The Belton Tennis Association and the USTA Southern Section hosted the 5th Annual SPUD (Special Populations Unified Doubles) tournament at the Belton Tennis Center Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11.  Fifty-Seven athletes from 3 states competed.  Athletes were paired with unified partners and competed in doubles matches throughout the weekend.  The tournament format focuses on team competition.

“Here we go Khaki, here we go!” “Go Blue!” These were only a few of the cheers heard as players from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina cheered their teammates to victory at the SPUD Championships in Belton, South Carolina.

Six teams, outfitted in colored T-shirts, competed in intense heat on Friday for playoff positions on Saturday. The matches were competitive; only a few points separated the teams at the trophy presentation. The Powder Blue team, led by Georgia Captain Debbie Curie came in first, followed by the Green Team, led by South Carolina Captain Jack Barker. Brandon Pinckney of Georgia and Latrice Pringle of South Carolina took home the Rex Maynard Sportsmanship awards.

Players were treated to a tour of the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame and a traveling Smithsonian exhibit of “Hometown Teams” celebrating team sports in America hosted by the Belton Tennis Association. Many thanks to Rex Maynard, Past President of USTA Southern, and his crew for once again hosting a great SPUD Championship event that showcases the development of adaptive tennis across the USTA Southern Section. A similar event will take place later in the month in Tennessee where players from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas will play the SPUD format.

Maynard serves as the Tournament Director and had this to say:  “We were proud to host the SPUD tournament in the Belton for the fifth straight year.  We host larger tennis events in Belton, but none are more important, and certainly none are more fun that SPUD!  All the athletes compete hard and have a great time.  There are no losers at this event.  Putting on a great tournament is easy when you’re working with these athletes, unified partners, the tournament committee and our local volunteers.  We look forward to seeing everyone again next summer for an even bigger and better SPUD!”