A family affair

Because Brenda Van Ness was working on her ‘B’ Bracket Singles championship, there was little time to look toward the match one court over.

Lucy Van Ness, 13, and Harper Van Ness, 12, were engaged in their ‘B’ Bracket Doubles match.

“Whoever the players are out there — it really is their own game,” Brenda Van Ness said. “So parents — it’s best if we step aside and just let them play their game out. It’s always a pleasure to watch them but really, honestly, the less we are involved in their game the better they have the chance to improve upon it.”

The Van Ness family wasn’t out for just any Sunday tennis outing. They were 3-of-121 participants of the third annual Culpeper Open, which held its championship matches Sunday at the Culpeper Sport and Racquet Club.

The sisters eventually lost their championship match to Karen Carroll and Liz Walther 6-3, 6-4, finishing second in a tournament mainly composed of adults.

“When you lose you learn ten times more than when you win a game,” Brenda Van Ness said. “Because when you win a game, you pat yourself on the back and walk away. When you lose, you constantly analyze and think ‘What could I have done better, what did she have, what were her strengths and what were her weaknesses?’”

The Van Ness sisters were playing in their second tournament as a doubles team, but they say keeping it in the family does have its advantages.

“Communication,” Lucy Van Ness said. “It’s a little easier to tell each other what to do, compared with a stranger because you feel a little nervous about how they would react.”

In addition to her mother winning the ‘B’ Bracket Singles Championship, Harper Van Ness took home the ‘A’ Bracket Singles title.

“The Van Ness family is very, very strong as far as tennis ability wise,” said Joe Noth, Head Tennis Pro of the Culpeper Sport and Racquet Club and Tournament Director for the Culpeper Open. “The girls are only 12 (and 13) years old and they’re out here beating grown women, so that’s not an easy task. It’s great for the game of tennis that you can have players do that.”

The Van Ness family wasn’t the only family in competition.

“So you can have father-son teams, mother-son teams, mother-daughter teams and sister-sister teams too,” Noth said. “So it’s definitely a family sport, that’s how most people start — playing with mom or dad.

Two-Month Tournament
Noth, entering his fourth year as a Head Tennis Pro in Culpeper, presided over the event that culminated Sunday after starting two months ago on July 20.

“We have strict deadlines that are set up before the start of the tournament,” Noth said. “You get basically two weeks to complete each round.”

Most of the events had two different brackets based upon skill level and United States Tennis Association National Tennis Rating Program.

“Your true beginner would start at like a 1.0,” Noth said. “All the way up to the No. 1 player in the world, Roger Federer, would be like an 8.0.

“Anyone that played the ‘B’ bracket — you were not allowed to be any higher than a 3.5, and then ‘A’ was open. So you could have better players in the ‘A,’ but you could have those good, solid 3.5 players still play in the ‘A’ bracket as well.”

For the ‘B’ bracket winners, an extra treat awaits them next year.

“Competition only gets better,” Noth said. “What’s cool about this tournament those players who won the ‘B’ brackets will be forced to play the ‘A’ bracket next year. So you’re going to find that every year’s ‘B’ bracket has a different winner.”

Rally Men
On the men’s side, Madison’s Mark O’Connell will get the bump next year. He rallied to take the ‘B’ bracket singles title after falling in the first set. He took set two and the tie breaker to win the match 1-6, 7-5 (10-2) over Tom Hampton.

“I’ve been down before, and I always tell myself ‘You have the capability of coming back,’” O’Connell said. “You just have to be patient, don’t panic and wait on your shots and the backhand will eventually be there.”

Tough, extended matches don’t bother O’Connell, neither does some time off after a win.

“The more I play, it seems like the stronger I get,” O’Connell said. “I’m a slow starter, but again (Hampton’s) the kind of guy… I’m glad I don’t have to play him anytime soon, need a couple weeks to recover I guess.”

The marathon matches didn’t end in the ‘B’ bracket. The ‘A’ bracket was taken by Mark Willis of Fredericksburg after winning a tiebreaker against Orange High School grad Mark Critchfield. Both players have a 4.0 USTA rating.

“I knew I really had to concentrate on the ball and each stroke in the tiebreaker,” Willis said. “Because the tiebreaker is so short you can’t worry about the actual point of the whole tiebreaker. But each shot, that’s what I tried to do and it really worked.”

Willis had to come back on several occasions. He rallied to win the first set 6-3 after being down 3-0 early, and then lost the second set before winning the best-of-10 tie breaker.

“I knew I needed to settle down because I lost that second set,” Willis said. “I need to get energized against a player who plays close to me in the score.”

3rd Annual Culpeper Open Finals

Men’s Singles ‘A’: Mark Willis def. Mark Critchfield 6-3, 5-7 (10-5).

Men’s Singles ‘B’: Mark O’Connell def. Tom Hampton 1-6, 7-5 (10-2).

Women’s Singles ‘A’: Harper Van Ness def. Brenda Daniel 6-2, 3-6 (10).

Women’s Singles ‘B’: Brenda Van Ness def. Beth Didanoto 6-4, 6-1.

Men’s Doubles ‘A’: Scott Barlow/Jim Divelviss def. Bo Hudson/Worth Richardson, forfeit.

Men’s Doubles ‘B’: Greg Moore/Dean Moorehead def. Rodney Bledsoe/Tom Lamon 6-2, 7-5.

Women’s Doubles ‘A’: Brenda Daniel/Jen Robinson def. June Brick/Debra White 6-4, 6-1.

Women’s Doubles ‘B’: Karen Carroll/Liz Walther def. Lucy Van Ness/Harper Van Ness 6-3, 6-4.

Men’s Senior Doubles: Wilbur Brown/Mike Mote def. Keith Harris/Sanford Heard 5-7, 6-2 (10-6).

Mixed Doubles ‘A’: George Christoforatos/Brenda Daniel def. Worth Richardson/June Brick, forfeit.

Mixed Doubles ‘B’: Greg Moore/Ruth Olsen def. Jon Brick/June Brick 6-1, 6-3.

Want to play?

What: USTA 4.0 tennis tournament

Who: Men and women with a USTA rating of 4.0 and below

When: Oct. 9-11

Where: Culpeper Sport and Racquet Club