Local college players come home for good cause

The Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic presented by First Watch Cafe is back for an eighth year.

By Ryan Kohn
| 8:00 a.m. November 1, 2017

Maria Ross, a former state champion at The Out-of-Door Academy, is now a freshman at Boston College. Photo courtesy Mike Gridley.

East County
Sports

Seven years ago, a blonde-haired ballgirl worked the final day of a small collegiate tennis tournament played at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.

Who could have guessed what the future held for both the girl and the tournament?

Maria Ross was the girl. She’s currently a freshman on the Boston College tennis team, and coming home to play in the same tournament at which she once volunteered, now known as the Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic presented by First Watch Cafe.

If you go

What: Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic presented by First Watch Cafe

When: 9:30 a.m. Nov. 3-4; 10 a.m. Nov. 5

Where: Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club

Local athletes playing: Ashley Bongart, junior, Liberty University (Lakewood Ranch High); Maria Ross, freshman, Boston College (The Out-of-Door Academy)

Men's teams participating: University of Central Florida, Louisville University, Princeton University, University of Florida, University of Michigan, Auburn University, Florida Gulf Coast University, George Washington University, University of Illinois, United States Naval Academy

Women's teams participating: Florida Gulf Coast University, Boston College, Texas Christian University, Clemson University, Liberty University, University of Florida, Ohio State University, University of Illinois, University of South Florida, University of Texas, University of Central Florida, Appalachian State University

The 2017 edition will run Nov. 3-5, featuring men’s and women’s singles and doubles action from some of the best programs in the country, including the defending women’s national champion University of Florida.

Ross doesn’t remember much of the ballgirl experience, she said, besides running a lot and having fun. She wasn’t much concerned with collegiate tennis then, but she grew to be a star tennis player in her own right, winning both singles and doubles state titles at The Out-of-Door Academy in 2014. She partnered with Mary Ann Rompf for the doubles title.

The Eagles’ season has not officially begun, but Ross has played in a handful of individual tournaments, and she’s thrilled to finally represent her school in this one. Last year, Ross watched every match of the tournament from the stands, daydreaming about returning to play in front of her hometown. She even joked with tournament co-creator and Lakewood Ranch tennis pro Chris Marquez about it, telling him he had no choice but to invite her future school.

“I’m excited to go home and see everyone,” Ross said. “I miss my family. I miss my dog.”

The tournament raises money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Vitale, a Lakewood Ranch resident and legendary college basketball coach and analyst, along with volunteer Larry Wade, work year-round gathering donations. Corporations can also purchase banners for display at the tournament for $500.

Last year, the tournament raised $60,000 for the charity, and Vitale said the goal this year is $100,000. Overall, the tournament has raised more than $400,000, according to Marquez.

“Anything I can do for kids battling cancer is No. 1 on my priority list at this stage of my life,” Vitale said.

Vitale may be known for basketball, but he has long loved tennis. His daughters, Terri Vitale and Sherri Vitale, played collegiately at the University of Notre Dame and five of his grandchildren are highly-ranked junior players. If this tournament can expose the Lakewood Ranch area to college tennis (and vice versa), he said, all the better.

Ross has played on the courts at Lakewood Ranch throughout her childhood. There’s no secret to playing on them, she said, but she does feel comfortable there, and is looking forward to playing on clay again since most college tennis tournaments are played on hard courts.

Ashley Bongart, now a junior at Liberty University, played in this tournament as a freshman at the University of Tennessee. Photo courtesy Liberty Flames Athletics.

She isn’t the only player returning home. Lakewood Ranch High grad Ashley Bongart will play in the tournament for the second time. She played two years ago as a freshman at the University of Tennessee but missed last season’s event with an arm injury, one of a string of injuries she suffered with the Volunteers. Bongart transferred to Liberty University in the offseason and said she is happy to be playing top-level tennis again.

The action begins at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 3-4 and runs all day. The women’s singles championship will begin at 10 a.m. Nov. 5, with the men’s singles championship to follow. Times for the doubles championships are to be announced.