ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
Roanoke native K.J. Hippensteel won his first national singles tennis tournament Monday by taking the crown in the Wachovia Bank Spring Fling in Aiken, S.C.
Hippensteel defeated Michael Duquette of Virginia Beach 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the boys' 16-year-old division.
Hippensteel, 15, won a national doubles hardcourt tournament a year ago.
Hippensteel started out tight and lost his first service game. But after getting behind 0-2 in the first set, he rallied to a 6-3 victory. He found his groove by the second set and ran out to 5-2 lead before holding on to win 6-4.
Hippensteel won all four of his Wachovia tournament matches in two sets.
Hippensteel normally competes in the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Association, one of 17 regions in the nation. Five of this tournament's 32 players were out of the strong Mid-Atlantic region.
Hippensteel's next tournament will be the Easter Bowl on April 8-14 in Palm Springs, Calif. It is also a national tournament, and a victory there would put Hippensteel in good position for a possible berth on a USTA national team. Each summer, the USTA selects the top six players in each age division to take on a tour of Europe.
Hippensteel, formerly a student at North Cross, is attending the Palmer Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla.
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