Charleston wins title of Best Tennis Town

NEW YORK -- Charleston has defeated Atlanta and Richmond, Va., for the title of America's Best Tennis Town.

"It was an epic upset," said Family Circle Cup General Manager Bob Moran, describing the results Monday at the U.S. Open, where the Best Tennis Town announcement was made on the Jumbotron screen in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"Atlanta has 150,000 tennis players to Charleston's 15,000," he said.

Lowcountry Tennis Association president Ken Edwards and Family Circle Tennis Center director Rob Eppelsheimer, who accepted the $100,000 U.S. Tennis Association award on behalf of Charleston, jumped for joy when the announcement was made that Atlanta had finished second in the online voting. Moments earlier Richmond had been named the third-place finisher, so Atlanta's second place meant Charleston had won a competition that started with 82 entries.

"I've never been so excited to hear Atlanta's name," a still jubilant Edwards said.

"After Richmond got third, I knew it was conceivable that Charleston had finished first," he said. "I had been told by numerous people that we didn't have a chance."

Eppelsheimer was equally excited. "When they said Richmond, I knew we had a 50-50 chance," he said. "When they said Atlanta, goose bumps ran down my arm."

From the original 82 entries in the Best Tennis Town competition, 10 towns were selected as finalists earlier this summer. Online voting then took over the competition for a 10-day period, and Charleston, Atlanta and Richmond were then announced as the top three towns, with the winner to be announced at the U.S. Open.

USTA officials do not release the actual number of votes for each town in the two-year-old competition. Midland, Mich., won the award in 2009.

LCTA vice president Nancy Pitcairn and Meg Farrelly of the Isle of Palms also were official Charleston representatives and were in the luxury box in Arthur Ashe Stadium when the announcement was made between matches.

"When they announced Atlanta, Nancy grabbed me and hugged me," said Farrelly, a veteran linesperson who was taking a break from calling lines at the U.S. Open.

Pitcairn, also the vice president of the Charleston Area Ladies Tennis Association, said, "We thought we could beat Richmond, but we never thought we could beat Atlanta because of their size."

Atlanta representative Cee Jai Jones took the disappointment in stride. "I'm originally from Walterboro, so I'm proud of them (Charleston). I go to the Family Circle Cup every year," Jones said. "When it comes to online voting, you never know what will happen."

USTA National President Lucy Garvin of Greenville presented the award to Edwards and Eppelsheimer.

Belton's Rex Maynard, president of the USTA's nine-state Southern Section, said, "Charleston is the perfect winner . . . they've got it all."

Maynard was happy that the Southern Section had the two top finishers in the national competition. "Last year we didn't have one of the top three," he said.

In Charleston, Mayor Joe Riley, who played a major role in the development of tennis in the area by luring the Family Circle Cup to Charleston a decade ago, greeted the news as "wonderful."

"It's truly wonderful for the entire community. Charleston and all of the communities and islands came together," Riley said. "This award will make tennis even more special in Charleston."

About the Family Circle Cup's 10 years in Charleston, he said, "I felt that the Family Circle Cup would substantially increase tennis in the community."

Obviously, he was right.

"Tennis is a lifetime sport," Riley said. "Charleston and all of our communities are giving them (residents) a sport for life."

Nancy Weber, the chief marketing officer for Family Circle Cup parent Meredith Corporation, said, "This is why we're in Charleston . . . it's such a great town."

Reach James Beck at jamesbecktennis@gmail.com. See his columns on pro tennis at ubitennis.com/english.