Another Flagstaff Open is under our belt. Flagstaff Tennis Association would like to
thank Evans-Garrey Law for being our title sponsor. As the director, along with our
fabulous tournament committee, we’d like to thank all the registered participants who
made the 2024 Flagstaff Open a blast. You all made us oooh and aaah and laugh.
There was some good tennis out on those beautiful NAU courts. Even better…we all
witnessed fantastic sportsmanship.
At the Flagstaff Open, we are proud to strive for a great player experience. Many
participants won raffle prizes, and supported our silent auction efforts. Scott Weber,
owner of Ace Court Equipment & Stringing, was on hand to provide stringing. Some
Flagstaff junior players were happy to give your strings the appropriate stencil. A day of
ice cream treats was provided by Shamrock Foods. Tangletown Tea of Flagstaff had
cold brewed tea ready for anyone needing a flavorful drink. We can’t thank Nackard
Pepsi enough for making sure electrolyte drinks and snacks were available to our
players.
In a nutshell, we had 108 players registered for over 14 competitive events. Jake
Worseldine of Remote Tennis was a fantastic help setting up the schedule for the 101
matches that had to take place. Men’s 4.0 singles and doubles were the most popular
events. For this year’s tournament, the Men’s Open divisions drew an outstanding
group. Chris McDaniels (Tucson) took home the champion singles title. Coleman Welch
(Flagstaff) and Tyler McDonald (Phoenix) won the doubles division.
Let me highlight some other winners…
18 & over NTRP category Champions:
3.5 Women’s doubles – Dana Jacko and Tracey Tibbs, Sedona
4.0 Women’s singles – Jacqueline Lapan, Tucson
4.0 Women’s doubles – Arielle Shindler, Scottsdale and Leah Carbonaro, Mesa
3.5 Men’s singles – Josh Walker, Prescott
3.5 Men’s doubles – Derek Miller and Michael Chan, Flagstaff
4.0 Men’s singles – Andy Mraz, Prescott Valley
4.0 Men’s doubles – Andy Mraz and Matthew Mraz, Prescott Valley
7.0 Combo Mixed – Sophie Damaso, Phoenix and Allen Wynne, Tempe
8.0 Combo Mixed – Rachel Camacho, Chandler and Aditya Sharma, Gilbert
55 & over Category Champions:
Men’s singles – Alan Clark, Phoenix (returning champ)
Men’s doubles – Link Paffenbarger, Flagstaff and Mario Vargas, Phoenix
Women’s doubles – Hellen McCallum and Ann Spravzoff, Flagstaff
Our volunteers are the best! They enthusiastically made it all happen including checking
in players, monitoring warm-up times, fetching errant balls, and cheering. I’m sure they
had something to do with the great weather as well. We hope to see you next year.
Look for some event changes and additions based on player feedback and scheduling
improvements.