National tennis tournament hosted titleholders from around the country

Tennis runs strong in the Schlorf family.

Twenty-one years ago, the late Dick and Donna Schlorf started the Masters Clay Courts National Tennis Tournament to call tennis lovers from around the country to Longboat Key.

Even though his parents have passed, Todd Schlorf still flies in every year to compete in honor of his family's legacy. And this year, he made it to the finals.

From Dec. 2 to Dec. 8, 345 male tennis players, just like Todd, flew in from around the country to play on the courts in the USTA-sanctioned annual tennis tournament. For the first year, players from ages 50 to 55 and 85 to 90 registered to play. 

"With the new age range, our oldest player here, King Van Nostrand, actually holds the world record for tennis world champions," said tournament director Ron Watts. "He is 90 years old and has won over 40 world titles."

Along with Van Nostrand, there were many titleholders, such as Oren Motevassel, ranked No. 161 in the world for singles tennis. The players used the tournament to work on their game while they took in the island camaraderie. 

Even with the cold front, spectators and tennis enthusiasts gathered all week to watch the intense matches. 

Volunteers from the Tennis Center laughed in between their duties. Andy Sawyer said it was a pleasure to bond over the fascinating plays with his friends and play in matches himself while also cleaning the courts during the tournament. 

Matches began every day at 8 a.m. at the Tennis Center, Tennis Gardens at the Longboat Key Club and Cedar Tennis Resort and Club. 

"This year, we almost ended up with 350 players," said Tournament Chairman Richard McGreth. "This is my 11th or 12th year doing this and we usually don't get that many. So, it is nice that people are coming to support the island while playing tennis. We were hesitant about having it, but I'm really happy with how it turned out."