For those of you with younger players (12 and under), you should consider the Little Mo series of events. These tournaments are held across the country – and, now, across the globe – and have crowned champions such as Andy Roddick, Ryan Harrison, Vicki Duval, and CiCi Bellis. The following is from a release sent out by the Little Mo organizers. To register, please click here.
The “Little Mo” tournaments are designed to provide good competition while also encouraging players to develop new friendships, learn good sportsmanship, and most of all, have fun. The “Little Mo” is also unique in that it gives youngsters the opportunity to gauge their ability against players who are their same age (8’s play 8’s, 9’s play 9’s, et cetera).
We will be kicking off our 20th Annual “Road to the Little Mo Nationals” circuit in March. We have 18 sectionals planned around the USA in the spring, leading up to four regionals in the summer and culminating with the “Little Mo” Nationals at the end of September. We will also be offering three international tournaments (California, New York, and Florida) for players from the USA and worldwide.
The “Road to the Little Mo Nationals” is a fun, yearlong circuit of sectional, regional, and national tournaments for talented, high-performance players living in the United States. Yellow ball divisions will be offered for boys and girls ages 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in addition to a green dot option for ages 8, 9, and 10 at the sectional level.
The top eight players (quarterfinalists) from each age division at each sectional will advance to the four “Little Mo” Regionals. Please note the top 8 players from the yellow ball and green dot divisions will advance to the “Little Mo” Regionals, but all green dot players will need to play with the yellow ball at the Regionals as there will be no green dot divisions. The top four players (semifinalists) from each age division at each regional will advance to the “Little Mo” Nationals held at the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas from September 29 – October 2.
12s — born in 2005
11’s — born in 2006
10’s — born in 2007
9’s — born in 2008
8’s — born in 2009 or 2010
Players can play in any “Little Mo” Sectionals they wish but must follow the path to the appropriate “Little Mo” Regionals:
North Regionals:
Midwest, Middle States, New England, Northern, and Eastern Sectionals
South Regionals:
Texas and Missouri Valley Sectionals
- East Regionals: Mid-Atlantic, Southern, and Florida Sectionals
- West Regionals: Northern California, Southern California, and Pacific Northwest Sectionals
Players can play in more than one “Little Mo” Sectionals. Anyone who lives in the USA or a USA territory (i.e. Puerto Rico) can play in the “Little Mo”.
Pacific Northwest
Florida
March 11-12 Ironhorse Country Club – West Palm Beach, FL
June 3-4 Sarasota Racquet Club – Sarasota, FL
June 10-11 Crandon Park Tennis Center – Miami, FL
May 5-7 Laurel Park Tennis Center – Marietta, GA
TBA Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club – Hendersonville, TN
Texas
March 25-26 Arlington Tennis Center – Arlington, TX
April 29-30 Fair Oaks Ranch Golf and Country Club – Fair Oaks, TX
Missouri Valley
April 29-30 Genesis Health Club – Wichita, KS
Northern
May 12-13 Lifetime Fitness – Fridley, MN
Middle States
May 13-14 Aronimink Tennis Center – Newton Square, PA
Eastern
May 19-21 Armonk Tennis Club – Armonk, NY
Midwest
May 27-28 H-F Racquet & Fitness Club – Homewood, IL
New England
May 27-28 Longfellow Club – Boston, MA
June 24-25 Chris Lewit Tennis Academy – Londonderry, VT
Southern California
May 27-28 La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club – La Jolla, CA
Mid-Atlantic
June 3-4 Dominion Valley Country Club – Haymarket, VA
Northern California
June 3-4 University of The Pacific – Stockton, CA
Regionals
South (Texas, Missouri Valley)
May 27-29 T Bar M Racquet Club – Dallas, TX
North (Midwest, Middle States, New England, Northern, Eastern)
TBA TBA
East (Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Florida)
July 28-30 Naples Grande Beach Resort – Naples, FL
West (Northern California, Southern California, Pacific Northwest)
July 28-30 Woodbridge Tennis Club – Irvine, California
September 29 – October 2 Austin Tennis Academy – Austin, TX
2017 “Little Mo” Internationals
California, New York, Florida
The “Little Mo” Internationals offers young players the unique opportunity to compete against players from around the world. The tournaments are open to any player from the USA and worldwide, ages 8 to 12 in addition to the “Big Mo” division for ages 13 and 14 (California and Florida). Players will be competing in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Yellow ball divisions will be offered for ages 8-14 in addition to a green dot option for ages 8, 9, and 10.
The “Little Mo” Internationals in California is also the 1st leg of the 2017 “Little Mo” Slam! In honor of Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly’s 60th anniversary of winning the Grand Slam in 1953, MCB created the ultimate challenge in 2013 for any player to win the “Little Mo” Slam. If a player can win all three ‘”Little Mo” Internationals (yellow ball division only) in the same year, the player will receive the tallest trophy ever given in junior tennis (6 feet tall) and the title of “Little Mo” Slam Champion! There have been six “Little Mo” players who have accomplished this great achievement in the past four years. Who will it be this year?
Little Mo” Internationals – California
The Woodbridge Tennis Club
Irvine, California
June 30 – July 4
“Little Mo” Internationals – New York
The West Side Tennis Club
Forest Hills, New York
August 21 – 26
“Little Mo” Internationals – Florida
PGA National Resort & Spa
and
BallenIsles Country Club
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
December 1 – 6
We hope you will let your friends know about the “Little Mo” Internationals in California, New York, and Florida. As an incentive, we are offering players an opportunity to earn cash for referring other players to sign up to play in any “Little Mo” Internationals. For every player you refer, you will receive $20 in cash. You will be able to pick up your cash prize at the “Little Mo/Big Mo” booth during the tournament. The more players you refer, the more you can earn. For example, if you refer 20 players, you will receive a check for $400 from MCB.
How do you refer another player?
Tell a friend about the “Little Mo” Internationals and encourage them to register. For instance, you could refer a player that you would like to have as your doubles or mixed doubles partner. A custom question has been added to the tournament registration process where the referred player can type in your name on their entry form as having referred them. Only the names entered during online registration will count towards earning cash prizes. Also, any player who withdraws from the tournament will not count. If you have any other questions about the referral program, please email Matthew Cody at
[email protected].
The “Little Mo” tournaments are sponsored by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation in memory of its tennis champion namesake Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly. Known by her nickname “Little Mo”, she was the first woman to win the Grand Slam of tennis at only 18 years of age in 1953. Maureen Connolly is still the youngest and the only American woman to have accomplished this magnificent feat. The foundation has promoted junior tennis development for the past 49 years and continues to benefit countless numbers of boys and girls throughout the country.
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