Community notebook: Local Junior Team Tennis group headed to nationals

A junior tennis team based out of Club Green Meadows has booked a spot to the Junior Team Tennis National Championships in Orlando, Fla., in October.

Seven players from the team, ranging in age from 11 to 14, will make the trip to the United States Tennis Association National Campus to compete against the nation’s best young teams.

Representing Clark County are Jace Moriki, a freshman at Camas High School; Jacob Flentke, a freshman at Union High School; and Aiden Brasier, a sixth grade student at Liberty Middle School in Camas. Also traveling with the team are Isaac Morrison and Matthew Morrison of Richland, Sydney Board of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Rachel Rajamoney of Happy Valley, Ore.

The Club Green Meadows team lost just three sets all season in a 14-and-under advanced division against Northern Oregon section teams over the summer. The area includes teams from Wilsonville, Ore., to Battle Ground.

“All of our kids are active tennis players who are very highly ranked individual players in the PNW USTA advanced division standings,” said team manager Tom Brasier. “The competition level at nationals is quite high. Our kids are excited about the opportunity to travel to Orlando representing our region, and compete against some of the best players in the country.”

Price, 92, among national tennis title winners at Club Green Meadows

Rita Price, 92, of Aurora, Colo., was one of five champions crowned last week at the USTA National Women’s 40, 50, 70, 80 & 90 Indoor Championships, held last week at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver.

Price went 4-0 in her round-robin singles matches for the title in the 90-year-old age group. There were five players entered.

According to a 2010 story in the Denver Post, Price didn’t start playing tennis regularly until she was 62.

“I’m probably going to die on the tennis court,” Price was quoted as saying then. “You still can play if you stay on this side of the grass.”

Other national singles champions crowned at Club Green Meadows included top seed Burnette Herrick of Tarboro, N.C., in the 80s age division, top seed Brenda Carter of Charleston, S.C., in the 70 singles, No. 2 seed Anna Zimmermann of Indianapolis in the 50 singles, and Rebecca Stapp of Olympia in the 40 singles.

Herrick and Dorothy Wasser of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., won the 80 doubles title. Kathleen Bennett of Laguna Woods, Calif., and Liane Bryson of San Diego, the top seeds, won the 70 doubles title. Alissa Finerman of Santa Monica, Calif., and Nathalie Herreman-Bagby of Pacific Palisades, Calif., won the 50 doubles title. Lisa Cheng of Walnut Creek, Calif., and April Jourdan of Orinda, Calif., won the 40 doubles title.

Dietz fastest at Burnt Bridge run

Jere Dietz, 27, won the Clark County Running Club’s Burnt Bridge Creek 3.2-mile Run with a time of 20 minutes, 15 seconds on Sept. 5.

Mike Floyd was second overall in 20:59, and Rolf Vellek was third in 21:08.

Abby Knight was the first women’s finisher and placed fourth overall with a time of 21:47. Pam McKinney was the second women’s finisher and eighth overall in 24:24.

Last on the September calendar for CCRC is the Tech Center run at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The run is at the Columbia Tech Amphitheater, 17500 S.E. Sequoia Circle in Vancouver, and runners can run as many 1.6-mile loops as they want in an hour.

More information available at clarkcountyrunningclub.org.

TryLax clinic lets kids give lacrosse a try

Four area high schools are sponsoring a TryLax clinic on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Cascade Middle School.

The aim of the clinic is to introduce more Clark County youth to the fast-growing sport. The lacrosse teams at Skyview, Camas, Union and Columbia River high schools are helping with the clinic.

A registration fee that includes a T-shirt, new stick and ball and U.S. Lacrosse membership for a year costs about $100. Those who already have equipment and membership can register for $35 or $15 if the child qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.

After-school sports programs scheduled

Fall season after-school sports programs by QuickStart Sports are scheduled to start Sept. 17 or the following week.

Among the programs offered are basketball in Battle Ground, flag football in Ridgefield, basketball, baseball and soccer in the Evergreen School District, basketball in Washougal and Hockinson.

There are also beginner programs for ages 3-6. They include Monday soccer in Battle Ground, Thursday soccer in Salmon Creek and Tuesday baseball at Fairgrounds park.

To register or for full details, visit www.QuickStartSportsLLC.com.

Have local results or a sporting event coming up? Let us know by emailing details to sports@columbian.com or call 360-735-4484.