Baton Rouge Receives Honorable Mention in USTA's 2009 Best Tennis Town Contest
Baton Rouge is being awarded Honorable Mention in United States Tennis Association's (USTA) 2009 Best Tennis Town contest. The city was also selected as one of 10 finalists in this national contest.
The USTA asked cities around America to show they had what it takes to be the Best Tennis Town by submitting videos highlighting their community's passion and spirit for tennis. USTA members were encouraged to cast their votes online at besttennistown.com and the votes were tallied after July 26.
"Baton Rouge has had 13 events in the last three years resulting in over $6 million in economic impact," stated Jerry Stovall, president of Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation. Baton Rouge hosted the Baton Rouge Pro Classic event at the Lamar YMCA, as well as Duel Under the Oaks, which featured Pete Sampras in an exhibition sponsored by the Pennington Foundation to aid in hurricane relief.
Baton Rouge's video submission included interviews from Jerry Stovall, president of the Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation; Tony Minnis, LSU Head Woman's Tennis Coach; Jeff Brown, LSU Head Men's Tennis Coach; Jeff Conyers, SU Head Woman's Tennis Coach; Ojo Thompson, BREC tennis development manager; John Wahlborg, YMCA director of tennis and Whitney Vann, WBRZ news anchor. Letters of recommendation were submitted by local Baton Rouge businesses, community members and Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden. The video of Baton Rouge's submission can be viewed at www.besttennistown.com.
Michael McNulty, III, executive vice-president of USTA Southern, will present Baton Rouge with a 2009 Best Tennis Town Honorable Mention plaque and $2,000 available for tennis equipment on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. The presentation will be held at the BREC Administration Building, located at 6201 Florida Blvd, in Baton Rouge, LA. Congratulations Baton Rouge for making tennis in Baton Rouge a "sport of a lifetime!" For more information about the types of programs and services offered by USTA Louisiana, visit www.louisianatennis.com.
