62nd Palmetto Championships-Memorial Day Weekend In Belton

 The Palmetto Championships presented by Chick-Fil-A of Anderson and the winner of the 2016 Jim Russell USTA Southern Junior Tournament of the Year will be played for the 62^nd year in Belton, Anderson and Central May 25-29.  The Palmetto is the national qualifying tournament for junior players in South Carolina, and is the largest and strongest tournament played in the state.  Over 450 will be participating, the second highest number in tournament history.  Championships will be determined for boys and girls in singles and doubles in five age divisions, 10’s, 12’s, 14’s, 16’s and 18’s.

The tentative schedule for the tournament is:

• Friday, 5/25:  10U singles and all doubles
• Saturday, 5/26:  2 rounds of singles (all age divisions)
• Sunday, 5/27:  Semifinals and finals of 10U singles and doubles; 3^rd round singles of all other age divisions (except Girl’s 18U which will be quarterfinals and semifinals);  doubles semifinals
• Monday, 5/28:  Quarterfinal and Semifinal singles (except Girl’s 18U which will be finals); doubles finals
• Tuesday, 5/29:  Starting at 8:00 am.  Finals, 3 vs. 4 playoff and consolation singles matches to determine the top 8 finishers in each age division.  Presentation of awards, including the tournament’s 3 sportsmanship awards

The Palmetto Fling will be held on Saturday evening, May 26 and will feature the presentation of the Dunlop Scholarship.

Matches will be played at the following locations:

• Brookstone Meadows-10U singles and doubles Friday, Saturday and Sunday; 14U girls Saturday & Sunday

• Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center-14U Boys Saturday, Sunday and Monday
• Cardinal Racquet Club and Anderson University-12U Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• L. Hanna High School and Brookstone Meadows-14U Girls Saturday and Sunday
• Southern Wesleyan University (Central)-14U Boys Saturday
• Anderson University-12U Saturday, Sunday and Monday
• Belton Tennis Center, Leda Poore Park and Belton-Honea Path High School-16U & 18U, plus 14U (Monday and Tuesday) and 12U (Tuesday).

Kelly Hesketh serves as the Referee, and will be assisted by deputy referees Mary Burgess, Maxine LeCroy, Ernie James and Linda Sandusky.  Carey Washington is the Chief Umpire who will be directing over 20 certified officials working the event.  Mark Smith is the Tournament Director and Rex Maynard the Tournament Chairman.  The tournament’s title sponsor is Chick-Fil-A of Anderson.  Presenting sponsors include Wells Fargo, Dunlop, Pepsi, Stearns Smith Tennis Academy, Waste Connections and Play Safe.

Maynard had this to say about this year’s entries:  “We expect the entries this year will approach the record 470 players who participated last year, with most of the top ranked players participating.  Having so many players is a good problem to have, but we’ll be more spread out, especially on Saturday.  We’ll be using almost every hard tennis court in Anderson County and an additional 6 courts at Southern Wesleyan University in Central.  We’re excited to have the opportunity to host this prestigious event for the 62^nd  straight year.  We appreciate Jon Holmes and Chick-fil-A of Anderson and all the other sponsors for their support, plus all the cooperation of the different facilities.  We have a great staff that will make it work, and we certainly couldn’t do it without the cooperation and support of all the junior players who have entered along with their parents and coaches.  We look forward to a great tournament!”