Congratulations 2009 CORTA Award winners!
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Congratulations to the 2009 CORTA Award winners! CORTA is very proud of all the people and programs that help us promote and grow tennis in our community. View pictures.
Female Captain of the Year - Stephanie Lee
Male Captain of the Year - Richard Galbraith and Al Dean
Male Adult Player of the Year - Roger Pearce and Steve Thiel
Female League Player of the Year - Donna Foster
Male League Player of the Year - Daniel Alvite
Volunteer of the Year - Bernard Francis
Family of the Year - The John P. Illges, IV Family
The Ron Summers Official of the Year - Ken Smith
Aaron Cohn Award - Jeremiah Harrison
Junior Female League Player of the Year - Laura Chapman
Junior Male League Player of the Year - Walt Trussell
Junior Female Player of the Year - Katherine White
Junior Male Player of the Year - Christian Garay
Junior Female Service Award of the Year - Anne Lyle Illges
Junior Male Service Award of the Year - Kevin Jacobson
The Nelson O. Tyrone Memorial Junior Trophy - Blake Bowden and Kevin Jacobson |
Meet the Newest Addition to the CORTA staff!
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Alex Pierce has joined the CORTA staff as administrative assistant. She is a junior at Columbus State University, majoring in Communications. Alex began working March 17th, and is already right at home. CORTA is very fortunate to have her enthusiasm! Alex took the beginner tennis clinic last month... so look for her out on the tennis courts too! Please come by the office and welcome Alex to our CORTA family.
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Summer Junior Programs
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LEVEL I - Rising Stars (Beginner Clinic) - This clinic teaches the basic fundamentals of tennis in a group setting. The QuickStart format is used for juniors 10 and under. For all ages from 5 - 18. Clinic #1 - Starts June 9th - July 1. Session 1 - 9:30 - 10:30; Session 2 - 10:30 - 11:30. Fee: 5-6 yr. old - $50.00; Fee: 7 and up - $60
LEVEL II - Future Stars - This is the follow up clinic for the Rising Stars. Emphasis is on serving, scorekeeping, rules, etc. For all ages 7 - 18. Clinic #1 - Starts June 11 - July 3. Time: 9:30 - 10:30. Fee: $60
Summer Camps - There are 3 camps offered this summer in June and July.
QuickStart Camp - This is for kids ages 5 - 10 using the QuickStart format. Camp #1 - June 22 - June 26. Camp #2- July 27 - July 31. Ages 5-6 is 9:30 - 10:30; Fee - $35. Ages 7-8 is 9:30 - 10:45; Fee-$45. Ages 9-10 is 9:30 - 11:00; Fee-$55
Racquet Raiser Camp - This is for the beginner players ages 6 - 18. This is a half day camp from 9:00 - 12:00. Recommeded for players who have taken Rising STars and Future Stars. Camp #1 - June 15-June 19. Camp #2 - July 6 - July 10. Fee: $150
Intermediate/Advanced Camp - This is a week long camp from 9:00 - 3:00. This is intensive and competitive tennis training. Lunch is included. Camp #1 - June 15 - June 19. Camp #2 - July 6 - July 10. Fee: $200
USTA QuickStart Jr. Team Tennis - This is a league for ages 5 - 10 who have completed the Rising Stars clinic and are ready for league play. Foam balls and half courts are used for ages 8 and under. Low compression balls and 60 ft. courts are used for 10 and under. All matches take place at LakeBottom Park. Fee: $36
AD-IN for Special Populations - This is tennis training for all special populations of all ages. Clinic begins: June 9th - July 28th. Tuesdays - 10:00 - 11:00. Fee: $25
**NEW**
There are two new exciting programs for juniors this summer. Don't miss out on all the summer tennis fun!
Jr. Singles Flex League is for levels 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0. You set up your own matches anywhere you would like to play. You only need to report your scores to CORTA. Matches begin on June 15 and play goes through July 24. Register now!
Friday Night Fun Round Robins for juniors will be held three Friday nights this summer. First mixer is on June 19. We will play tennis (singles and doubles) from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Finishing up with pizza for everyone! Call 706-317-4136 or email us to sign up. Just bring the $5.00 entry fee. CORTA will provide the courts, balls, pizza and drinks!
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Special Olympics
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CORTA hosted the first Regional Special Olympic Games in tennis on May 8, 2009 at Cooper Creek Tennis Center. It was a great day for all 41 athletes, as well as the many teachers and volunteers that made the day special! Three area high schools (Kendrick, Hardaway, and Shaw) and the CORTA "AD IN" for Special Populations groups were involved. There were two levels of play: Basic Tennis Skills and Unified Doubles. Twelve of these athletes continued their play in the State Special Olympic Games in Atlanta on Saturday, May 30. CORTA had 10 athletes playing unified doubles with 10 great CORTA volunteers. All of the special pops activities and programs are sponsored by the CORTA Jr. Teen Council and the Christmas Toy Tournament sponsors.
State Medalists
Vincent Blakey/Jane Beaty (Gold)
Justin Beasly/Cindy Williams (Gold)
Debra Bottoms/Blair Prescott (Gold)
Scott Seig/Cindy Jones (Silver)
Sabastion Taylor (Silver)
Marcus Jones/Carol Heywood (Silver)
Demetric Sumbry/Nancy Prescott (Bronze)
Jordan Tutton/Brenda Oswalt (Bronze)
Garrett Galczynski (Bronze)
Matthew Walton/George McElroy (Fourth)
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TennisWorks in the Parks
by Helen Martin |
The summer season of TennisWorks in the Parks will be held June 15 - July 29 on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at Lakebottom Park. TennisWorks offers children in our community the opportunity to master new skills, learn cooperation, leadership and how to express feelings in respectful ways. Also, they learn a game that can be played for a lifetime at any level. This program depends so much on the commitment of CORTA's volunteers and CORTA has the absolute BEST volunteers!!! TennisWorks volunteers give much more than just tennis tips to the children! They share their time and valuable life experiences with children in need of relationships with caring adults in their community. Please make a difference... BE A TENNISWORKS VOLUNTEER! THANK YOU! If you can help, please email me!
Congratulations to TennisWorks in the Parks volunteer Bernard Francis and Jeremiah Harrison, winner of the Aaron Cohn Award! Good news.... Jeremiah Harrision and Kristopher Hill will be attending the Yellow Jackets Summer Camp on the Georgia Tech Campus sponsored by USTA Southern, USTA Georgia and CORTA! I am so happy they have this wonderful opportunity!
 
Bernard Francis CORTA Volunteer of the Year TennisWorks Participant, Kaliya
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Tennis Works in the Schools
by Deby Caldwell
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| TennisWorks in the Schools has been very busy since January. CORTA, along with USTA Georgia, hosted a teacher in-service tennis workshop to train all the newly hired PE teachers and the para-pros. The workshop was a huge success showing them many fun ways to teach tennis in their gyms. It also enabled them to receive new tennis equipment to be used in each school, along with a teaching curriculum guide. CORTA conducted a TennisWorks clinic in 22 schools working with 1,229 students. Long range goals include a new elementary inter-scholastic after school league using the QuickStart format in each school! |
Banana Open 2009
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The 18th Annual Banana Open was held April 26 - May 9. Over 500 adults and juniors participated and contributed to the tournaments success. One thing that made this Banana Open a little different was a series of daily 'banana' specials. In addition
to fresh bananas being provided throughout the event, participants were
treated to yummy banana specials like - shaved ice, banana splits, banana
nut muffins, banana pudding, banana smoothies, banana moon pies and
banana popsicles - just to name a few.
Congratulations Adult Banana Open Winners! View pictures.
2.5 Men's Singles - Michael Zdunowski; Doubles -Jason Beach & Michael Henderson
3.0 Men's Singles - Cory Cooper; Doubles - Dennis Hagler & Tony Pyke
3.5 Men's Singles - Adam Beatty; Doubles - Adam Cooper & Christopher Parmer
4.0 Men's Singles - Stephen Edelson; Doubles - Raj Arora & Glenn Davis
4.5 Men's Singles - Chris Womack; Doubles - Roger Pearce & Steve Thiel
Open Men's Singles - Mvogo Anglin; Doubles - Jason Pease & Ryan Miller
2.5 Women's Singles - Tara Lindsey; Doubles - Allison Leckey & Michele Williams
3.0 Women's Singles - Joey Martin; Doubles - Dalma Bogan & Irish Warnock
3.5 Women's Singles - Dawn Harper; Doubles - Ely Klar & Tonya McLemore
4.0 Women's Singles - Cathy Gunnels; Doubles - Lori Duggan & Sherry Phillips
Open Women's Doubles - Tiffany Clifford & Nancy Waldeck
2.5 Mixed Doubles- Allison & Craig Leckey
3.0 Mixed Doubles - Debbie & Robert Vazquez
3.5 Mixed Doubles - Kelly Cooper & Christopher Parmer
4.0 Mixed Doubles - Lori Duggan & Luke Moore
4.5 Mixed Doubles - Jennifer & Alex Vasilescu
Open Mixed Doubles - Mvogo Angelin & Henssey Ngo
Banana CHAMPIONS and FINALIST are eligible to join winners from the other Banana Open tournaments held throughout the south to compete for the title of TOP BANANA in the Banana Challenge. The Challenge will be held October 2-4, 2009 at Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island, SC.
Players also earn valuable ranking points toward qualification for the KIA Motors Tournament of Champions (TOC). The TOC is an invitation-only tournament that will be held October 16-18, 2009 in Macon, GA. The top two NTRP singles and doubles teams (2.5 - 5.0) from each of the eight Georgia districts advance. Doubles teams must be from the same district.
Congratulations Junior Banana Open Winners! View pictures.
Boys' 10 Singles - Josh Fernicola
Boys' 12 Singles - Dustin Eckert; Doubles - Ryan Gordon & Gray Wells
Boys' 14 Singles - Rob Monfort; Doubles - Rob Monfort & Preston Morpeth
Boys' 16 Singles - Kazuki Onoe
Boys' 18 Singles - James Smith; Doubles - Dalton Chapman & Benjamin Shiver
Girls' 10 Singles - Caroline Boren
Girls' 12 Singles - Madelyn Boren; Doubles - Caroline Boren & Abbie Dillon
Girls' 14 Singles - Abigial Goins; Doubles - Abigail Goins & Mary Illges
Girls' 16 Singles - Daniella Glover
Girls' 18 Singles - Haley Powell; Doubles - Avery Hudson & Haley Powell
Thank
you to the 2009 Banana Open Sponsors!
Please show your appreciation to
these great sponsors for their support of our tournament.
Burger King, Columbus Regional Healthcare System, Columbus Parks and Recreation, Country's Barbeque, Ezell's Catfish Cabin, Papa John's,
Smith Barney, The Jordan Company, Ice Cream Girl & Co., Eagle & Phenix "Historic Riverfront Living", Synovus, Cargill
Design/Build/Remodel and Publix.
A special thank you to...
Daniel Appliance for providing a freezer to store the ice cream and popsicles,
Hostess for banana muffin packs for each player,
Moonpie.com for banana moon pies for participants, and
Publix on Schomburg Road for the bananas and banana popsicles.
Congratulations to adult winner, Joanie Isom and junior winner, Madison Pinet! They both won a one-year membership to Cooper Creek Tennis Center for most closely guessing the number (3557) of banana runts in the container. Thank you to Columbus Parks and Recreation for donating these memberships!
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| Cardio Tennis |
Cardio Tennis is going strong this summer!
 Morning and evening classes are offered. Due to rainy weather, these sessions have been extended. Class size is limited. Call or email us to check on availability! |
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New CORTA Membership Benefit.... Compliments of Buckhead Grill |
CORTA is pleased to announce that Buckhead Grill is
generously offering all CORTA members a 15% discount (excludes
alcohol). Buckhead Grill is the ultimate Columbus dining experience, known
for its unique ambiance and outdoor dining since 1995. Guests are
offered delicious New American Cuisine, cooking up American and
Southern staples seasoned with cultural flavors for dinner daily.
Buckhead Grill is located at 5010 Armour Road.
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| Facebook
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 Join us on Facebook for both the CORTA group and the CORTA Fan page! It's a great for tennis talk and to connect players for match
play. Thanks to Margaret Love for volunteering to be our Facebook Administrator.
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Tennis Growth Skyrockets 43 Percent! CORTA Growth Skyrockets 153 Percent!
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The latest research by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association continues to show impressive news for tennis participation. From 2000 through 2008, tennis was the fastest growing sport in the U.S., increasing participation by 43 percent over every other traditional sport. A distant second place is another racquet sport, racquetball, increasing 11.6 percent in those eight years. The only other sports to show participation increases since 2000 are soccer (up 2.2 percent) and basketball (1 percent). Every other traditional sport declined in participation, including golf (down 4.3 percent). From 2000 through 2008, CORTA experienced 153 percent growth! CORTA continues to promote tennis and provide programs for everyone in our community! More information.
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Gift Donations - Spring 2009
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In Honor of Suzanna Mulllin and Laura Wickham, by Mullin/Wickham-CCC 4.0 Women's Team
In Memory of Charlie Bryan, by Gardiner & Nora Garrard
In Honor of Katherine White and Christian Garay, by Rem Houser
TennisWorks in the Parks, In Memory of Caren Vang, by Demetria Hendrix
Are you looking for a great way to honor your captain for a job well done? Consider making a contribution to CORTA.
"In Honor of" Gifts - Such a contribution is a great way to observe someone's birthday or anniversary. The person honored by your contribution will
receive a special card announcing your gift.
Memorial Gifts - Your gift will be acknowledged to family members or someone else you specify.
Gifts may be earmarked for a particular use or to support a CORTA program that is of special interest. Contact CORTA for more details.
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