Hoggard High School freshman Holland Baynard, who is on his way to the boy’s high school state tennis tournament this weekend, tuned up his game last Sunday by winning the Country Club of Landfall’s Junior Classic tennis tournament 16 and under division.
Baynard, 15, won his final 6-0, 6-3 on Sunday after a strong performance on Saturday, where he swept his opponents in straight 6-0 sets.
“I played one of my better matches on Saturday,” said Baynard, who added that he was “pumped up” by the music from a band playing at a nearby restaurant. “I hit it hard, cranked all my serves and carried that over into my match on Sunday,” he said.
The young tennis star has been playing since he was 9 and his win this weekend at Landfall wasn’t his first at the Junior Classic, where two years ago he won the 14 and under division.
Baynard, who plays on Hoggard’s tennis team, will compete in the state tournament this weekend in doubles with playing partner Miles Hirchak.
The Junior Classic is Landfall’s biggest tennis tournament of the year, drawing 148 players from around the state. It featured both male and female junior players from a range of ages, with the boys 10 and under division being the largest. The tournament includes play on both clay and hardcourts.
“It’s always a really great tournament to play in, it’s especially fun just being in town,” said Baynard, who usually travels throughout the state for tournament play.
The tournament featured other Wilmington-area winners, including Alan Dimock, Elena Berg and Walker Stanfield in the 12 and under division.
The Junior Classic draws a particularly large number of players from the Raleigh and Cary areas, said tournament director Jon Ingham. The weather for the weekend tournament created ideal playing conditions, he said.
“We were lucky it was so beautiful,” Ingham said. “It was a great weekend.”
Alice Holding, a 14-year-old player from Raleigh, won the double title with her partner Kylie Rigsby in the 16 and under division.
“This is one of my favorite places to play tennis,” she said of the Landfall facility. “The people are really nice. Plus, I don’t have all of the coaches watching me like I would in Raleigh.”
Holding and Rigsby won their match on Landfall’s center court against a rival team from the Raleigh Racquet Club.
“The match was super intense,” she said “Because they were from Raleigh, the tension was so much higher.”
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