HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mazie MacGrotty was much more comfortable talking about tennis than talking about her lack of previous time on camera. But, in a way, that makes plenty of sense, because at 14-years-old, she's surged to as high as the No. 2 recruit in the state and 91st in the country, so talking about what she's near-elite at should come easy.
MacGrotty is one of the 200-plus players who will descend upon the Athletic Club Alabama for the USTA Girls' 16U Clay Court National Championships. First serve is set for Sunday, July 9 and gold balls will be awarded to the winners of the singles and doubles brackets on Sunday, July 16.
Tournament director Eddie Jacques says this event has grown thanks to the players who've come through during its three years at the ACA, sharing positive word of mouth.
"They've a lot of girls have created relationships with some of the pros here, some of the staff here and so we've actually had a group of girls actually come in early last week, actually about 12 days before the event started," he said "So it's really neat to have a kind of a camaraderie sort of feel with our staff, with the Tennis Center and everyone around."
MacGrotty knows the ACA better than anyone in the field. The Huntsville High freshman works with Jacques regularly.
"We've got a pretty good atmosphere here," she said. "Like, everyone's friends with each other, so I think it's pretty cool. I'm really excited to paly here on my home courts because all my friends and family and my coaches will be here, which is pretty cool for this high level of a tournament. I'm really happy about it."
MacGrotty will compete in the singles as the No. 129 overall player, well as team with Sonya Goldberg of the Berkley, Calif. suburb Orinda. Goldberg is the Golden State's No. 27 recruit.
MacGrotty is one of three Alabamians in the field Ansley Cox of Vestavia Hills, Emma Robinson of Mobile and Montgomery's Gabby Barrera, who finished as a semifinalist in last year's event.
"It's super exciting to see this level at a younger age," said Jacques. "Maybe our best player might not be 16 years old and might be actually 14 years old, so it's super neat ... to see the girls grow up to see where they go to college in a couple of years and then eventually, you know, be on TV playing in Wimbledon."