GoldenIslesTennis - Brunswick-Golden Isles Tennis Association

2012 Summer Mixed Doubles

The Mixed Doubles season is off to a great start! Matches started May 12th and it was great to see people out on the courts. We have 26 people playing in the 7.0 flight and 24 people playing in the 8.0 flight. It's wonderful to have so many people signed up! Thank you for your patience with me as I am learning the system as the coordinator for the Mixed Doubles. Please don't hesitate to call me at 912-571-4840 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions. Thanks!

Alyssa Mansfield

4.0 Men at the 2012 Adult State Championships

The BGITA Men's 4.0 Team traveled to Rome this past weekend...Rome, Georgia that is.  Once we finally found our plush accommodations at the America's Best Value Inn, we set out to get the lay of the land. Dwight McDaniel scouted all our venues, and gave us the run down.  Rome is a beautiful midsized town at the foothills of the mountains, about 75 minutes NW of Atlanta with great tennis facilities, no bugs, cooler, and four colleges.  Not to mention a great downtown scene with great restaurants, and some nice music venues. Friday morning we had our first match at 8:00 am downtown, and while we did ok, we had a hard time getting in sync.  Billy Copelan and John Barge won their match, but that was it. Our second match at Berry College (beautiful campus) went about the same, and switching partners is something I think we'll address as a team. The Player Party was that night at the Coosa Valley Country Club, a beautiful venue set right next to the cutest little hillside cemetery.  Great BBQ, a dance contest, and a three man costume party.  A great time was had by all! We had somewhat of a snoring problem back at the hotel, so we did some room shuffling.  It seemed to help. Our match Saturday morning was at Darlington Academy.  Great location, and while we played well, we ran into some stiff competition.  That afternoon, we played at the Etowah Park complex.  We found that all tennis players aren't as likeable and fun loving as our group, but it inspired us to better play, and dreams of an MMA match to follow, which I believe we would have won. After that match, we we're planning our final Sunday match strategy, when Nolan Rowell received the call that we'd be playing our Sunday morning match at 10:00pm Saturday evening.  We went downtown for some much needed sustenance, and had a great dinner at Mellow Mushroom, where I was forced into indentured servitude by our mean and wicked waitress. Then back downtown for our final match.  Several of the matches were underway, and we were on a roll, ahead in all of the matches...when the rain came.  Our chance for redemption literally washed away, along with our drunken cheerleaders.

Bottom line; we need to work on our game, and our lineup, and find a way to play actual 4.0 players at a 4.0 tournament, but we had a great time and enjoyed one another's company, and can't wait until next year.

Jeff Bush

Women's League Spring 2012 Wrap-up

Wow! What an exciting spring season the women have had! Two wonderful events occurred! We now have a 4.0 division with two solid teams playing. Stepping up to be team captains were Pam Oberlin and Jeriann Edwards. Pam's team is heading to states the weekend of May 18th. We are hoping for 4.0 to grow; maybe even have three teams for the fall. Also, in our 3.5 division, the weekday and weekend women combined into one league to have a larger, deeper league. These teams were captained by Bobbi Jernigan, Leah Hopkins, Sherri Bowen, and Tina Holloway. Leah Hopkins' fall team qualified for state and Bobbi Jernigan's spring team went to state the weekend of May 4th. Our 3.0 division is growing fast, thanks due to the local response of Michelle Jones' adult clinics! We had two weekday and two weekend teams, led by Pat Porto, Tammy Tracy, Cindy Lane, and Sue Leeds. Ladies, please feel free to contact me with information, questions, and/or concerns at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Captains—please look for an email in mid-July calling for a women's league captains meeting.

Theresa Ellis

COASTAL COALITION FOR CHILDREN TENNIS CLASSIC

Last year the Coastal Coalition for Children served more than 1,500 families. And there are many more in need of our services, services that make a positive difference for them and for the communities of the Golden Isles.

That's where you come in. By playing in our 20th annual COASTAL COALITION FOR CHILDREN TENNIS CLASSIC, you will contribute to how much we are able to do, and demonstrate your commitment to improving the quality of life in our area by investing in our children.

The Coastal Coalition for Children TENNIS CLASSIC is one of our major fundraisers. You have played with us in the past. We are very grateful and hope you will want to join us for this fun round-robin tournament once again this year. Our 20th annual Coastal Coalition for Children Tennis Classic will be held on Saturday, May 19th starting at 8:30 AM at the Sea Island Retreat Tennis Center.

As stated, the proceeds from this event support the programs of the Coastal Coalition for Children in meeting our objectives of providing services that value children, strengthen families, and engage our community. Our programs which include: First Steps, Healthy Families and Grandparent Connection are offered free to members of our community. These programs support new mothers and their infants by providing information, referrals and support; help build self-sufficiency in high risk families and support grandparents who are raising grandchildren.

More information about our programs and the COASTAL COALITION FOR CHILDREN TENNIS CLASSIC is available by contacting Coastal Coalition for Children Community Liaison Joni Bennett at 222-2746 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Click here for registration form.

Looking for Players or Teams??

Well, then sign into the website forum and get connected with other players and teams! It's really easy and quick, just click on the "Looking for players or teams?" tab above and "create and account" with your very own user name and password. Once you've done that, you can post and reply, ask questions, start a conversation, etc. You can even choose to receive an email if someone responds to your post.

The BGITA forum is a great tool to get connected and play more tennis!!!

Local Participants in the GA Adult/Senior Open (Clay Court) Championships

Congratulations to our local participants and winners of the GA State Adult/Senior Open Championships played on clay courts at the Jekyll Island Tennis Center this past weekend (March 10th & 11th). The Golden Isles really does have some great talent in all ages and categories!!

Mixed Doubles: Carew Rowell/Josie Kennedy, Holly Evans/Paul Rausch, Tina Holloway/Tom McDonnell, Jeff Bush/Ruth Heyward, Edgar Fernandez/Pam Oberlin

Women's Doubles: Holly Evans/Ruth Heyward, Victoria Holloway/Tina Holloway

Men's Doubles: Gary Mallard/Greg Wasdin, Kevin Asbell/Jeff Kicklighter, Jeff Bush/Edgar Fernandez, Charles Dennis/Al Hicks, Tony King/ Larry Windsor, Fred Freyer/Steve Newell, Zane Moody/Fabio Pagani

Women's Singles: Jane Rubow, Elizabeth Martin

Men's Singles: Jeff Kicklighter, Gary Mallard, Robert Strange, Hank Ream, Howard Rugaber, Al Hicks, Tony King, Tom Drummond, John Kelly, Nolan Rowell, William Ream, Fabio Pagani, Lane Taylor

Congratulations to All !!!!!!

For Full Tournament Results, Click HERE

Winter Schools Tennis Program

In January and February, Michelle Jones and Mary Brooke Kersey entered elementary schools for the 2nd year in a row to teach a 5 week program to K-5th graders in the school gyms. This year 112 kids participated in the program offered at Satilla Marsh, Sterling, St. Simons, and Heritage Christian Academy. The program provides 5 weeks of tennis instruction for 45 minutes a week and covers the whole game of tennis including forehand, backhand, volley, overhead, serve, and how to play points. The program offers USTA memberships to each child that participates. This year the program created 70 new USTA junior members and 42 renewal USTA junior members. The children who participated are invited to play in our Winter Elementary Junior Team Tennis league that plays Fridays in March!