Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs resident Brad Miller can see just what the Steamboat Tennis Association Summer Championships mean to Routt County's tennis enthusiasts.

Miller, who won the men's 4.5 singles championship on Sunday, had taken a break from tennis for a couple of years.

But when the Tennis Center at Steamboat Springs went through its dramatic changes making it one of the top facilities in the state, Miller came back to the game.

The past two years, Miller's played Steamboat's top two boys high school players - Ramsey Bernard last year and Andrew Hoing this year - in the championships.

With all of the proceeds from the tournament going directly to the STA to help with the Tennis Center and the junior and high school programs, Miller said the three-day tournament is absolutely a great thing for the Steamboat Springs tennis community.

"I'll tell you what, this tournament is a testament to what the STA does," Miller said shortly after beating Hoing, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, in the finals. "This is great and these high school guys are good. It's ridiculous."

Along with a silent auction throughout the weekend that generated more than $4,000 for the STA, a live auction was held Sunday evening at Catamount to raise more money.

"This has been one of the most successful tournaments the Steamboat Springs Tennis Association has put on," Tennis Center Director Jim Swiggart said. "We had over 100 players here and it's probably the most successful combination of junior and adults we've ever had. It's been a tremendous social and competitive success."

Along with singles events for men, women and junior players, the tournament also featured competitive play in doubles and mixed doubles.

On Sunday, more than 20 players and teams were crowned champions.

Although it was a competitive tournament, the atmosphere around the tennis championships is what the tournament is really about.

"It was a good way to go out in that last match," said Hoing, who leaves Wednesday for college in San Antonio. "It was a lot of fun, but it was more of a relaxed environment. I got to play in three events so it was fun."

- To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229

or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com