Students Team Up to Create Missouri High School Boys State Summer Tennis Championships

What started out as a joke between friends will soon be a very real tennis tournament.

Sean Nguyen and Mason Gates were bummed when the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to their high school tennis season, like a lot of Missouri athletes. Together they came up with an idea that has grown into the 2020 Missouri High School Boys State Summer Tennis Championships. The tournament will be held July 31-Aug. 1 at Cosmo Bethel Park in Columbia.

“The Missouri Boys State Tennis Championships is a replica of the MSHSAA spring tennis championships,” Nguyen said. “The idea came from Mason, a rising senior from Staley High School. When Gov. Mike Parson canceled school for the rest of the academic year, I called Mason to let him know that we weren’t going to have a tennis season. During the phone call, he joked with me that we should run it ourselves in Forty Love’s name and three months later, neither of us could believe that joke turned into a reality.”

Forty Love is the name of a non-profit organization founded by Nguyen. The Missouri Boys State Tennis Championships will have a community impact as it raises money for charity.

Every player that qualified for State is eligible to compete, as are all Missouri players with a UTR of 5 or above. The bracket will be filled by last year’s sectional qualifiers in order of highest to lowest UTR ratings. Nguyen will be competing in the event, playing doubles with Blue Springs South freshman Carter McIntosh.

UTR rankings will also be used to determine seedings, with 32 players in the singles bracket and 16 doubles teams. Medals will be given to the top eight finishers in each draw. Players must choose to compete in singles or doubles. The event will follow all USTA COVID-19 safety guidelines to ensure a safe and healthy playing environment.

Gates and Nguyen aren’t doing it alone, though. They’ve gotten help from USTA Missouri Vice-President Rhonda Kaissi. Michael Marotta, the USTA Missouri Tennis Service Representative, donated a case of tennis balls for the event. Daniel Berkland, boys tennis coach at North Kansas City High School and girls tennis coach at Staley High School, donated three cases of tennis balls. The planning process has been a unique challenge.

“The experience is truly one-of-a-kind,” Nguyen said. “It is a tough task, with no set rules in place and no previous event to refer to for guidance. Initially, I had nobody’s support, but when we started racking in a few participants and then hitting the media, people started realizing that they were witnessing history in the making.”

Proceeds from the event will be donated to Uplift Organization Inc. The all-volunteer homeless outreach program was founded in 1990 to feed and clothe the homeless community in Kansas City. Nguyen has experience working with Uplift Organization Inc. Forty Love runs an annual tennis tournament to benefit that charity. In two years Forty Love has raised more than $2,500.