Sports Briefs - December 15, 2016
KVITOVA TO MAKE VCO DEBUT IN 2017
Petra Kvitova will make her Charleston, South Carolina tennis debut at the 2017 Volvo Car Open, April 1-9 on Daniel Island. Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion and currently ranked World No. 11. She ended the 2016 season in impressive fashion, picking up titles at Wuhan and Zhuhai, as well as helping the Czech Republic to a historic fifth Fed Cup trophy in six years.
In addition to Kvitova, the player field forming for the 45th year of the WTA premier tournament includes:
• Former World No. 1’s Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki
• World No. 8 Madison Keys
• World No. 10 Johanna Konta
• 2016 Volvo Car Open Champion Sloane Stephens
• Olympic Gold Medalists Monica Puig and Elena Vesnina
“We have been pursuing Petra to enter Charleston for more than four years,” said Eleanor Adams, VCO Tournament Manager. “To say we are excited is an understatement! Petra’s left-handed game and serve are perfectly suited for our courts. The fans will be amazed by her talent, fierceness and gracious personality - we can hardly wait!”
This season celebrates Kvitova’s sixth straight top 15 finish. In addition to her two titles in 2016, she captured a bronze medal in the Rio Olympics, was a finalist in Luxembourg, made the semifinals in New Haven and Stuttgart and made the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Beijing.
“I’m very excited to play in the Volvo Car Open for the first time,” said Kvitova. “I’ve heard what a wonderful city Charleston is and the Volvo Car Open is a great tournament, so of course I’m looking forward to April”.
The nine-day Volvo Car Open is the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America, attracting an average of 90,000 attendees and 70+ of the top tennis players.
DIS LADY OSPREYS DOMINATE PRE-SEASON TOURNAMENT!
The Daniel Island School 6th grade girls’ basketball team finished first in a pre-season tournament held at Fort Johnson Middle School over the last several weeks. The Lady Ospreys completed the tourney with a 3-0 record, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 70-12. The other teams taking part in the competition were Fort Johnson Middle School, Simmons-Pinckney Middle School, Christ Our King, and Mason Prep. The DIS 6th grade girls team also won their first home game of the season against Ashley Hall on December 9.