Hall of Fame Classic Tennis Celebrates 40 Years in Belton & 8 Teams Will Compete In The Event Hosted By BHP September 26-27

Belton--The annual Hall of Fame Classic high school girl’s tennis tournament will celebrate it’s 40^th year in Belton September 26-27 with 8 teams participating in the tournament hosted by the Belton Tennis Association and sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Anderson.

The tournament was started in 1987 by Chairman Rex Maynard, who had two daughters playing for Belton-Honea Path at the time. “I started it to give my girls an opportunity to play tough competition before the playoffs began, and to also honor the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame, which opened in the Belton Depot in 1983,” said Maynard. “I invited 7 other top teams from around the state. When we began, we decided to use a different format and have the players play in different flights based on their position on the team, rather than having team against team matches.

“We used a compass draw, so every player and doubles team has three matches during the two-day tournament, and they earn points for their team when they win a match,” said Maynard. “It was fun, good for Belton, and a good opportunity for all the girls at that point in the season, so we’ve kept it going, and that format has worked well. It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years!”

T. L. Hanna won the inaugural tournament in 1987, and the Yellow Jackets repeated that championship three more times, most recently in 2024. Myrtle Beach leads all teams with 8 titles followed by Christ Church with 7, then T. L. Hanna with four. A number of schools have three titles, including 2025 champion A. C. Flora. The tournament has never been cancelled, but has experienced weather challenges, including Hurricane Helene the week of the tournament in 2024.



Maynard commented, “After Helene, four teams could not play because they had closed school, so we played it with only 4 teams, and it went great,” he said. “We had to go indoors at Clemson one year, and twice we had to shorten the scoring format, and play it in one day, including last year.”

Belton-Honea Path serves as the host team every year but has never won the team championship. The defending team champion is always invited, and the other six spots are by invitation as selected by Maynard. “We originally tried to have the strongest teams in the state, regardless of where they were located,” said Maynard. “We still want strong teams, but more recently have focused on the upstate more than the coast. It’s a long way for them to drive, but Waccamaw played last year and will return this year, so they obviously feel it’s worth the effort. We enjoy having teams who want to be here.”

This year’s tournament will feature another strong field, although defending champion A. C. Flora is not playing since their homecoming is the same weekend. The 2026 teams include:

·       Belton-Honea Path won the AAA Region 1 championship, their fifth straight region title, and finished with a 14-3 record. The Bears won the team sportsmanship award in 2005, 2021 and 2023.

·       T. L. Hanna finished second to A. C. Flora in last year’s tournament and were AAAAA Region 1 region champions and AAAAA Division 2 Upper State Champions. As mentioned, the Yellow Jackets have won 4 tournament titles, the most recent in 2024. They also won the team sportsmanship award in 2022 and 2025.

·       Chapin was a playoff team last year after finishing the season 6-6. The Eagles return a strong nucleus plus several new players competing near the top of their lineup.

·       J. L. Mann finished the 2025 season with an 11-5 record, but advanced to the Upper State Championship match, where they lost to T. L. Hanna. The Patriots won the Hall of Fame Classic in 2009, 2019 and 2020, and received the team sportsmanship award in 2015.

·       Greenville has played in a number of Hall of Fame Classic tournaments. Although the Red Raiders have never won, they usually finish in the top half, including third place last year. They have won 3 team sportsmanship awards. The 2025 team finished with an 11-5 record and made the state playoffs.

·       Daniel was 17-4 last year and won the AAAA Region 2 championship and advanced through several rounds in the playoffs. The Lions finished fourth last year.

·       Waccamaw was 13-3 in 2025 and won their region championship before losing in the AAA Lower State title match. The Warriors finished fifth in last year’s tournament, their first time playing the Hall of Fame Classic.

·       Spartanburg won the 1988 and 2020 Hall of Fame Classic team sportsmanship award and the 2023 team championship. They field a strong team that competes well in AAAAA competition.

“We look for close competition again this year with a lot of great matches,” said Maynard. “It’s hard to identify a favorite, and I expect the team championship to come down to the last matches.”