The opening day of the 2021 Racquet War Tournament Series, featuring the Waterfall portion of the event, wrapped up Friday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.

Eight duos went 2-0 on the day in the women’s A Draw to place themselves in the top division heading into Saturday. Jennifer Reese (Cary, N.C.) and Janice Fisher (Orlando) were the most dominant, losing just a single game, while the Orlando tandem of Teri Kinder and Julie Fontaine dropped just two games. Reese and Fisher will take on another team of Orlando residents in Carolyn Rotermund and Ingrid Clapp, who turned in 8-2 and 8-6 results to advance; Kinder and Fontaine have drawn Tina Elortegui (Lakeland) and Elisa Buffington (Mulberry) after they came through with consecutive 8-2 score lines.

Also moving into the top division of the women’s A Draw were Gigi Rohling and Ellen Dyal of Jacksonville, who will be across the net from Claire Fitzgerald (Orlando) and Sherry Cassidy (Windermere), along with Ocala pairing Lisa Steed and Amanda Miller, the next foes for Maureen De Rossi (Orlando) and Jennifer Meyers (Winter Haven).

For the women’s B Draw, five teams posted undefeated efforts on Friday to lock up a spot in the premier division, which will use the round-robin format. Maryland pairing Laura Laabs (Gambrills) and Cindy Keegan (Severna Park) got through the top section while Jen Casey and Bonney Daves of Knoxville, Tenn., toughed out a 9-7 victory in the opening round followed by a 9-8 marathon going in their favor in round two. Monaliza Onia (Charlotte) and Norma Zitnik (Huntersville, N.C.) won their two contests with just six games lost. Additionally, Samantha Moody (Rockledge) and LaRee Moody (St. Augustine) survived a tightly-contested 8-6 affair in their second match of the day and the Mount Pleasant, S.C., team of Claire Le Cheminant and Dana Keys battled through two tight matchups, 8-6 and 8-5, respectively.

Two rounds of mixed doubles action also took place over the course of Friday. In the A Draw, eight pairs came through to fill out the coveted Division I bracket. Stuart and Denise Saiki (Orlando) cruised, only letting one game slip by, setting up their matchup with Heather and Barry Herman from Severna Park, Md., after they won 8-6 in the second round of Waterfall play. Fort Myers' Bryan Biever and Ann Jackson eased their way through with back-to-back 8-1 efforts, where they will be up against Cre Still and Abbey Keister from Hendersonville, N.C.

Jacksonville’s Zane Beaudreau and Linda Proudfoot battled to a 9-7 triumph in their second contest on the day. They will be the opponents for Kenny Oliver and Estefania Lacoa (Miami) to kick off Division I action Saturday morning. Finally, Orlando duo Kathy and John Rooney survived consecutive close affairs, setting up a clash with Raleigh’s Carl and Susan Tika in Division I action.

Finding their way through to the top division of the Mixed B Draw were Tampa’s Joy and David Allee, Justin Bradshaw (Fernandina Beach) and Julie Baker (Bogalusa, La.), Brandt and Jessica Butcher (Severna Park, Md.), and Maitland’s Peter and Lee Leerdam. Those four duos will battle it out via the round-robin format to determine the Division I champion.

The Tournament Series uses the Waterfall format, with every team playing two no-ad, eight-game pro sets on Friday in their respective Draw before being placed in a division based on the result of those two contests. All matches played on Saturday and Sunday will use regular scoring and be the best two-of-three sets with a match tiebreak in lieu of a full third set.

Racquet War was started in 2009 by Oakley Foy and Robin Barringer. Foy developed the Waterfall Bracket format with the players in mind, allowing everyone to play with the partner of their choice regardless of rating.

Saturday’s matches will begin at 9 a.m. For more information on the 2021 Racquet War Tournament Series Orlando, click here.