Lake Norman�s Hanna Honeys Compete in USTA National Championships

Lake Norman�s Hanna Honeys 3.5 women�s team represented North Carolina and the Southern region at the USTA National Championships in Tucson this past October. Captained by Denise Hanna, the Hanna Honeys are a 15 member team, where the majority plays out of Charlotte Racquet Club North�which is also where they were coached during their championship season. As a newly minted team, the HH went undefeated in the spring season. And with only one loss at Sectionals, they won the right to compete in Tucson for the National Title. Just as remarkable as their winning season is the fact that the entire team was represented in Tucson�as well as having family members in their court-side cheering section.

From left to right:
Front row: Jackie Breeden, Naomi Ballard, Gail Vaughn, Denise Hanna, Emma Butler, Mari Beckman, Guergana Nikolova
Back row: Renee Jones, Mary Jones, Pamela Bender, Saundra Holloman, Mala Lee, Tonya Simpson, Jan Rupert, Connie Maggio

Click on the image to enlarge

One loss was all it took to eliminate the HH from advancing to the semi-finals, with every team match being decided by at least one tiebreak. Great matches don�t come closer than that�as was displayed in their third and final match against the Pacific North West team�who, incidentally, went on to win their semi-final match against Intermountain.

In Hanna Honeys� first match against Northern California, they handily won both singles courts (6-0, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-2) and won one doubles court�in a tiebreak (6-2, 3-6, 1-0). In their second match against Mid-Atlantic, they, again, won both their singles courts (6-1, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-2) and one doubles court (7-6, 6-7, 1-0), in a tiebreak. Their final match was decided on two tiebreaks, this time. Winning court-one singles, doubles courts 2 & 3 were exciting see-saw matches (6-3, 4-6, 1-0 and 6-4, 5-7, 1-0) that, despite their losses, left the team understandably satisfied and pleased with their performances. And not just in Tucson, but throughout this entire championship year!

Men's Super Senior Teams Win at State Championships

Five Super Senior teams from Lake Norman competed in the North Carolina State Tournament in Pinehurst, NC October 30 � November 1, 2009. Two of those teams won the state title and will compete in the Sectional Tournament in Pelham, Alabama in March 2010.

Men's 3.5 60s from left to right:
Seated: Joe Kahle, Ronnie Digh, Skip Hepburn, Don Doles
Standing: Russell Walker, Scott Jones, Cary Campbell, Clark Moyer
Not in picture: Hans Wede and George Liakakos

The Super Senior 60�s 3.5 men�s team, captained by Don Doles, is a repeat State Champion, having also won the title in 2008. Also playing on the team were: Skip Hepburn (co-captain), Russell Walker, Clark Moyer, Ronnie Digh, Scott Jones, Cary Campbell, George Liakakos, Joe Kahle, and Hans Wede. Don�s team competed against two other Lake Norman teams to win the local title. In Pinehurst, the team won all three matches in their group and won by a score of 2-1 in both the semi-finals and finals matches.

Men's 4.0 60s from left to right:
Seated: Tom Waber, Dave Kucharski, Jimmy Eppes
Standing:Jim Kennedy, Jim Naylor, Bob McManus

The Super Senior 60�s 4.0 men�s team was captained by Dave Kucharski. Although they didn�t compete on the local level because they were the only 4.0 Super Senior team in Lake Norman, they won all three matches in their group at Pinehurst and won by a score of 2-1 in the finals. Playing in Pinehurst for this team, in addition to the captain, were: Jim Kennedy, Tom Waber, Bob McManus, Jim Naylor, and Jimmy Eppes.