Greater
Columbus Tennis Association
2000
The GCTA was awarded $500 from
the Ohio Valley Tennis Association for the promotion of tennis.
Through different programs, the number of USTA memberships in the Columbus
area has increased. This percentage of increase is the largest of all the
Areas of the Ohio Valley. A large amount of this increase was due to the
growth of the USTA Junior Team Tennis program. This OVTA award is known
as the William Warner Award. Bill spent many years organizing and
administering tennis activities in the Charleston, Huntington, and Parkersburg
areas. Tennis growth was of prime importance to him. The Ohio Valley received
this money from the
Midwest Section of the USTA.
Each year at the end of the summer season, the GCTA has an
awards ceremony to honor the winning teams and individual Champ of Champs
from those teams.
(click on the following to go to those pages)
Men's League Winners
Women's League
Winners
The Awards Ceremony was held this year at the Upper Arlington
Municipal Building.
Janet Craycraft was the organizer of the ceremony. She
was assisted by Billie Meadors and Rita Johansen.
Billie Meadors, Janet Craycraft, Rita Johansen
The Awards Program with Signatures of the Special Award Winners.
At the September 24, 2000 Awards Ceremony, the following
individuals were selected as deserving a
GCTA Special Recognition
award.
Carol Alexander
Carol Alexander has served two terms as President of the GCTA. She
has run the District Qualifier for the past 22 years. Carol has been the
Area Representative for the Ohio Valley Tennis Association for many years.
She has served on the Midwest Junior Competition Committee for the USTA.
She was involved with the Buckeye Boys Ranch Tennis Tournament for 15 years.
She has been a wonderful ambassador for tennis. The Greater Columbus Tennis
Association has grown under her guidance. She has truly shown dedication
to tennis.
.
Doug Snapp and Bart Snapp
Bart Snapp played four years varsity tennis for Grandview Heights
High School. He graduated in 1996 and now attends the Ohio State University.
He is a math major with a physics minor. Bart has been a teaching assistant
for the Math Department in the computer calculus series since his second
year as a student at OSU. He has also be a mentor in the Calculus Remote
Program for the same period of time. Bart has received awards from the
Math Department three years in a row for his efforts in math. He has worked
on various web sites for the Math Department and on his own. In addition
to enjoying his studies at OSU, he also plays a number of musical instruments:
baritone, trombone, electric, bass, and acoustic guitars (once in a while,
a little mandolin).
Doug Snapp graduated from Urbana High School in 1963. He received
his Bachelor of Arts degree in German from the Ohio State University in
1967. He then got his Master of Arts degree from Middlebury College in
Middlebury, Vermont in 1968. He spent a year studying at the Johannes Gutenberg
University in Mainz, Germany. In 1971, he received his Bachelor of Science
degree in German and English from OSU. He has taught German for nearly
30 years at Westland High School. He was the girls' tennis coach at Westland
for almost 20 of those years. He ran the sectional and district boys' and
girls' tennis tournaments for the Ohio High School Athletic Association
for a number of years. He has been involved with the GCTA as a Board Member,
a Vice President, President, and he is currently the Secretary of the organization.
Bart and Doug created and maintain the GCTA Web Site.
Press Award
An award was given to the newsperson who has devoted
attention to the area of tennis.
This year's award went to
.Larry Larson.
Larry Larson was a teacher, coach, and athletic director for Grandview
Heights schools. Now he is "Mr. High School Sports." You can hear him on
WTVN Radio and read his articles in the This Week newspapers.
He has truly promoted sports in our area for many years.
Outstanding Promotion of Tennis Award
Shirley Neibauer
Shirley Neibauer contacted, organized, and scheduled approximately
500 juniors this last summer in the USA Junior Team Tennis program. She
planned the Columbus Team Tennis Championships resulting in teams qualifying
for the first ever Ohio Valley Championships. Shirley followed through
in every area of the program. A great deal of time was spent on the paper
work and the updating of scores. Along with sending updates to all of the
teams, she kept the GCTA Web Site informed of the standings of the Junior
Team program.
Umpire Award
Alice Scott
Tennis has been a large part of Alice Scott's life. One of her
first memories, other than playing tennis, was ballboying an exhibition
match between Helen Jacobs and Dr. Carl Fischer. That was in the early
1940's. Alice played varsity tennis at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia.
There was no organized tennis at college, but she continued to play. After
moving from Indianapolis to Worthington, she played for the Newcomer's
Club and, later, Cardinal Tennis. During the winter, she played at the
Buckeye Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. This was likely the first
indoor club in Columbus. Alice umpired the matches at the Buckeye Boys
Ranch. She was involved in umpiring and transportation for the Women's
Futures Tennis. She has umpired for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
at Wolfe Park. She did the Girls' 16's District as an umpire and as a referee.
She worked the National Junior Tournament. She umpired collegiate matches
at OSU, Purdue, and the North Coast Athletic Conference. She has done the
USTA Men's Satellite Tour and the Bernard Masters Tournament. She worked
the Noveen Big Bear Champions Tournament at New Albany and the Challenge
Cup in Cleveland. Alice is a graduate of Rutgers University. Her degree
was in Agriculture and she worked for the Burpee Seed Company. She is a
Master Gardener. She is a member of the Northview Buckeye Garden Club and
the Ohio Council of Nationally Accredited Landscape Design Consultants.
She has judged flower contests for Knights Inns and many local contests.
Alice has been a volunteer at the Park of Roses and has volunteered 17
years at Inniswood Metro Gardens.
Margo Mansfield Award
GCTA Female Player of the Year
The Margo Mansfield Award Fund was established by Margo's friends and
family at her passing. Margo was a tennis enthusiast and dedicated much
time to the Junior Wightman Cup. It is said that she was more interested
in how you played the game than if you won or lost. Sportsmanship and character
are very important criteria for this award.
Stephanie Bauer Susie Schoenberger
Stephanie Bauer won the GCTA Area Qualifier in the Girls' 18's this
year.
Susie Schoenberger holds a national ranking and has received
awards for her community service.
Stephanie and Susie are two time State of Ohio Division I Doubles
Champions. They were also on the Upper Arlington tennis team that was the
two time State of Ohio Division I Team Champions.
GCTA Male Player of the Year
Kortney Keith
Kortney Keith is a freshman at Columbus Academy. He has won the
GCTA Area Qualifier as well as the Ohio Valley District Qualifier for the
last three years. He is very highly ranked in the Midwests rankings and
holds a national ranking.
Click here to see
Additional Pictures from the 2000 Awards Ceremony
Click
here to see 1999 Award Winners
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