The 55th annual Rotary Invitational tennis tournament gets under way this morning, and there will be more of a local feel than in years past.
Both Notre Dame teams and Arts & Sciences’ boys are in the field, joining Signal Mountain’s boys and Chattanooga Christian in the B division of the tournament, which starts at 8:30 a.m.
The B division boys will be held at McCallie, while the B girls will play out at GPS.
McCallie, GPS and Baylor’s teams will be in the A division at Baylor.
Co-tournament director Jack Webb said the committee made a conscious effort to get more area teams in the tournament.
“We’re real happy about that,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to allow some of the local schools to play because there’s such high-quality competition and it’s hard to find an opening. This year we were able to.
“It’s going to be an incredible experience for them. Some of the talent that comes from out of town is as good as they will find anywhere in the Southeastern United States. Those that don’t get to travel, this will be a real plus for them.”
Notre Dame was the Class A/AA boys’ state runner-up a year ago, while Arts & Sciences was the Region 3-A/AA champion before falling to the Irish in a state sectional match. The Irish feature defending state champion John Dorris and doubles finalists Jackson Lenoir and Andrew Ball.
“We’re all very excited about it,” Notre Dame coach Anne Ricksecker said. “It’s going to be a learning experience and I think it’s going to be fun. The kids are looking forward to it – both the competition and the tournament experience.
“In years past, I didn’t feel like we were ready, but this year we got the invitation and said, ‘Let’s do it.'”
GPS is the defending Division II-AA state champion, while Baylor’s boys and girls were 2010 state runners-up. McCallie was the 2009 state champion.
“There’s always a number [in the Rotary] that go on to play college tennis – and some that play pro,” Webb said. “It’s a great tournament because a lot of kids don’t get to play in this format, getting to play several matches in a two-day period.
“It’s a unique experience.”
• University School of Nashville is the only addition to the A division field but one team will suffer a huge amount of subtraction. Knoxville Webb’s Brandon Fickey, a senior and University of Tennessee signee, broke his hand earlier this week and will not be playing.