Lincoln Pius X coach Bill Rice was thrilled when he got the news that the Class B tennis tournament was returning to Lincoln.

The Nebraska School Activities Association board made the decision last week during a review of some of the fall state tournaments.

“I think the vote was strictly based on the fact that we didn't have a good solution if the weather was difficult,'' said James Tenopir, the NSAA executive director. “The board was very reluctant to pull Class B out of Omaha.''

The Class A and B state tournaments were combined for the first time in Omaha in October, and the NSAA had some big plans to make it special for both classes. Poor weather threw those plans into disarray, with fans packed wall-to-wall for the finals at the indoor Hanscom Tennis Center.

Tenopir said the Koch Family Tennis Center is very capable of handling both classes. But he said that while Hanscom was more than adequate for the players, it wasn't satisfactory for their fans.

“That's to the NSAA's credit they realized there was a problem, and they took care of it,'' Rice said. “I think everybody is very happy. I think the girls coaches are very happy, too. They are going to implement it right it away in the spring.''

District qualifying will remain for Class B, Tenopir said. He said without it, the state tournament is like a large invitational.

“A kid who hasn't won a match all year can still attend a state tournament,'' he said. “We'd never consider that for volleyball. That's part of what makes the state tournament special.''

Rice said he thought NSAA personnel did the best it could at state under difficult circumstances.

“It was just one of those perfect storm things where everything that could go wrong did go wrong,'' he said. “It wasn't their fault at all because the weather was bad.''

Teens finish 14th

An Omaha team finished 14th at the USTA national junior team tennis tournament in Mobile, Ala.

The Dominators won district and sectional competition to advance to nationals. Twenty-two thousand teams started competition at the local level.

Coach Brian Sivinski said it was just a second time a team from Nebraska has qualified, and they loved the experience.

“It was a great tournament. There are some amazing teams from around the country,'' he said. “We know exactly what we're going to work on. What made the difference was mixed doubles. We only won one of five matches.

Members of the Dominators are Alissa Sivinski, Millard North; Katherine Ternent, Millard North; Rachel Kammer, Elkhorn; Gabe Shrank, Millard West; Jamie Shrank, Millard West; Erik Anderson, Bellevue West; and Jimmy Richardson, Omaha Creighton Prep. Coach: Brian Sivinski. Assistant coach: Angie Sivinski.

Nationals next

A team from Omaha will compete this weekend at the USTA League 6.0 mixed adult national championships in Tucson, Ariz.

Members of the team, which is representing the Missouri Valley section, include Jonathon Shaw, Kathy J. Johnston, Linda Marie Walton, Tim Dunning, Ann C. Galley, Keith Paul LeBlanc, Pablo L Zatizabal, Kurtis Vogel, Steve Linson, Iona K. Pavlik, Don Svajgl and Patty A. Casey.

— Marjie Ducey

« High Schools

Share