Women Tennis Pros Scrap at Dow Corning Classic for Sunday Finals Shootout
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Mike Woody, Dow Corning tournament director, gives out awards during the tournament.
Marta Domachowska, 24-year-old Polish star and fan favorite, upset No. 2 seed Vania King on Wednesday.
Midland's professional tennis tournament, the 22nd annual Dow Corning Classic, brings out the best in the town, the players, the glittery events.
"Play to Win, The Fun is Better" motivational banners adorn the huge 24-court Midland Community Tennis Center (MCTC), along with reminders of the "America's Best Tennis Town" award garnered last year.
More sponsors, more volunteers, bigger crowds -- all mark this year's extravaganza as the glow from the national award diffuses throughout the region.
About 15,000 fans are expected to show up throughout the eight days of the tournament, according to Mike Woody, MCTC and tournament director. Main draw matches start at 10 a.m. daily and evening contests at 7 p.m. Sunday's singles and doubles finals start at 1 p.m.
Everywhere are tall, leggy, ambitious women tennis professionals, many foreigners with exotic names, pacing, waiting to take the court and build a record and ranking that may one day put them at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open.
Presiding over the grand panoply is a suave skinhead, veteran teaching pro and tennis director Mike Woody, who Friday will energetically put paunchy middle-aged athletes through arduous paces of "Cardio Tennis," designed as much for fitness as court finesse.
Woody also seeks to inspire as well as physically tone the thousands of members and school teams who race through the huge facility, rackets in hand and dreams of glory in their heads.
Hosted by the Midland Community Tennis Center, the tournament began as a $25,000 tourney in 1989, became a $50,000 contest in 1996, a $75,000 event in 1999, and in 2009 was named the first and only $100,000 event on the U.S. Tennis Association's women's tour.
This year the field includes eight top 50 players and tourney veteran Laura Granville, of Chicago, who is a two-time winner at Midland. Top seeds of the 32 player field include Lucie Hradecka, Czech star and defending champion, and world ranked No. 73 Vania King, 21, of Long Beach, CA, who was upset 6-1, 7-5 by Polish upstart Marta Domachowska on Wednesday.
Three seed Elena Baltacha, 26, of Ipswich, England, easily routed 38-year-old Canadian Maureen Drake, 6-1, 6-1.
Other players to watch as the DCTC races toward Sunday afternoon's singles and doubles championships, include Katie O'Brien of Hessie, England, 2009 semifinalist, and Varvara Lepchenko, playing out of Allentown, Pennsylvania, a seven-time singles champion on the USTA Pro Circuit.
Newcomers include Monica Nicuiescu, Romanian hope, ranked No. 115 in the world; Kristina Kucova, of Slovakia, ranked No. 109; and, Arantxa Rus, of the Netherlands, No. 117, top ranked Dutch woman player.
Among the international players who compete, the Dow Corning Tennis Classic is considered tops on the 103-stop tour because of the unique hospitality offered players, and the professional management of the tournament.
A tourney promoter tells it all: "Midland residents open hearth and home to players, providing transportation to the Center with visits to city 'highlights,' malls and civic attractions like the Midland Center for the Arts.
"Players are wined and dined at a variety of special events where they meet corporate sponsors and tournament officials. A Player Hospitality Center provides healthy fare such as subs, fruits and nutritional snacks throughout the tournament.
"It's one of the best run tournaments on the tour," says Jill Craybas, two-time defending singles champion. "No other tournament at this level treats the players with such wonderful attention. We love it, and we come back."
Players' messages of perseverance, cultural diversity, and following your dream with determination goes down well with youngsters and teens as they learn about the world through "Pros to Schools," and "Schools to Matches." Civic and service organizations hear about life on the tour and the economics of competitive tour tennis.
Grand Slam winners who played the Dow Corning Tennis Classic include Maria Sharapova, Mary Pierce, Anastasia Myskina, and Justine Henin, onetime world's #1 player. Other top stars who graced the courts are Nicole Vaidisova, and Jelena Jankovic, both ranked in the top five. Anna Kournikova won her first of two ITF singles titles here.
As the tournament grew, broadening its impact with outreach and fan amenities, Dow Corning stepped up again, coordinating an effort with foundations and the MCTC to provide a major events expansion in the West Wing. A new entrance with drive around leads to refurbished meetings suites, new restrooms, registration center, and a planned secure walkway to the area that will not disrupt member tennis. Additional parking lots also are being completed.
"The Dow Corning Tennis Classic is about world-class athletes, world-class tennis and world-class entertainment! says Dan Futter, Dow Corning, Executive Sponsor. "This Pro Circuit Event provides a unique opportunity for special customers, employees and community members to share in the excitement of professional competition. Dow Corning is especially proud of the school outreach during the 10-day tournament, which encourages athletes from as many as 25 different nations to visit with students from throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region."
The Larry Reed "Most Promising Newcomer" Award goes annually to the player who best exemplifies the promise of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic. The former CEO of Dow Corning Corporation, avid tennis player, and USTA umpire, Larry Reed, was instrumental in the growth and development of the Dow Corning Tennis Challenger. This memorial award recognizes a player who has shown outstanding promise early in their professional career. ###
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