In spite of the gusty winds on a beautiful fall Saturday, participants of the Bucks County Tennis Association’s public park tennis programs ably vied for gold and silver medals in a team competition that enabled them to test their tennis skills against their peers in Yellow, Green, and Red Ball divisions. The event was held at Council Rock North High School tennis courts and included plenty of player support by family and friends.

The BCTA organizes two Team Tennis Challenges each year to give its public park tennis athletes a chance to experience competition in an informal, fun format. Athletes are divided into two teams, Northern and Southern Bucks, and compete to combine their individual points with their respective teammates to arrive at a total team match score. For many players, this was their first time entering a competitive event. Fore more event photos, visit the BCTA on Facebook.

YELLOW BALL DIVISION

The Yellow Ball division was very competitive as the team lead bounced back and forth. At the end of the 90-minute round-robin match play, the Northern Bucks team bested the Southern Bucks team, 114–103 points, for the gold medal.

Team Northern Bucks—Gold Medalists

Aiden Pastermaster

Anastasia Korshun

Asher Schmidt

Brad Schmidt

Collene Check

Daria Zhukova

Davith Som

Dracen Som

Francis Pierce

Grace Byrne

James Gavin

Jen Gavin

Keira Calista

Marissa Berical

Sarah Olguin

Team Southern Bucks—Silver Medalists

Alan Miller

Chris Louie

Emily Ferris

Jailan Elsarha

Jefferson Louro

Jillian Smith

Julian Corbin

Kate Kartavseva

Leah Jiorle

Lucas Wambold

Michael Dimino

Nunzio DeMarchis

Sofia Corbin

Thomas Cronin

Vincent Malizia

GREEN BALL DIVISION

In the Green Ball division, competitors were involved in long rallies, and many players implemented savvy strategy. After a bonus-point team game, the Southern Bucks Blue Coats team, edged out the Eagles team by 233–230 points.

“What a fabulous end to our 2024 outdoor season!” BCTA Coach Steve Johnson exclaimed. “The courts were filled with smiles, sportsmanship, and great play. The sheer number and range of ages was a testament to how impactful BCTA is in the Bucks community.”

Team Blue Coats—Southern Bucks—Gold Medalists

Aarya Patel

Cailin Stamate

Christian Santamaria

Cooper Kelso

James Amatucci

Michael Stanca

Nora Hammett

Shane Baranski

Trevor Malizia

William McGettigan

Team Eagles—Northern Bucks—Silver Medalists

Addie Baab

Anna Shorr

-more-

Cheyanne Derstine

Lucas Munn

Nicholas Bonvino

Rohit Apte

Sophia Hinkle

Violet Friemann

Vivian Bender

RED BALL DIVISION

The Red Ball division is played on modified 36-foot courts, and the competition definitely illustrated the young players’ ability to keep a rally going. A bonus-point team game of “Tennis Sandwich” resulted in the Riddling Rallyers taking the gold medal from the Crosscourt Warriors by a score of 257–240 points. BCTA Coach Tim Donney noted, “It was a terrific day for tennis!”

Team Riddling Rallyers—Southern Bucks—Gold Medalists

Adhruth Arvindhakshan

Andrew Qiu

Ari Peymani

Eric Abrahamyan

Kaden Bernstein

Team Crosscourt Warriors—Northern Bucks—Silver Medalists

Aevin Blankenship

Carson Kim

Ella Koshy

Kayla Schickling

Madison Robinson

Riya Bhagat

BCTA Coaches Steve Johnson, Tim Donney, Barbara Carlin, Susan Gordon, and Mike Dickey kept the ball rolling on all the courts and encouraged players with helpful tennis tips. A huge thank you to all the parents and family members who supported the players, and especially to the parent/family volunteers who helped on-court with scorekeeping. Also, thanks to USTA Middle States for providing all the sportsmanship awards.