McCluskey And Bower Win Alton Closed Doubles Men's Open Division, Kruetzrager And Moore Win Women's Open Division

ALTON - The team of Daniel McCluskey and A.J. Bower won the men's open division, while Sara Kreutzrager and Laura Moore took the women's open division in the annual Alton Closed Doubles tennis tournament in July in Alton.

The tournament was a success, despite restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many area players participating in the tournament, which is considered one of the best in the area during the summer season. Many of the events, including the Edwardsville Futures tournament, have been cancelled because of the pandemic.

"It was nice to be back on the courts, and I know a lot of the players felt the same way," said tournament director and Alton High School girls tennis coach Jesse Macias. "Tennis is a very safe sport, and we had a plan for player and fan safety. The girls assistant tennis coach, Steve Munie, recorded temperatures, walked around to ensure safe distancing, and did a fantastic job of promoting social distancing. We had a lot of compliments from players and fans, so I think the tournament was a success."

A total of 50 players entered the tournament, a very good number, and the weather was good, which made for good tennis throughout the two days of the tournament.

In the final results, the team of McCluskey and Bower won the men's open division with an 8-4 win over Silas Chapman and Alex Raymond, while in the women's open division, Kreutzrager and Moore won over Hannah Macias and Molly Gross 8-3. In the father-son division, Steve and Marc Tassinari defeated James and Victor Humphries 8-4, while in the father-daughter division, Jesse and Hannah Macias took an 8-5 win over Bob and Nikki Lowe.

The boys-15 division was won by Xavier Carter and Parker Mayhew, who defeated Luke Boyd and James McKeever 8-3, while in the girls-18 division, Lilly and Sabrina Ingram won over Hannah Butkovich and Kennedy Loewen 8-1. The girls-16 division saw Lindsey Ratliff and Stephanie Kamp defeat Josie Hudson and Elise Noble 8-4, while in the mixed doubles, Adam Ruckman and Kreutzrager won over Shane Hasto and Butkovich 8-1.

Jesse Macias praised the turnout of both players and fans to the tournament, and complimented everyone for their cooperation and sportsmanship throughout.

"We had a big turnout, with about 50 players," Macias said. "The weather was nice, and we want to thank everyone for social distancing when they came out to support the tournament. We also want to tell the players thanks for the great sportsmanship over the two days. It's hard to pick one division as being the best, because they all had a lot of outstanding players."

Macias felt the competition in all of the flights was very high, and produced some very good tennis throughout the two days of play.

"We had some fantastic competition in all of the flights," Macias said. "The family doubles divisions are always fun to watch. The dynamic of playing with a son or daughter adds some extra energy to the matches, and I really think they all had a blast playing. The Tassinaris won a competitive division that had a three-way tie for runner-up. The Humphries won on criteria, but the Carters and the Mayhews all played great too. Hannah and I had fun playing Nikki and Bobby in the finals. I coach with Bobby, and Nikki is one of my players, so it was nice. Marla Fischer and Abbey Fischer played against the father-daughter teams, and they had some big wins.

"In open doubles, Kreutzrager and Moore won again; they still are playing really good tennis," Macias continued. "Sara and Adam Ruckman won mixed again. Adam is probably the best player in the tournament, and they always put on a show. Daniel McCluskey and A.J. Bower absolutely smashed everyone in the men's open. Their play was far and away better than everyone else, and the men's open had some quality teams. Our best turnouts were in the girls' divisions. The 16s and 18s both had deserving champions, and Jersey, Civic Memorial and Roxana should be proud of their players for showing up in big numbers and playing so well. Alton High and Marquette had a nice showing, too. We are grateful to host such an exciting community event, and we are hoping to host a singles' event in the fall."

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