Spartanburg Wins 40th Hall of Fame Classic in Belton

 Spartanburg Wins 40^th Hall of Fame Classic in Belton

From Staff Reports

Belton--The 2026 Chick-fil-A of Anderson Hall of Fame Classic was played in Belton September 26 & 27 featuring eight top girl’s tennis teams from around the state. Spartanburg won the team championship in one of the closest contested tournaments ever, with only two points separating the top three teams. Then only two points separated 4^th through 7^th places.

The team points and standing were:

1. Spartanburg (27),

2. Daniel (26),

3. Greenville (25),

4. Chapin (14),

5. TL Hanna (14),

6. Waccamaw (13),

7. J.L. Mann (12), and BHP (2).

Spartanburg had players in the championship match in 3 of the 5 singles divisions and both doubles divisions. Although they only won one of the championship matches, the Lady Vikings earned enough points to edge Daniel by one point and Greenville by two. Individual division titles were won by five schools, with only Daniel and Greenville winning two.

The results of the championships matches were:

·     #1 Singles-Emery Tripamer (TLH) def. Berkley Garrett (DAN) 6-2, 6-1

·     #2 Singles-Kinleigh Ware (CHA) def. MacKie Clayton (SPB) 6-4, 4-6, 10-7

·     #3 Singles-Maya Saha (GVL) def. Anna Kate Alverson (SPB) 6-2, 6-3

·     #4 Singles-Emery Lou Cashman (SPB) def. Julie Wolin (DAN) 6-3, 6-3

·     #5 Singles-Lila Grisham (DAN) def. Charlotte Evans (WAC) 6-2, 6-2

·     #1 Doubles-Vivian Donlan & Charlotte Womack (GVL) def. MacKie Clayton & Wallace Lynch (SPB) 6-3, 6-1

·     #2 Doubles-Anna Siemens & Daphne Turbes (DAN) def. Blythe Lemonds & Susu Wood (SPB) 6-0, 6-2

All players and doubles teams played three matches. Greenville received the team sportsmanship award.

Spartanburg coach Steve Larking said: “All our girls fought hard and were very resilient,” he said. “Two of our players bounced back after tough loses and earned three key points for the team in consolation matches. That made the difference in the end. Everyone had a great attitude, which is very important to me as a coach. A special thanks to the Belton Tennis Association for a great Hall of Fame Classic!”

Tournament Director Rex Maynard, who established the tournament in 1987, said: “I thought this would be a very competitive tournament, and was it ever,” said Maynard. “There were a lot of matches that went to the third set tiebreaker. We’ve had a few cases when two teams tied in the past, but we have never had the top three teams separated by only two points, and we’ve never had five different teams win division titles.

“We had a great group of girls, who were all coached well, and we saw excellent sportsmanship,” said Maynard. “We were blessed by two beautiful days of weather, and it was another great tournament. Thanks to all the coaches and players for their participation and good attitudes. A special thanks to our staff, and to Chick-fil-A of Anderson for their continued support of this tournament and Belton Tennis!”