Columbia Plays Host to Junior Circuit Event
The first of a trio of USTA Missouri junior circuit events in Columbia took place July 16 at Cosmo Park. Tournament Director Tricia Vogt — who coaches the Father Tolton High School boys’ tennis team — said the competition was excellent at her first-ever USTA tourney.
“It went very, very smoothly,” Vogt said. "There were 25 players there. I was surprised there were so many first-time kids up to 18 years old. One kid from St. Louis, Eli Bartek, it was his first tournament and he was 18. He won his group and got a medal. Some players had been in tournaments before. It was really exciting.”
Vogt said despite the hot temperatures at the outdoor facility, players and parents handled the conditions well with no complaints. Vogt had ice water coolers to help with the heat. She enlisted some tennis players from Father Tolton to aid in running the tournament desk and assisting when competitors needed help with scoring or tiebreakers.
“It was just way easier than I thought it would be,” Vogt said. “I contacted tennis instructors in my area and let them know about it. It was publicized on USTA. It just ran smoothly. All the parents were great. I had so much understanding and cooperation from them. They were forgiving for having to wait to play again. They were used to the drill.”
As a young girl, Vogt recalled riding around Bolivar, Mo. alongside her father to pass out flyers promoting his upcoming junior tennis tournaments. Vogt’s dad held the events each summer and doled out T-shirts and prizes to attendees. Vogt always had a blast chipping in. Decades later here she was, following in her father’s footsteps running the first of three tennis tourneys of her own this year.
“Back then, there was no email or social media. It’s so much easier now,” Vogt said. “It was a no-brainer for me whenever I started coaching and trying to teach young people who might want to go to Father Tolton. It’s like, ‘Well, where are the tennis tournaments so anybody can learn?’”
Of the 25 players in Vogt’s Columbia Junior Circuit #1, 12 participants were from Columbia. The rest came from all over. That included four siblings from Livermore, Calif. who were visiting relatives and decided to pick up a tourney while in town. A group of three siblings also came in from Cincinnati.
“That was kind of shocking,” Vogt said.
Vogt was also stunned by the caliber of play put on display by the six coed 12 & Under green ball entrants.
“I’m not sure when the last time the USTA had green ball in Columbia,” Vogt said. “The six players were good. They were really good. That was super exciting to see. I was just mesmerized. It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And all were good sports.”
With eight courts reserved for the event and a playground nearby for siblings to remain entertained, Vogt said Cosmo Park served as a fantastic host site. The facility will again host Vogt’s final two USTA Columbia junior circuit events. Players can sign up for the next one on September 24 by clicking here. And players can sign up for the final one on October 15 by clicking here.
Cost is $30 per tournament with the following day acting as a makeup date in case of inclement weather. The non-elimination, round-robin junior-circuit events help players gain competitive match experience in a one-day tournament format.
“I’m really excited about them,” Vogt said. “It will just be a little bit easier now that I know what’s happening. Just hoping we pull people from outside and inside of Columbia, like we did. The players all thought the first one went really well. The kids were just great. If the next one ran exactly the same, I would be very happy with it.”
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