Local tennis talent thriving at college level

As the school year winds down, it's a good time to see how local players did at college.

Krista Filiopoulos (Annapolis Area Christian School) is a sophomore at Washington College. This spring she was selected for the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll and was named to All-Sportsmanship Team for the second time. Filiopoulos went 13-6 in singles and 11-8 in doubles, and she helped the Shorewomen reach the finals in the Conference Championship for the second year in a row. Unfortunately, the result was the same this year. Host Johns Hopkins won the championship for the10th consecutive time.

Sophomore Sarah MacLean (Crownsville/Mount De Sales Academy) was just named to the second team all-conference team of the Landmark Conference for on outstanding year at Catholic University. She helped her team reach the semifinals of the conference championship, and had a winning record in singles (11-6). In doubles, MacLean and her partner won nine matches in the No. 1 spot.

Sydney Rider (Annapolis) is a junior at the University of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference, and had another solid year for the Badgers. Playing a full schedule of tournament and conference matches, she won 12 times in singles and 16 times in doubles, giving her a total of 85 victories in Division I competition. Before college, Ryder trained at the Junior Tennis Champions Center and played USTA tournaments actively. She was in the Top 15 in the Mid-Atlantic Section and was ranked second in Maryland.

Alex Cauneac (Severna Park), a freshman at MIT, played at number 1 or 2, and had a winning record in singles (13-4) and doubles (12-5). Cauneac was the Capital Gazette Player of the Year and a county, regional and state champion.

Grant Hudson (Broadneck), a junior at Salisbury, had a winning record in No. 3 singles and helped lead his team to the semifinals of the CAC tournament. Kelson Weber ((Broadneck) is also at Salisbury, where he frequently plays doubles with Hudson.

Kristi Wong (Kent Island) is a sophomore at Christopher Newport University, and she helped her team reach the finals of the CAC tournament.

Other local players include James Loftis (Annapolis) at St. Mary's College, Danielle Cloney (St. Mary's) and Leesa Malczewski (Chesapeake) at McDaniel College, Devin Outten (North County) at UMES, and Rory Handlin (Broadneck) at York College.

County champion Austin Yannone (Severna Park) has committed to play Division I tennis for Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. Yannone has trained at the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in College Park and has played USTA tournaments actively. He is ranked No. 3 in Maryland.

TRUXTUN PARK: Chris Kamenoff is working with the Recreation Department of Annapolis to find a way to repair the 12 courts at the park. Bad weather has opened cracks on the upper courts and runoff has damaged the lower ones. It was not that long ago when the USTA held the senior league championships at Truxtun Park. As the courts degraded, though, the USTA had to move to better facilities. Those who want to help should contact her at chriskam48@gmail.com.

TENNIS ALLIANCE: Year-round tennis took another step a step forward at the County Council Town Hall on May 12. The Tennis Alliance of Anne Arundel County, backed by 70 enthusiastic tennis players, spoke at the Town Hall at Annapolis High School. County Executive Steve Schuh has included design funds for the new Millersville Park and tennis facility in his preliminary budget. The Tennis Alliance is working the system to keep the funds in the budget until the County Council's final vote in June.

AATS NEWS: The Annapolis Area Tennis School is offering a wide range of tennis classes for children and adults in a six-week summer session that will start on June 4. Summer camps will be held from June 20-30 and the week of July 25. For information, send an email to AatsTennis@gmail.com, check the web site at www.aatstennis.org, or look for "tennis" in the Anne Arundel Spring Recreation Guide at www.aacounty.org/RecParks.

TOURNAMENT NEWS: Finn Garner (Annapolis) advanced to the finals of the Men's Open Singles at the USTA/MAS MW Open Hard Court Championships at Montgomery Tennisplex on May 20. Along the way, he defeated his younger brother, Luke, in the semifinals.

• Robert Nuscher (Severn) adanced to the quarterfinals of the USTA/MAS Men's 40s Outdoor Clay Court Championship in Bethesda on May 13.

Send tennis news to Doug Lamartin at dlamartin@aol.com.