On a beautiful Fourth of July weekend, holiday tennis returned to the Wood River Valley with the staging of the Lyle Pearson Fourth of July Tennis Championships on the Sun Valley Tennis Club courts.
It was tough to keep everybody's attention on the local action during Sunday's finals, what with the riveting Wimbledon men's singles final between Nadal and Federer on television in the pro shop.
But there was some pretty decent tennis at Sun Valley.
Stanley Sarapanich of California won 11-player Men's Open Singles 6-4, 6-3 over David Perry of Jerome. Sarapanich and Perry teamed up to capture the five-team Men's Open Doubles in two tiebreakers over Ethan Asher of Boise and George Maurtua of Ketchum.
There were 110 players and 180 entrants filling 16 classes in the three-day meet, according to tournament director Perry. The other tournament host was Mark Frisby, Sun Valley Resort director of tennis.
Sponsors were Lyle Pearson of Boise, Volvo, Sturtevants Mountain Outfitters, Wilson Racquet Sports and Tennis Warehouse. Open prize money ranged to $400 for Men's Open Singles ($200 finalists) and $300 for Men's Open Doubles.
Next up at Sun Valley Tennis Club is the Labor Day Open Tournament Aug. 29-Sept. 1. Here are top results from last weekend's Independence Day holiday meet:
Singles
Men's Open championship—Stanley Sarapanich of La Crescenta, Ca. 6-4, 6-3 over David Perry of Jerome (11 players).
Semi-finals—Sarapanich 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Trevor Bain of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Perry 7-6 (4), 6-2 over Ethan Asher of Boise.
Men's 5.0 championship—Trevor Bain of Jackson Hole, Wyo. 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Max Sabel of Ketchum (11 players).
Consolation final—Mike Buckingham of Boise 6-3, 6-2 over Michael Kontaxis of Rancho Mirage, Ca.
Men's 4.0 championship—Nick Wilson of Boise 6-4, 6-1 over Phil Ellis of Jerome (12 players).
Consolation final—Dave Taylor of Sun Valley 6-0, 6-1 over Miles Fink of Ketchum.
Men's 3.5 championship—David Holmes of Hailey 6-4, 6-1 over Paul Davis of Ketchum (15 players).
Consolation final—John Greer of Boise 6-1, 6-1 over Stephen Pfeiffer of Ketchum.
Women's 4.5 championship— Hadley DeBree of Ketchum 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) over Susan Pavek of Pocatello (7 players).
Consolation final—Amanda Alexander of Sun Valley 6-1, 6-0 over Cara Erdheim of New York City.
Women's 3.5 championship—Donna Bellew of Seattle, Wash. 6-0, 7-5 over Jessica Bodenhofer of Gooding (7 players).
Consolation final—Morgan Atkinson of Ketchum by default over Jacqueline Lane of Boise.
Doubles
Men's Open championship—David Perry of Jerome and Stanley Sarapanich of La Crescenta, Ca. 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) over Ethan Asher of Boise and George Maurtua of Ketchum (5 teams).
Semi-finals—Asher and Maurtua 6-1, 6-1 over Zach Lubek and Adam Strizich of Helena, Mt., and Perry and Sarapanich 6-2, 6-0 over Dan Buckingham of Boise and Stephen Dial of Meridian.
Asher/Maurtua survived a tough opening-round match, nipping Chris Gripkey of Ketchum and Steven Schossberger of Boise 6-1, 3-6, 10-8.
Men's 4.5 first place—Scooter Sabel of Ketchum and Michael Kontaxis of Rancho Mirage, Ca.
Sabel and Kontaxis won 6-1, 7-5 over Conrad Casser of Hailey and Mark Pynn of Ketchum; Sabel and Kontaxis won 6-3, 6-4 over Daniel Hart and Ira Shepard of Ketchum; Sabel and Kontaxis 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 over Derek Perry of Boise and Kurt Snedeker of Ogden, Utah.
Second place—Conrad Casser and Mark Pynn 6-1, 6-1 over Derek Perry and Kurt Snedeker (4 teams, round robin).
Men's 4.0 championship—Phil Ellis of Jerome and Lon McDonald of Buhl 6-4, 6-4 over Dennis Colson of Eagle and Scott Johnson of Boise (12 teams).
Consolation final—Dave Taylor and L.R. Williams of Sun Valley 6-3, 7-6 (6) over Karsten Fostvedt and Craig Haserot of Ketchum.
Men's 3.5 championship—Mike Jaffe and Dick Wetherall of Edmonds, Wash. 6-0, 6-2 over Paul Davis and Bergen Palmer of Ketchum (6 teams).
Local prep players Davis and Palmer had a good tourney with two preliminary wins: 6-3, 6-4 over Christian Kontaxis/Willis Sanchez-duPont, and 7-6 (3), 3-6, 10-6 over Charles Grabow/Karl Wilander.
Consolation final—Charles Grabow of Ketchum and Karl Wilander of Hailey 6-4, 7-5 over Timothy Kanellitsas of Hailey and Chris Nailon of Ketchum.
Women's 5.0, first place—Rachel Moorhead and Rilee Moorhead of Boise.
The Moorheads won 6-1, 6-3 over Amanda Alexander of Sun Valley and Lily Fink-Debray of Ketchum; and the Moorheads prevailed 6-0, 6-0 over Molly Duff and Catie Schmidt of Greenwich, Ct.
Second place—Amanda Alexander and Lily Fink-Debray 6-3 6-0 over Molly Duff and Catie Schmidt (3 teams, round robin).
Women's 4.0, first place—Lynda Dimick and Laurie Fitzpatrick of Boise.
Dimick and Fitzpatrick won 6-0, 6-1 over Meg Shaver and Channing Yip of Boise; Dimick/Fitzpatrick 6-2, 6-2 over Maryanne Moorhead and Sheryl Putnam of Boise; Dimick/Fitzpatrick 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (11-9) over Jennifer Colson of Eagle and Holly Johnson of Boise.
Second place—Jennifer Colson and Holly Johnson 6-0, 6-3 over Moorhead and Putnam (4 teams, round robin).
Women's 3.5 championship—Jennifer Adams of Bothell, Wash. and Rhonda Jaffe of Edmonds,
Wash. 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5) over Cassandra Johnson and Diann Miller of Boise (6 teams).
Consolation final—Josie Bunce and Devon Bunce of Ketchum by default over Emily Eshman and Grayson Palmer of Ketchum.
Combined mixed 9.0 championship—Stephen Dial of Meridian and Lynda Dimick of Boise 6-2, 6-1 over Max Sabel and Lily Fink-Debray of Ketchum (6 teams).
Consolation final—Colby Gempler and Rachel Moorhead of Boise 7-6 (4), 6-2 over Michael Kontaxis of Rancho Mirage, Ca. and Karen Mahoney of Scottsdale, Az.
Combined mixed 8.0 championship—Dennis Colson and Jennifer Colson of Eagle 6-3, 6-4 over Amanda Alexander of Sun Valley and Miles Fink of Ketchum (8 teams).
Consolation final—Joshua Worden and Channing Yip of Boise 6-1, 6-4 over Steve Greer of Spokane, Wash. and Meg Shaver of Boise.
Combined mixed 7.0 championship—Mike Jaffe and Ann Doerflinn of Edmonds, Wash. 6-2, 6-2 over Jack Lane and Jacqueline Lane of Boise (5 teams).
Consolation final—Robert Gabby and Monica Gabby of Nampa 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 over John Greer of Boise and Allison Greer of Eagle.
