Three Augusta teams finish second at 2008 USTA League Tennis Mixed Doubles Championship

Three Augusta teams finished second at the 2008 USTA League Tennis Mixed Doubles Championship last weekend at five sites in the Augusta area.

Sandra Ogilvie's 6.0 team lost 3-0 in the final against Cherokee County. Playing in the final were Elizabeth Dawn Calvert and Robert Dutcher at No. 1 doubles, Connie and Mark Nixon at No. 2 and John Budnichuk and Ogilvie at No. 3. Bruce Ogilvie and Stephanie Ramey also competed during the tournament.

Wendell Hofman's 7.0 team lost 3-0 to Macon in the final. Competing in the final were Nitin Shah and Joye Brotherton at No. 1, Carolyn Inscho and Hofman at No. 2 and James Hudgins and Cathy Moseley at No. 3. Also playing in the tournament were Donna McDowell, Dilip Amin, Janis Snipes and Charles Esposito.

Cherry Hain's 9.0 team finished second to Savannah in a round-robin format. The Augusta team won 15 matches and lost only three, while the Savannah team won 16 matches and lost two.

Competing for Augusta were Hain, Viet Nguyen, Maria Svensson Costa, Ronald McLendon, Andrea Littleton, Kelly Hayes, Amy Lowe, Vu Nguyen and Richard Harris.

Economic Impact: One thousand seventy-three individuals competed in the four-day tournament Mixed Doubes State Championship, which was held at Newman Tennis Center, Fleming Park, Riverview Park in North Augusta, West Lake Country Club and Petersburg Racquet Club. The economic impact in direct spending was estimated at $800,000, said Dick Hatfield, manager of Newman Tennis Center.

College bound: MACH Academy's Dewayne Dixon and Jazmine Scott have earned tennis scholarships at Division II universities. Dixon will be competing at Virginia State, while Scott will be playing at Tuskegee (Ala.) University.

Jones, Collins speaking at conference: Craig Jones, the co-owner of Petersburg Racquet Club, and Pete Collins, the director of tennis at Augusta Country Club, will speak at the USTA Tennis Conference at the U.S. Open. Jones' topic will be "Running a successful high school team practice" on Aug. 24. He will also be a panel member the same day on "Implementing Quick Start." Collins' topic is "Successful doubles: movement priorities and visual clues" on Aug. 25.

Ard hired: Karen Ard was recently hired as a Recreation Specialist IV at Newman Tennis Center. Among her duties are development of after school programs in Richmond County.

Kleybanova move up: The Club at Raes Creek's annual ITF $25,000 Women's Tournament attracts up-and-coming WTA players. Russia's Alisa Kleybanova, then ranked No. 163 in the world, won last October's tournament without dropping a set in five matches. Kleybanova, whose serve has been clocked at 120 mph, reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in June where she lost to Venus Williams and is currently ranked No. 34.