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Sunday, April 28, 2002

Tennis long has been a family affair for the Mercers, whose love of the game has been passed down through the generations.

The patriarch of Mercer tennis was Loran Mercer, a band director from Wheeling, W.Va., who put a racket in the hands of his sons, Bill and Don, who introduced their sons to the sport.

"Our involvement in tennis has meant a lot of hard work, a lot of fun and a lot of togetherness for the family," said Don, who lives in Mt. Lebanon and is the tournament director for the National Collegiate Clay Court Championships and Futures event at the Mt. Lebanon Tennis Center.

"Our conversations around the dinner table always have been focused on tennis. Even though my wife, Beth, doesn't play, she always has been involved in some aspect of our tennis."

The families of Don and Bill Mercer were named family of the year by the United States Tennis Association for its four-state Middle States Section and by the Allegheny Mountain District of Middle States. They will receive their district award today in a ceremony at the Fox Chapel Racquet Club.

"Tennis has brought all of us closer," said Don, 64, who has captured two USTA Senior National Father/Son Indoor Championships with Tom, the National Grass Championship with Ron and the Middle States championship with John.

John, 39, is the assistant coach of the women's team at Marshall and his wife, Laurie Johnson, is the head coach.

Tom, 36, is the professional at the NIT in East Liberty and the head pro at Oakmont Country Club.

Ron, 33, coaches the Upper St. Clair High School boys' team and is the pro at the Western Area YMCA.

"Tennis became a family thing ... still is," Don said. "It certainly wasn't planned to become such an integral part of our lives. It just seemed natural that our kids would play, and there's never been any jealousy. At the beginning, I helped coach them, but I knew they would be better getting advice from other coaches.

"They've always helped coach each other."

The Mercers have been involved in playing, teaching and promoting tennis.

Don and Beth founded Mt. Lebanon Team Tennis in 1975 and led the organization for 14 years during which time it grew from 150 players to nearly 1,500.

"Our family always has been around tennis in some way," Don said. "Sometimes it has spread us thin trying to get to everyone's matches, but tennis is just something that's been a part of our lives."

Ditto for Bill and his family.

Bill also has carried on his father's passion for tennis and won the men's 45 doubles at the 1999 West Virginia Open. Bill's wife, Gigi, has been treasurer of the Wheeling-Oglebay Tennis Club and has been a player and supporter of USA League Tennis for years. Sons Chris and Steve are ranked players in Middle States and instructors in Wheeling's summer tennis program for children.

Campus courts

Fourth-seededDuquesne placed fifth to tie the school's best finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference women's championships at College, Park, Md. The Lady Dukes had a first-round bye and won two of three matches, defeating Fordham, 4-3, and Temple, 4-3, and losing to Dayton, 4-1.

Duquesne's Marina Zelenovic was 3-0 at No. 3 singles and Carrie Nyard was 1-1 at No. 5 singles. Nygard and Sarah Shanahan had the best record in doubles at 1-2.

Richmond won the team championship.

No. 40-ranked Slippery Rock (19-4) and IUP (11-5) will compete in the NCAA Division II women's East regional next weekend.

Slippery Rock, which set a school record for wins in a season, will meet Merrimack, N.Y., (13-4) Friday in the first round at Bloomsburg. Slippery Rock, making its third consecutive appearance in the tournament, never has won a first-round match. Jessica Bungo, a sophomore from Indiana High School, is 21-3 at No.2 singles and Ella Reilly and Kelly Anderson are 22-3 at No. 1 doubles.

This is the first NCAA trip for IUP, which will play Dowling, N.Y., (11-1) Saturday in the first round at Millersville. IUP's Yvonne Niederbracht is 14-0 at No. 1 singles and Niederbracht and Jackie Kult are 14-2 at No. 1 doubles.

The regional champions will advance to the national tournament in Kansas City, Mo., May 9-12.