Stuart Blazer field strong again

By ROCKY STANLEY - The Independent

ASHLAND Sat, May 17 2008

— Last year’s Stuart Blazer Memorial Junior State Championships won an award for Kentucky’s top junior tennis tournament.
The 2008 edition — 187 entries strong — begins today at the Ashland Tennis Center.
“I think the level of play is as high as it has ever been,’’ said ATC director Jerry Groce. “Just to have 170 to 180 come every year to play is a testament to the strength of the tournament.’’
Players will travel from as far away as Tennessee to compete for ranking points in the Southern Tennis Association Level 4 event.
The Stuart Blazer tournament is one of two junior state championships in Kentucky.
Some matches are scheduled for this evening, with competition continuing through Monday. Most of the main draw finals are set for Sunday morning and afternoon.
Some matches will be played at Russell High School.
“We love having so many kids come to the tennis center,’’ Groce said. “I hope it doesn’t rain, but we’ve done it before.’’
Age groups for boys and girls include 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s.
The top five singles finishers in each division will receive plaques. In doubles, the awards will go to the winner and runner-up teams.
Several area players are top contenders for titles.
Louisa’s Nathan Martin and Ashland’s Rich Meade are seeded 1-2 in the Boys 16s, while Ashland’s David Bush and Max Meade received the top two seeds in the Boys 12s. Robert Krick of Ashland is No. 1 in the Boys 10s.
On the girls’ side, locals Brooke Helms and Claire Spradlin face strong outside competition in the Girls 18s. The same goes for Kennedy Womack and Kelsey Hensley in the Girls 16s.
ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.