The Belton Tennis Association recently hosted two successful tournaments, the Hall of Fame Classic September 28-29 and the South Carolina Men’s Collegiate Championships October 4-7.

The Hall of Fame Classic was held for the 33rd year and featured eight top high school girls teams.  J. L. Mann captured 4 of the 7 flight titles to earn 33 points and win the team championship.  Team standings were:

1. J. L. Mann-33 points
2. T. L. Hanna-26 points
3. A. C. Flora-24 points
4. Greenville-19 points
5. St. Joseph’s-12 points
6. Clinton-8 points
7. Eastside-6 points
8. BHP-5 points

Individual flight champions were:

• #1 Singles-Addie Anderson (T. L. Hanna)
• #2 Singles-Frances Smith (A. C. Flora)
• #3 Singles-Sidney Mitchell (J. L. Mann)
• #4 Singles-Eleanor Kneeland (J. L. Mann)
• #5 Singles-Cassidy Carlson (J. L. Mann)
• #1 Doubles-Addie Anderson & Jillian Spencer (T. L. Hanna)
• #2 Doubles-Hannah Ellis & Becca Haddad (J. L. Mann)

Greenville was presented the team sportsmanship award.

The South Carolina Men’s Collegiate Championships featured 66 varsity players from 11 state colleges and universities.  The results of the championship matches were:

• Championship Singles-Maxwell Benson (PC) defeated Henrik Atlevi (Furman) 6-5, 3-6, 10-2
• Blue Singles-Teodor Cariov (PC) defeated Jason Smith (Furman) 7-6 (5), 6-4
• Championship Doubles-Julian Chousa & Omar Williams (Wofford) def. Pierre Dodens & Jacob Jahn (Clemson) 6-1

The tournament is played in memory of Big Jim Russell, a longtime college official and local volunteer.  Russell served as the Referee of the NCAA Men’s Championships, ACC Championships, MEAC Championships, All-American Championships and many other top college events.  He was a local volunteer and was the Referee of the Palmetto Championships for almost 40 years.  He demanded sportsmanship and good behavior wherever he worked.   He also served as the president of USTA South Carolina and the 9-state USTA Southern Section.

Each year the tournament presents the Big Jim Russell Award based on sportsmanship and participation.  The 2019 award recipien was Jerry Price, a senior at Anderson University.  Tournament Director Rex Maynard had this to say:  “Jerry is a great young man, and he obviously loves the game!  When we needed someone to play doubles with a player from another team, Jerry was willing.  When the number one seed pulled out of the championship singles draw due to an injury, Jerry jumped right in to take his place, all the time knowing he would go up against the top players in the state.  He competed well in all his matches, and always with a smile and great attitude.  He’s the type person and player Big Jim would admire…a great teammate who always gives his best and shows great sportsmanship.  We’re proud to recognize Jerry, not just for his sportsmanship and character in this event, but all his junior and college tennis career!”