STAUNTON — After a year off because of the pandemic, The 74th News Leader and Waynesboro Florist Tennis Tournament returns to the courts at Mary Baldwin University Friday evening at 6 p.m.
Play will continue through the weekend and possibly into next week until champions are declared in the 10 brackets listed on the tournament’s website.
“It’s smaller draw than it was two years ago,” said committee chair Tom Erskine. “But that’s not unexpected. A lot of things have changed in the last two years.”
Chris Stambaugh, the women’s and men’s tennis coach at Mary Baldwin, is the tournament director this year.
Erskine said Mary Baldwin is one of the better places to watch tennis so he hopes members of the community will come out this weekend and enjoy some matches.
“We appreciate Mary Baldwin allowing us to use their courts,” Erskine said.
The tournament is being presented by the Staunton Waynesboro Augusta Tennis Association. Among the brackets this year will be both men’s and women’s open singles and doubles, as well as open mixed doubles.
“We’ve got quality players in every division,” Erskine said. “We may not have as many as we did before, but we’ve got plenty of quality players. That’s a good sign.”
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Patrick Hite is The News Leader’s education and sports reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.