SIKESTON -- The 12th Annual Ed Nunnelee Memorial Tennis Tournament will take place May 31 through June 2 at the Sikeston Senior High and Sikeston Country Club tennis courts.
The event is the largest tennis tournament in Southeast Missouri every summer for both male and female players of all ages and experience levels.
Organizer Tom Nunnelee, brother of the late Ed Nunnelee, is hoping this year's event can build on the progress the tournament has made over the last 12 years.
"I would like to get about 125 entrants this year if we could," said Nunnelee. "Since the high school tennis courts are now lit, and we have lights at the Country Club, we can spread matches out into the evening hours. We can accommodate more players, more brackets and more matches."
Junior play will start May 31, followed by the adult brackets on June 1. Each participant is limited to three events, with a fee of $12 per entry and $16 per doubles team. Balls will be furnished for each match, and each competitor will receive a T-shirt.
"We have people come all the way from Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky," said organizer Lee Shell. "Most of the people compliment us on the quality of the tournament, the location, the courts, the people, the restaurants and the whole town in general. I think that is the reason they continue to come back."
All proceeds from the event will go toward the Ed Nunnelee Scholarship Fund, which annually awards scholarships to a senior boy and girl from Sikeston High School. To qualify, applicants must have lettered in a varsity sport at Sikeston. Citizenship and class rank are also taken into account.
Each scholarship is $750. A total of $7,000 has been awarded since the tournament began in 1997.
"In my eyes, this tournament makes youth around the area look at tennis in a different way," said sponsor Danny Bridger, of Danny's Place. "Guys like Tom, Lee Shell, Greg Colwick, Kenny Anderson and Joe Childress are getting Sikeston people back into the tennis game. And this tournament gives them a chance to play people outside the area and see what their skills are. It's a great event."
Bridger also has personal ties with the tournament, having played tennis with Ed Nunnelee in high school.
"What I remember the most is playing after we graduated from high school," Bridger said. "He and I would play tournaments every summer. We would drive as far as 150 miles and we would always play and win the doubles. Then we would play in the singles and make the finals and play each other. Of course he would always stomp my butt. You've got a 6-foot-4 guy playing a guy 5-foot-8. He was tall and strong and could flat hit a serve. He was very athletic for his size and missed very, very few shots."
The recipients of this year's Ed Nunnelee Memorial scholarships are Stephen Pobst, who will be attending the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Heather Hester, who is headed for Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif.
"I'm really excited about getting the scholarship," said Hester. "I really needed a lot of help for college, so I'm very grateful. I have played in the tournament for the last three years and I think it's one of the best around here. I'm going to enter singles, doubles and mixed doubles this year. I'm excited about it."
Sponsors for this year's event again include Noranda, Pullen Bros., Danny's Place, Rodchester's Delicatessen, The First National Bank, Nunnelee Funeral Chapel, Union Planters Bank, U.S. Bank, Pepsi, Sabona, Media Consultants Inc., Standard Democrat and Mitchell Insurance.
"It's a good tournament and it's great advertising for us," said sponsor Lynn Lancaster of Rodchester's. "It offers exciting tennis matches to watch and it's all for a worthwhile cause."
This year First State Bank and Trust Company has also been added to the lineup of sponsors.
"We add someone every year," explained Nunnelee. "In 1997, we started out with five sponsors. Now we're up to 14. Pepsi provides all of the All Sport drinks and all of the bottled water for the event. Sabona provides wrist bands as prizes for first place finishers and the runner ups. Pullen Brothers Trucking provides bananas and apples for the players. Media Consultants helped us with our T-shirt and logo design. The Standard Democrat prints all of our entry forms each year and envelopes for us. All of the other sponsors give a monetary donation to the event."
Nunnelee Funeral Chapel puts close to $1,500 a year into purchasing T-shirts, hats, tennis balls and various other items for the tournament.
"We feel it's a very high quality event," said Nunnelee. "Each player is given something. The participants enter the tournament and they don't have to buy anything from that point. We provide ice, soft drinks and the balls for all the matches. We are very pleased to be able to do this. We appreciate the work of all the various people who have helped us over the years, and all the sponsors that provide either products or financial assistance to help make the tournament a big success."
Matches will be the best two out of three sets with a 12-point tiebreaker. The signup deadline is May 29.
Entries can be mailed to Lee Shell; 907 Crescent Dr.; Sikeston, MO 63801. For further information, contact Shell at (573) 471-4188, Joe Childress at (573) 471-7160, or Greg Colwick at (573) 471-5888.
Participants are asked to send any information available for the seeding of the tournament.