Tennis Stars Prepare for Championships

By: Luke Jackson

The 2008 Maryland State Junior Outdoor Championships will take place July 26-30 at McDonogh School in Owings Mills.

The tournament has boys and girls singles and doubles events, along with mixed doubles. Each event will include age groups of 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 and under, but mixed will not include a 10 and under age grouping.

The 2007 event drew approximately 450 entrants.

The fee for a spot in a singles draw is $45 and a spot in doubles is $40 per team. A mixed doubles spot is free as long as the entrants are already entered in another event.

All online registration for the tournament ends at 11:59 p.m. Monday, July 21. All singles players must be registered at this point. To register, go to http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=.... The tournament ID is 302785208. Possible entrants will also need a current USTA number and a major credit card.

Doubles teams are preferred to sign up at the tournament site rather than online. All doubles entrants must be registered on-site by noon on Sunday, July 27, as doubles play will begin just after 11 a.m. on July 28.

Singles matches will be decided in a best-of-three sets format, with the possible third set being a 10-point tie-breaker. The singles draws will include a back draw and a third place consolation match between semifinal losers.

All doubles matches will be eight-game pro-sets with a 10-point match tie-breaker in the case of an 8-8 tie. The doubles draws will all be single elimination.

Roving umpires will be used to monitor matches and the USTA point penalty system will be used.

Singles draws will be made available online on Thursday, July 24. Special requests for first-round matches can be accommodated if the request is made prior to the draws being made. Schedules are subject to change due to weather.

For more information, visit http://www.mcdonoghtennis.org/tournaments/md.html.

Posted June 30, 2008