our website, www.wvgazettemail.com, there is a logo on the home page that provides either a PDF version of the entry form (which one may return to the Gazette-Mail offices) or a pathway to the USTA website, which offers simple online registration. Between now and the July 1 deadline, the registration form will also appear in the print versions of the Gazette-Mail.
Whether you're a lover of print or a fan of our digital versions, you'll receive constant reminders of one of the region's premier tennis events.
The tennis carnival for children will return on the eve of the first matches (July 7). The tournament runs from July 8 through July 16, when most champions are crowned. There will be a small overlap with the Greenbrier Classic, which is scheduled to conclude Sunday, June 10.
The only changes to the field will be the junior divisions, which now conform to USTA standards. Instead of a 15-and-under division, there will be a 16-and-under bracket.
The entry fee remains an affordable $22 for singles and $44 per doubles team. As always, the tournament exists to help provide scholarships for current and aspiring college students. Last year produced seven $1,000 winners: Tyler Newman, Casey Hudson, Ethan Cross, Haley Adkins, Jacob Lorenz, Kirsten White and London Straughter.
The tournament's defending Men's Open champ, James Kent, is confirmed to be returning to the Public Courts field. Kent, 37, won his ninth championship with last year's 6-2, 6-1 win against Christopher Pratt in the finals. Kent is the record-holder for Men's Open titles with nine, the first of which came in 1997. Patrick Walker and Kevin Ball are tied with seven titles.
The defending Women's Open champion, Danielle Vines, will not be back. That means there could be a fifth different Women's Open champ in as many years.
Vines, who is headed to play at Furman this fall, rolled to last year's title with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Brittany Franco in the finals. Vines just concluded her prep career in Tennessee, where she became the first-ever Class AA-A three-time state champion in singles.
Vines, by the way, has her eyes on returning to the 2017 Public Courts tournament. You've been warned.
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Former George Washington football star Ryan Switzer, who is now a standout in the same sport at North Carolina, spends his time on the field trying to stay on his feet. If a knee touches the turf or grass, that's bad.
The rising senior for the Tar Heels, however, got down on one knee on May 29 to propose to his girlfriend, UNC cheerleader Gabie Dinsbeer. Good news: Gabie didn't muff the engagement ring. The athletic couple is now engaged.
Back between the lines, it has been a summer of positive headlines for Switzer.
The versatile receiver and return man was highlighted by one website as one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's most underrated players. Meanwhile, Bleacher Report identified the top playmaker for all 68 power conference schools. Switzer, of course, was chosen as the Tar Heels' go-to guy.
Switzer's pursuit of college football's career record for touchdowns on punt returns has been well publicized. He has seven total. The record is eight. He'll have a good shot to tie and break that mark, which is shared by Texas Tech's Wes Welker and Oklahoma's Antonio Perkins.
But did you know Switzer can challenge some of North Carolina's career receiving marks, too?
Switzer enters his senior season with 147 career receptions for 1,791 yards and 13 touchdowns. He needs 58 catches, 1,049 yards and 12 touchdowns to tie the all-time program marks.
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The 2015-16 sports calendar is complete. The three-week practice period starts Monday.
That means the juniors will become seniors, sophomores rise to juniors and freshmen elevate to super sophs.
And what about the rookies on the high school scene?
Well, there's no better way to get a glimpse of the future than to take a look at what those boys and girls did on the middle school level.
John Adams, a feeder school for George Washington, won four Kanawha County championships: boys soccer, girls track, golf and tennis.
DuPont (Riverside) and Horace Mann (Capital) each won three titles. DuPont captured a co-championship in football, a title in cheerleading and Eastern Kanawha County's first-ever boys track championship. Horace Mann was a co-champ in football, and won titles in cross country and baseball.
Other champions: Elkview (wrestling, softball), Charleston Catholic (girls soccer), Hayes (volleyball) and Andrew Jackson (girls basketball).
Welcome to the next level.