The Allegheny Mountain District board has elected Hank Hughes as Senior Vice-President, Greg McDermott, Executive Vice President, Jane MacArtney, Secretary and Nina Hughes, Treasurer.

They join District President Tom Benic and Executive Vice President Colleen Geyer on the board’s Executive Committee.

Hank Hughes, director of the Mt. Lebanon Tennis Center, moved up to the board’s No. 2 position to replace Chris Compton who moved to Alabama last fall.  McDermott, a Wheeling attorney, was elected to the board last year. MacArtney of South Fayette Twp, Pa.  has been on the board the past three years and is active as a tournament and league player. Nina Hughes of South Park was elected to the board last year and co-chaired the highly successful Middle States Hall of Fame held in Pittsburgh last fall.

The AMD board elected four new members to replace board members who have resigned.  Additionally three others were named Presidential Appointments to the board.
They are:

• Fred Crawford, president of the Highland Park Tennis Club in Pittsburgh.
• Rob Gregoire, a teaching professional from Sewickley.
• Dr. Hank C. Hill, an Erie surgeon and parent of two ranked juniors.
• Ross Molinaro III, a Penn Hills businessman and parent of a ranked junior.
• Linton Moyer, a Fox Chapel attorney and father of a teaching professional.
• Mark Panepinto, a Wheeling attorney, top ranked adult player and director of the West Virginia Open.
• Arthur Perkins of Cranberry Twp., a tennis volunteer and parent of a ranked junior player.

You can receive 30 percent off your entire purchase Sunday, Feb. 28 at the Adidas store at Tanger Outlets at the Meadowlands exit of I-79 in Washington County.  It's all part of the USTA's Tennis Night in America celebration.

AMD and Middle States is supporting this event with food, games and prizes. You can also sign up for USTA's Junior Team Tennis at the store. For more information, go to this link: http://www.tennisnight.com/

AMD teenager Sara Perelman will be again conducting her Swing for the Cure fund-raising event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 28, at the Pittsburgh Citiparks Mellon Bubble. The cost  is $30 per child for the clinics, overseen by a USPTR certified coach, and every dollar will be given to the research foundation.  Sponsors can participate at various levels.

This fundraiser has raised more than $25,000 in the three previous events, started by Sara when she was in 7th grade.  More information is at this link: http://www.swing4thecure.net/

USTA league teams are now forming, with some deadlines as early as March 7.

Complete information is on the AMD website (www.amd.usta..com). Anyone interested in entering a team in this spring and summer competition should contact one of AMD’s league coordinators as soon as possible
There are leagues in a number of ability levels for both men and women in Adult,  Senior (50 and over) and Super Senior (60 and over) age divisions.
Men's and Women's adult leagues consist of two singles and three doubles (5.0 level is one singles and two doubles), while Senior and Super Senior competition consists of three doubles.

For general information, contact Jim Block at block41@verizon.net  or by phone at  412-364-2062. For specific information on Men’s Leagues, contact Nelson Winter at nwwinter1@verizon.net or 412-963-1521. For Women’s Leagues contact Claudia Christner at cjcentercourt@atlanticbb.net  or 814-255-2080.

Other coordinators are Janice Rielly at jlrielly@yahoo.com; Marilyn Miller at volleygirl@atlanticbb.net, and Rincy Ebbert at lebberttennis@earthlink.net .

AMD’s Annual Award winners for 2009 are:

• High School Coach of the Year - Brandt Bowman, head coach of the 2009 PIAA Class AAA state championship Peters Township Girls’ Tennis Team.
• College Coach of the Year - Pablo Montana, head coach of the nationally ranked California University of Pennsylvania Women’s Tennis Team
• Community Tennis Association of the Year - Highland Park Tennis Club, Pittsburgh.
• Family of the Year - Sandy and Tom Stroyne family of Peters Township
• Tournament Director of the Year - Kelly Maslar, tennis director at Pennbriar Athletic Club, Erie.
• Media of the Year - Mike Copper, staff writer at the Erie Times News

• Tournament Director of the Year -- Sally Gibson, Oxford North Athletic Club,Wexford, Pa.
• Tennis On Campus Leader of the Year - Eileen Ebenger, Duquesne University

Jeremy McClelland of Wheeling and Shannon Benic of Pittsburgh were the No. 1 ranked players in the Men’s Open and Women’s Open divisions respectively for 2009.

McClelland is a senior at Duquesne University while Benic is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh.

Here are the No. 1 players in the other age divisions.  The complete rankings are on the AMD website under “AMD Adults”.

Men's 35 Singles -- Mark Panepinto, Wheeling, W.Va.
Men's 45 Singles -- Thomas A. Sparta, Scott Twp., Pa.
Men's 50 Singles -- Thomas A. Sparta, Scott Twp., Pa.
Men's 55 Singles -- Joseph A. Kantor, Plum Borough, Pa.
Men's 60 Singles – (tie) Frank Bova, Erie, Pa. and Dennis Posteraro,
Saint Marys, Pa.
Men's 65 Singles – (tie) Robert Malnati, Wexford, Pa.  and Milan Tatala, Moon Twp., Pa.          
Men's 70 Singles -- Norman G. Bloom, Pittsburgh.             

Women's 35 Singles -- Melissa King, Pine Twp., Pa.
Women's 45 Singles -- Carroll deVera Roberts, Monroeville, Pa.
Women's 50 Singles -- Carroll deVera Roberts, Monroeville, Pa.
Women's 55 Singles -- Colleen T. Geyer, Shaler Twp., Pa.
Women's 65 Singles -- Chuchie L. De Vera, Elizabeth, Pa.  

Men's Open Doubles -- Justin R. Thomas/Mark Panepinto
Men's 35 Doubles -- Paul L. Schneider/Keith Clawson        
Men's 45 Doubles -- Thomas A. Sparta/Jim Block
Men’s 55 Doubles -- William A. Taylor/Frank L. Bova
Men’s 60 Doubles -- Robert Malnati/Milan L. Tatala
Men’s 65 Doubles -- Leonard F. Fechter/David W. Shenefelt        

Women's Open Doubles -- Jane MacArtney/Lori Sabatose
Women's 35 Doubles -- Jennifer M. Hayward/Jamie E. Demao
Women's 45 Doubles -- Carroll deVera Roberts/Lisa A. Keylor

Mixed Open Doubles -- Scott A. Kahler/Jacqueline K. Hughes
Mixed 35 Doubles -- Jennifer Yocca/Alex W. Parrish

Siddarth Sathi of Bridgeville and Callie Frey of Mt. Lebanon finished the 2009 AMD junior tournament season as the No. 1 ranked singles players in the Boys’ and Girls’ 18-and-under divisions, respectively.

Chris Nixon and Nathan Walch tied for second in the Boys’ 18 division while Molly O'Grady and Sarah Baich were 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Girls’ 18 singles.

Complete rankings in all divisions are on the AMD website under “AMD Juniors”.

Top-ranked in the other age divisions were:

• Boys’ 16 – Colin Bandell, 1st; Dante Rebello, 2nd;
  David  Mewkalo, 3rd.
• Boys’ 14 – Adam Blasinsky, 1st; Jonathan  Perkins, 2nd;
  Kevin Goth, 3rd.
• Boys’ 12 – Christopher Gladden, 1st; Siddharth Rajupet, 2nd; Joseph Demarco, 3rd.
• Boys’ 10 – Benjamin Vinarski, 1st; Jonah Krause, 2nd;
  Sam Bellini, 3rd.
  
  
• Girls’ 16 – Kylie Isaacs, 1st; Alexa Miller, 2nd; Rose Wilson, 3rd.
• Girls’ 14 – Hannah Famili, 1st; Abby Cummings, 2nd;
  Madison Adams and Daraja Hill, tied for 3rd.
• Girls’ 12 – Charlotte Vertes, 1st; Amanda Nord, 2nd;
  Amanda Bruscemi, 3rd.
• Girls’ 10 – Maria Santilli, 1st; Felicia Reuter, 2nd;
  Michaela Kluska, 3rd.

The top-ranked doubles teams were:
Boys ‘18 Doubles -- Enrico Certo/Shankar Rajupet
Boys’ 14 Doubles -- David C. Mewkalo/Peter  Hazlett   

Girls’18 Doubles -- Sarah Baich/Claire Healy
Girls’ 14 Doubles -- Jennifer Holcombe/Abby Cummings

Three outstanding AMD juniors were awarded grants by the AMD board under the 2009 Player Travel Cost Grant Program. The program is designed to partially offset travel and other costs associated with competing in national and other high-level tournaments.
The winners were: 

• Joelle Kissell of Latrobe, Pa , $1,000
• Eva Sung of Pittsburgh, $1,000
• Kim Borza of Beaver, Pa. $250

The AMD Grants and Scholarships Committee based its decision primarily on need, and the success achieved in high-level competition.

Two former AMD juniors are currently nationally ranked in NCAA Division I singles and will be invited to the national championships this spring if their ranking holds.

• Casey Watt, a sophomore playing No. 1 at Notre Dame, is currently ranked No. 28, two ahead of Rhyne Williams, freshman at Tennessee who won the $10,000 Men’s Futures of Pittsburgh pro event in 2008. Watt had climbed as high as No. 7 in the rankings earlier this year.
• Michaela Kissell, a junior playing No. 1 singles at Marshall University, is currently No. 42.

Don Mercer of Wheeling and his son Ron Mercer of suburban Pittsburgh earned a No. 3 national ranking in 2009 in the USTA’s Super Senior Father/Son competition.   A total of 47 teams were considered for ranking.  During the year the Mercers recorded wins over teams from Florida, New York, California, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico and Virginia.

Don Mercer played on the very first tennis and basketball teams at Wheeling Jesuit University and was the long-time director of the National Collegiate Clay Court Championships and initiated the Men’s Futures of Pittsburgh pro event in Mt. Lebanon.

Ron Mercer is a graduate of West Virginia University and was a five time winner of the West Virginia Open.  He is currently a teaching professional in suburban Pittsburgh and the boys coach at Upper St. Clair High School, which won the PIAA state championship in 2007.

A decade ago Don and Ron Mercer finished as the No. 1 team in the USTA’s 1999 Senior Father/Son competition.

A new 8-court indoor tennis and fitness center is being built in Harmarville, Pa. near the Allegheny Valley (Exit 48) of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Pittsburgh Racquet & Fitness Club is scheduled to open next fall and the owners are interested in your ideas on just what it should contain. You are invited to offer your opinions at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G3NTWT2

• Jack Dorsey, 82, known for decades throughout the section for his tremendous love of the game and his accomplishments as a player, tournament director and Wheeling-Oglebay Club president, died Jan. 22 in Wheeling, W. Va.  Jack nurtured the Wheeling Oglebay Senior Open into a national event and was honored numerous times by both the district and section for his volunteer efforts.
• Mark Weinberg, 47, of White Oak, Pa., a fine tennis player and sportsman for the past 30 years, died Feb. 7. He was ranked both as a junior and adult in AMD, as well as Middle States, in both singles and doubles.  He also was a WPIAL section singles champion in 1980 from McKeesport Area High School.

The Highland Park Tennis Club of Pittsburgh changed the name of its Jan. 30 winter tennis party to “Tennis for Haiti” to raise funds, heighten awareness, and show compassion for the people of that devastated island. Club President Fred Crawford reported the largest turnout ever with 90 participants at The Club in Monroeville. The group raised $500 for Haitian charities.

Souvenir 20-page Kodak photo books of the 2009 Middle States Hall of Fame held in Pittsburgh in October are available at a cost of $25, including tax and shipping. The books contain more than 60 photos and feature the 2009 inductees, all with Pittsburgh ties: Brian Earley, Don Johnson, Peggy Michel, and Whitney Snyder.

To order a photo book, contact District President Tom Benic at tom@benic.net.