Chris Cox covers high school sports and tennis in Beaufort County. | A pair of junior tennis players on Hilton Head Island have captured USTA awards this year, the association announced in a press release today.
Hampton Drake of Hilton Head Christian Academy was the headliner, as the Eagles captured the 2012 USTA S.C. Junior Boy Player of the Year Award. Drake has put together an impressive 105-34 career record and is currently ranked No. 1 in-state and No. 4 in the Southern Section. The release says he has a 14-5 record at the USTA National Championships.
Natalie Kitchen, meanwhile, took home the Most Improved Junior Girl Award. She's moved up in the rankings from No. 17 all the way to No. 4 in the girls 16s in the last calendar year, which came in part thanks to eight wins in Southern Designated Tournaments, four in Southern Closed Championships and five at the S.C. Closed Qualifying Championships at Belton.
Also, Peggy Edwards of Hilton Head took home the S.C. Media Award. Edwards is the communications director for the Professional Tennis Registry and the editor of TennisPro Magazine.
Finally, the Sun City Senior Doubles Tournament was named the Adult-Senior tournament of the year. The release says it is one of the "fastest growing tournaments in the state. It provides its players with a plethora of amenities including free bottled water, boxed lunches for players and numerous sponsors who had lots of giveaways for participants. The tournament's qualify and popularity were evident in the dozens of award nominations that it received."