LR ready to show off for home crowd

Little Rock tennis players Maxwell Mendelsohn and Katie LaFrance get to stay home for a change.

Mendelsohn, 15, and LaFrance, 14, will compete in the USTA Southern Closed 16s Championship, which begins today and runs through June 21 at Rebsamen Tennis Center and Otter Creek Racquet Club in Little Rock and at Burns Park Tennis Center in North Little Rock.

Mendelsohn and LaFrance travel out of state for various tournaments two to three weeks a month, so they're pleased to be playing at home this week.

"It's always nice to play in your hometown because you know where everything is and you're more comfortable," LaFrance said.

"It's really cool," Mendelsohn said. "I'm very thankful for this tournament to be here. It's awesome."

LaFrance trains at three sites during the year: LTP in Mount Pleasant, S.C.; Pacific Palisades Tennis Center in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock. Mendelsohn's main training site is at the USTA junior facility in College Park, Md.

Mendelsohn is seeded third in the boys' 16 draw while LaFrance is the ninth seed in the girls' 16 draw. Mendelsohn will play his first match at 10 a.m. Sunday in the round of 64 at Burns Park Tennis Center.

LaFrance will play her first match at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Rebsamen Tennis Center. She won the girls' 16 singles title last month in the Arkansas junior state qualifying tournament, beating Caroline Gibbens 6-1, 6-1.

Mendelsohn's last tournament was last month in the USTA National Sweet Sixteen, where he lost 6-2, 6-2 to Sam Riffice in the round of 16. He advanced to the USTA Boys' 14 national championship last August, losing 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Brian Cernoch.

Mendelsohn said he wants to continue his recent run of success.

"I feel great," Mendelsohn said. "I hope I can take my momentum from the last tournament and convert it to this one."

His coach, Daniel Cornelison, a tennis pro at Little Rock Racquet Club, said Mendelsohn has matured quickly since he began coaching him a year ago.

"He's got a huge forehand. He can take it anywhere," Cornelison said. "His competitive nature is what sets him apart. He can be very intense and very focused when he chooses to."

LaFrance has played competitively since she was 10. She attended Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock until a year ago and is currently being home-schooled by her parents Stephen and Wendy.

Thomas Anderson, who coaches LaFrance, said LaFrance's main strength is along the baseline and he appreciates her competitive drive.

"She should be playing in the 14s division, but she wanted to play in her hometown and sleep in her own bed, which she doesn't do too often," Anderson said. "There are some really good competitors out there. The top players are really good. With a good draw, she can make a run for it, but there are some really good players out there."

LaFrance is hoping for a good showing this week in front of her home state fans.

"I just really want to do well and represent Arkansas well," she said.

Mendelsohn, who like LaFrance is home-schooled after attending Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, said having the Southern 16s in central Arkansas can be beneficial for younger players in the state.

"It will help grow the game in Arkansas because all the juniors and the kids just starting out will see the top-ranked juniors and have something to work for," Mendelsohn said. "It will give them some kind of motivation, I would say, to keep working so they can get to that level."

Sports on 06/14/2014

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