Founders, Anne Arundel County Tennis Association
Class of 2025
Posthumous
Biography
The Anne Arundel County Tennis Association (AACTA) was founded in 1967 by half a dozen tennis families from Glen Burnie, Severna Park, and Annapolis to promote the game of tennis at a time when only private clubs, and very few at that, were available.
AACTA had its first tournament in June 1967, and like the present-day AACTA, the first year had ‘teams’ (no mention of USTA), and social events like a ‘party/picnic,’ as well as a ladder and tournament. By the third year, membership had grown to over 80 with women’s singles and a doubles (men only) ladder ongoing.
Severn Valley opened indoor courts in 1969. In the 60’s and 70’s, ordinary people could go into the Naval Academy to play (24 courts outside Bancroft Hall) or go to watch the Naval Academy compete with other college teams. Big Vanilla opened with indoor courts, and AACTA first had their End of Season party there in 1978. Anne Arundel Community College moved to their new Arnold campus in 1967 and had 15 courts. These became the home to AACTA tournaments for close to 25 years. Truxtun Park started with 4 courts, now expanded to 12, and hosted AACTA tournaments for the next 15 years. Annapolis High School has been the site for AACTA tournaments for the last few years.
AACTA has grown and flourished and is now the second largest CTA in Maryland. Even in those early years, when a newsletter was reproduced by mimeograph and the ladder was calculated manually, there have always been some very dedicated players in our county creating opportunities for others to play.
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