Wando subs play key role in streak

Did you notice that Wando yielded a couple of points last week to Academic Magnet?

So, coach Becky Williamson's Wando girls must not be so unbeatable after all, if they scored only a 5-2 victory over little, Class A Academic Magnet. Right?

Don't count on it. Wando only played one of its regulars against the Raptors.

The Warriors have made a habit of crushing regular season opponents in recent years with their backup players. It has to be a big match for Williamson to call on all of her stars.

You can't knock the strategy since it has been good enough to produce 73 straight victories, as well as created enough excitement at the Wando courts to have students practically waiting in line to join the four-time defending Class AAAA state champions. Wando has an almost unheard number of players on its roster. Thirty-four to be exact.

If Williamson can pull off another state championship feat, even after losing three stars to college tennis programs and another to online schooling, the team roster might grow even larger.

The last time Wando suffered a loss was early in the 2005 season when Williamson obviously underestimated Ashley Hall and gave most of her starters the day off. Of course, Mary Gastley's Ashley Hall girls were a little too good for Wando's reserves that day at the Wando courts.

Wando, now 11-0, almost surely will charge through its few remaining regular-season matches and take the Region 7-AAAA crown into the state playoffs. That trip could get exciting if the Warriors qualify for the Nov. 7-8 state championship weekend at the 21-court Lexington County Tennis Complex.

Kirkland impressive

Ashley Hall's diminutive Patricia Kirkland may be the area's most improved player this fall. Opposing coaches salivate at the 5-3 sophomore's proficiency.

And Gastley is just as impressed by Kirkland's play.

It's not that Kirkland wasn't a solid player last year as the Panthers' No. 3 player, but now playing the No. 2 slot she has blossomed into a star, one ready to help No. 1 Jamie Harrell and the rest of the Panthers possibly win a SCISA state championship. In her first five SCISA matches through Ashley Hall's 7-2 win over a good Pinewood Prep team last Tuesday, Kirkland didn't yield a game. That's 60 straight games of virtually error-free tennis.

Locals honored

The Lowcountry Tennis Association has been named the state's community tennis association of the year and will be honored during the USTA SC annual meeting Dec. 13 at Myrtle Beach's Marina Inn at Grande Dunes.

Reigning Belton 18-and-under champion Alex Martin, a 16-year-old, was selected as the state's most improved girls' player. Former Wando star Jessica Diamond, now at Samford University, is the girls' sportsmanship winner, while Porter-Gaud's Wilson Daniel is the boys sportsmanship winner. The Players Club's Joey Eskridge is the pro of the year.

Also, former local pro Sophie Woorons-Johnston, now of Clemson, is the adult female player of the year, while Andy Lake, a Six Mile resident who played on Chris Henderson's men's open team which competed in the USTA league tennis nationals, is the adult male player of the year. The junior girls player of the year is Mallory Cecil of Spartanburg, the winner of last spring's Smash Junior Family Circle Cup.

Will Bull, the Myrtle Beach legend who probably has been the state's best known tennis product over the last couple of decades, will be enshrined into the S.C. Tennis Hall of Fame during the Myrtle Beach festivities.

Seabrook success

--The 25th edition of the Alan Fleming tournament at the Seabrook Island Club was one of the best ever, according to Seabrook head pro/tournament director Mike Kiser. Not only did the tournament attract a record 256 players, the event raised $30,000 for Hospice of Charleston. That's a grand total of $147,000 for the last seven years.

--Some of the highlights of the tournament included the Friday night banquet that nearly 300 people attended as well as 62 Seabrook Island Club members participating in the tournament. Seventy-four volunteers supported the event, which is officially named the Alan Fleming Senior Open State Clay Court Championships.

Notes of interest

--The Charleston Pro Tennis League will wrap up its regular season next Friday night at the Daniel Island Club where former Aiken pro Ben Cook is the new director of tennis, replacing the departed Stuart Small in late summer.

--Adam Elliget of Summerville and Ellie Halbauer of Mount Pleasant were the boys' 12 and girls' 12 champions last weekend in the National Level 3 Bullfrog tournament in Cary, N.C. Elliget defeated Matthew Mendez of the Players Club in the final. Wando sophomore Alexis Prickett, who is ineligible to join the girls' team after transferring from Columbia's Hammond School, was a girls' 16 quarterfinalist in the Bullfrog tournament. All-Lowcountry John Karle of Bishop England made the round of 16 in boys' 18, while Alexander Santiago advanced to the boys' 12 quarterfinals.

--Hats off to Greenville's Lucy Garvin, who will begin a two-year term on Jan. 1 as chairman of the board and president of the USTA. After serving the last eight years on the USTA board of directors, Garvin will become only the third woman to hold the USTA's top post. All of this is quite an accomplishment for a long-time tennis supporter who has made volunteering a passion.

Contact James Beck at jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.