Over the weekend of Sept. 19-21, 6 teams from all over North Carolina, competed in the inaugural tri-level state championship tournament held in Hickory. Each team fielded three courts of varying levels in weekly competition from June through August in their local area. Local winners then advanced to the state championship. The Red Fox team, captained by Jim Greene, Kelli Wood and Ruza Pocivavsek, played in the 4.0, 3.5 and 3.0 division. The women’s team won both the local league and now the state championships. It was not an easy victory. The winner was finally determined by total games and sets lost, after playoffs had two teams with equal records. Red Fox also had a men’s tri-level team that had a winning record. Both teams were built on the foundation of a Red Fox tennis program that featured three times a week round robins, clinics and private lessons. For some participants it was their first league play experience.
Congratulations to Red Fox team members. Women: Cindy Chruch, Ruza Pocivavsek, Darlene McFarland,  Dottie Kinlaw, Kelli Wood, Mary Jane Livesay, Janet Hunt, Jessica Pierce, Roberta Heinrich, Tracey Becker, Susan Tomkin and Hannah High.  Men:  Gordie High, Alan Sears, Nowell Guffey, Bob Bundy, Paul Pittman, Patrick Rimer, Eric Frohlich, Peter Gebhardt, Peter Serada, Enis Alexander, John Alexander, Barry Naster, and Russ Erickson.
To find out more about tennis at Red Fox, how to join a team or round robins, contact Red Fox teaching professional, Jim Greene 864-404-1867.

— article submitted
by Elly Leary