Church’s Chicken 2007 “Little Mo” Nationals Champions Crowned
Dallas…The 10th annual “Little Mo” Nationals was held at the prestigious Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas from October 20-22, 2007. The event was hosted by the Austin Tennis Academy staff, players and volunteers. The Tournament Director was Brian Notis and Assistant Tournament Director was Deb Cahill.
The Opening Ceremony was held on Friday afternoon with the players parading on court to “We are the Champions”. The matches began at 8:30 am on Saturday morning and continued through Monday afternoon.
The “Little Mo” Nationals is the only national tournament for young players who are 8, 9, 10 and 11 & under and is the culmination of the yearlong “Road to the Little
Mo Nationals”. The “Little Mo” tournaments are designed to be fun and provide good competition for the younger player at the sectional, regional, national, and international level.
The prestigious “Little Mo” Nationals draw was made up of the top 16 players from across the country in eight age divisions: Boys and Girls 8, 9, 10, and 11. The draw of 16 was comprised of the four semifinalists from each of the four Regionals. The winner of each division was crowned “Little Mo” National Champion.
The winners of each division were:
- Girls 11: Ellen Jang-Milsten – Alpharetta, Georgia
- Girls 10: Bridget Forster – Lebanon, Pennsylvania
- Girls 9: Ingrid Neel – Rochester, Minnesota
- Girls 8: Dominique Schaefer – Ventura, California
- Boys 11: Toshiki Matsuya – Redmond, Washington
- Boys 10: Spencer Furman – Woodinville, Washington
- Boys 9: Michal Kusznerko – Chicago, Illinois
- Boys 8: Spencer Brown – Spartanburg, South Carolina
- Sportsmanship Awards: Jake Devine and Paola Maza
The “Road to the Little Mo Nationals” began in the spring with a “Little Mo” tournament held in each of the seventeen sections. (Approximately 1,500 youngsters participated at the Sectional level.) The quarterfinalists from each age division at each Sectional advanced to one of the four “Little Mo” Regionals held in the summer. The semifinalists from each age division at each Regional advanced to the “Little Mo” Nationals.
Carol Weyman, MCB Executive Vice-President of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and “Little Mo” Tournament Chairman presented the trophies. Sponsors of the event included Church’s Chicken, Smacker’s, Golfsmith and Balle de Match.
The players enjoyed a fun slip ‘n slide swimming party on Saturday evening at the Austin Tennis Academy. Also, a disc jockey led the dancing and games.
The “Little Mo” tournaments are sponsored by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation in memory of its tennis champion namesake, Maureen Connolly, who was known as “Little Mo”. She was the first woman to win the Grand Slam in 1953 at 18 years of age. She is still the youngest Grand Slam champion and the only American woman.
The top four players from the “Little Mo” Nationals will advance to the main draw in the 2nd annual “Little Mo”International Open. The event will be held from December 5-9, 2007 at the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas. The qualifier is open to any player from the USA and worldwide. The top four from the qualifier (December 5-7) and the top four from the “Little Mo” Nationals will comprise the Main Draw which will be held December 8-9. The winner of each age division (Boys 8, 9, 10, & 11 and Girls 8, 9, 10, & 11) will be crowned “Little Mo” International Open Champion.
The “Little Mo” program is one of the many events sponsored by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation to further junior tennis development worldwide.
Full results: www.usta.com (id #809658207)