RJTC Continues To Grow - Richmond Tennis Association

RJTC Continues To Grow
Helping Juniors Learn About Tournaments
By John Packett
When Joe Cappellino helped get the Richmond Junior Tennis Circuit (RJTC) off the ground 11 years ago, he had no idea
how much the program would grow in just over a decade.
“This was our biggest year and we averaged about 110 kids per tournament,” said Cappellino, director of tennis at The
Dominion Club, where one of the 11 tournaments was held that led up to the Masters at the Country Club of Virginia in
August.
“We had close to 1,200 kids this year and our previous high was something like 950, 960. So we were up at least 200-250
kids this year, which was by far our greatest amount.”
Eleven different facilities, most of them country clubs or recreation clubs, stage the one-day events on Saturdays during
the summer under the auspices of the Richmond Tennis Pros Association and the Richmond Tennis Association.
In addition to Dominion, tournaments are held at the Westwood Club, Raintree Swim and Racquet Club, Hermitage
Country Club, Burkwood Swim and Racquet Club, Avalon Recreation Association, Steward School, Willow Oaks Country
Club, Three Chopt Recreation Club, Salisbury Country Club and acac (Atlantic Coast Athletic Club).
“It started out small and then in a couple years, it grew a couple more clubs,” said Cappellino. “And then it grew to 10
clubs and now we’re up to 11 clubs, not counting the Masters. Woodlake [Swim and Racquet Club] may join us next
year.”
This year’s circuit actually started in mid-May, nearly a month before school was out, and continued through the
Masters on Aug. 18 at CCV.
“We kind of figured every year, ‘Oh, man, it’s going to die down. The kids are going to get tired of it,’” said Cappellino.
“But the funny thing is while we actually do have some repeat kids, from last year or the year before, a lot of it is new
kids.
“It’s incredible how many kids come out of this and go on to USTA tournaments. But every year it’s a whole new batch of
kids that comes rolling through.
“When I look back on it, from years ago when we first started it, and see all the kids who played in it and are now in
college, wow. Like the Hunter Koontzs of the world or the Max Schnurs. They started in our circuit a long time ago.
“It’s been a great feed-in to the regular USTA tournaments for the kids.”
Koontz, who led Deep Run High School to back-to-back Group AAA state championships, is a sophomore at Virginia Tech,
while Schnur, who helped Collegiate claim Prep League and Virginia Independent Schools titles, is a second-year student
at Columbia.
There are singles events for boys 8, 10, 12 and 14, as well as girls in the same divisions. The circuit is designed to make
competitive play more accessible for juniors and is mainly for unranked players just getting started in tournament play.
Players ranked in the top 75 of the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Association must play up an age group.
In keeping with USTA regulations, this year the 8-and-under division was played with the red (lightest) ball on a 36-foot
court and modified scoring. The 10-and-under division was played with the orange (lighter) ball on a 60-foot court.
The 12s and 14s used regular balls and played on a normal-sized court. All matches were one set, with no-ad scoring,
and a tiebreaker was played at 5-all.

Standings are kept in each age division, with players receiving 2 points for entering and completing at least one round,
an additional 2 points for each win in the main draw and 1 point for each win in the consolation bracket.
Entry fees are $16 per tournament, making it one of the most affordable events in the city.
The top eight players in each division participate in the RJTC Masters and the standings are posted on the RTA web site
each week.
“Usually if the results weren’t up by Tuesday afternoon, I would get a few emails from parents saying, ‘Looking for the
standings. My child keeps asking me when will they be up there?’” said Bridget Bruner, RTA secretary and the
organization’s web master.
“A lot of times you could tell from the parents that the child was so excited. Some emails said, “My child won’t stop
bothering me about this. Do you have any idea when it’s going to be on there?’ So there was definitely a lot of interest
from the kids.”
Bruner said her goal was to have the weekly standings posted by Wednesday.
“I thought it was wonderful that the kids were so excited to see where they were in the standings,” she said. “It’s a great
program that the pros put together.”
Cappellino was instrumental in getting the RJTC circuit up and running in 2001.
“I went to a USPTA conference in Williamsburg and one of the guys from USPTA-Texas made a presentation on the
junior circuit and how to get it started,” said Cappellino, who won the city singles championship in 1995.
“So I took some notes and brought it back here. I talked to Mark Burnstine, Eddie Parker and some others. We had a
pros meeting and said whoever showed up, we were going to form a circuit. We had six people there and that’s how the
circuit got started in 2001.
“We got the RTA involved with Lou Einwick, and they’ve really helped us out with it.”
Among the more recent players on the circuit are Audrey and Hatcher Butterworth, children of Leslie and Ed
Butterworth, who teach tennis at Burkwood. Audrey was ranked as high as No. 3 in the Mid-Atlantic girls 10 singles last
year and is 14 th in the girls 12s this year.
“I think it’s a great starting place for the kids,” said Ed Butterworth, winner of the city men’s singles crown in 1994.
“If you look in Richmond, there’s quite a few kids who have done it and gone on to do well. Four or five girls like Audrey
are in the top 50 [rankings] of the Mid-Atlantic and all of them started in the one-day tournaments.
“It’s a really good thing for the parents because the parents just have to come for a little bit of time. It’s the right
amount of tennis.”
Butterworth said Audrey, 11, has been involved with the program since “she was probably six or seven. This year she
only played in one, but she played up a couple of age groups, in the 14s, and you get bigger and better competition.
“It introduces them to tournament play, and if they have that interest like Audrey and a lot of other kids do, you see
them go on and start playing the local L4 and L5 [USTA] tournaments. They start moving up.
“Hatcher [9] keeps telling me, ‘Sign me up, where’s the next one? Can we play next Saturday?’ It gets them inspired. It’s
a good thing.”
An excellent thing for both the kids involved -- and for the future of tennis in Richmond.

RJTC 2012 MASTERS RESULTS
Girls 8 Lane Harding def. Reilly Spitzer
Girls 10 Sarah Oley d. Alexandra Perkins
Girls 12 Madison Moore d. Claire Bowes
Girls 14 Kendall Cray d. Maddie Parker
RJTC 2012 FINAL MASTERS STANDINGS
Boys 8
1. Roman Sancilio
2. Jack Phillips
3. Josh Collier
4. Whit Wallace
5. Drew Atiyeh
6. Tyler Brand
7. Holden Woodward
8. Blake Caldwell
Boys 10
1. Damian Sancilio
2. Max Elim
3. Ben McCormack
4. George Smith
5. Will Thompson
6. Talman Ramsey
7. Andrew Campbell
8. Sam Phillips
Boys 12
1. Michael Zuccaro
2. Joshua Kalman
3. Benjamin Oley
4. Matthew Cook
5. Nick Prinz
6. Brenden Lawrence
7. Turner Cole
8. Wesley Albertson
Boys 14
1. Jonathan Brat
2. William Sheppard
3. Chris Bone
4. Andrew Angel
5. Jacob Stern
6. Alan Meade
7. Nathaniel Bilodeau
8. Jack McGolrick
#######
Boys 8 Roman Sancilio d. Jack Phillips
Boys 10 Damian Sancilio d. Max Elim
Boys 12 Turner Cole d. Matthew Cook
Boys 14 Jonathan Brat d. William Sheppard
Girls 8
1. Ada Gill
2. Lily Caldwell
3. Lane Harding
4. Caroline Smith
5. Meredith Strader
6. Reilly Spitzer
7. Lindsay Lawrence
8. Mia Robinson
Girls 10
1. Raine Weis
2. Sarah Oley
3. Kirby Westerfield
4. Alexandra Perkins
5. Pari Kapila
6. Anna Luger
7. Walker Bristow
8. Isabelle King
Girls 12
1. Claire Bowes
2. Madison Moore
3. Jessica Wen
4. Lindsey O’Neill
5. Divya Atluri
6. Brooke Connaster
7. Georgia Temple
8. Narmeen Rashid
Girls 14
1. Marina Leino
2. Kendall Cray
3. Emma Zombro
4. Anna Ransone
5. Taylor Keeler
6. Grace Clark
7. Maddie Parker
8. Claire Keeton