The Bucks County Tennis Association hosts a Team Tennis Challenge twice a year for its public park program participants throughout the county who have been recommended by their coaches. For many of the attendees, this event is their first entry-level competition and a great way for them to test their skills against peers and meet new friends. The fall event, held at the tennis courts of Council Rock High School North in Newtown, drew over 60 competitors, who brought along family and friends for support.
Match play was divided into three age/skill divisions: Little Aces, Juniors and Teens/Adults. In the Little Aces and Juniors divisions, every individual point accumulated toward the team’s total score. A bonus round involving a group tennis game gave each team a chance to jump ahead and added plenty of motivation to the competition. Similarly, in the Teens/Adults division, every game (using tennis no-ad scoring) counted as a point toward the total team score.
The athletes in all divisions were divided into Northern Bucks and Southern Bucks, and the teams were comprised primarily of athletes who practiced at BCTA locations in those regions. Teams selected their own names in the youth divisions, and all teams played multiple rounds, competing with various teammates and against various opponents.
Little Aces Division
Southern Bucks Eagles Team (Gold Medal): Yasmeen Chaudhary, Karjade Cooper, Hope Dennison, Zoe Elhyani, Noble Jolly, Cooper Kelso, Grant Kellman, Michael Stanca, Naomi Varughese
Northern Bucks Phillies Team (Silver Medal): Lilyanna Ashby, Giuliana Bennett, Jason McFadden, Keshav Patel, Shane Riso, Becket Schmidt, Brighton Schmidt, Ava Simpson
The Little Aces division competed on 36-foot courts with red balls and produced some great rallies among the players. The Eagles jumped into the lead after the first two rounds and were able to maintain their margin throughout the competition, sealing their gold medal victory 434-416 by winning the Tennis Sandwich Team Relay bonus round.
Juniors Division
Northern Bucks Unbeatables Team (Gold Medal): Sumaya Aziz, Charlotte Campagna, Vivian Campagna, Owen Czaplicki, Ethan Escoto, Eric Escoto, Aayush Patel, Asher Schmidt, Brad Schmidt, Lauren Staudenmeier, Olivia Yoon, Jin Yoon
Southern Bucks Cardinals Team (Silver Medal): Bianca Baylosis, Sofia Corbin, Aleksandr Dakuginow, Matthew Lynch, Maura Mullin, Sarah Olguin, Shiv Patel, John Rody, Adrianna Shantzer, Lucas Wambold, Daria Zhukova
The Juniors played on 78-foot courts with green balls, and before the bonus round, the Unbeatables led 317-290. The Cardinals had an opportunity to snatch victory in the 30-point bonus round, but true to its name, the Unbeatables held off the Cardinals’ challenge by winning the Team Singles bonus game and going home with gold medals and a 347-290 victory.
Teens/Adults Division
Southern Bucks Red Team (Gold Metal): Keira Calista, Kathan Desai, Kiran Dolan, Leah Jiorle, Ivan Lee, Heather Martin, Rishi Patel, Nirmay Vashi, Annettte Zwick, Beth Clark
Northern Bucks Black Team (Silver Medal): Lilly Atkinson, Anya Aziz, Grace Byrne, Abhay Chaturuthy, Aditi Chathuruthy, Matthew Eberhardt, Anna Oldfield, Efren Olguin, Lochlin Schmidt
Midway through the Teens/Adults division, which competed on 78-foot courts with yellow balls, the Southern Bucks Black Team led 37-24. While the Northern Bucks Red Team rallied in the second half, the Southern Team stepped up to the challenge to hold onto a 73-60 gold medal victory.
“The energy level and enthusiasm was high all day,” said BCTA program director Laura Canfield. “All were great sports.”
BCTA thanks coaches Craig Batten, Tim Donney and Steve Johnson, who assisted in the fall team challenge, and volunteers, including the parents who helped with scoring the matches.
