The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and Tennis Club Smrikve have created the first-ever international competition between the United States and Europe for boys and girls 10 & under. The "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl is named after two prestigious tournaments: the "Little Mo" Nationals which features the best young players in the United States from 7-11 years of age and the Smrikva Bowl which is one of the top European tournaments for boys and girls. The Smrikva Bowl is held at the Tennis Club Smrikva in Pula (Croatia) and this year, nine European nations competed in the VII Smrikva Bowl. (Smrikva is a juniper plant.)

The "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl will be held at the beautiful Barton Creek Country Club in Austin, Texas and will feature two girls and two boys from the United States and two girls and one boy from Europe playing a total of six matches. The Austin Tennis Academy will be the host. The Opening Ceremony will be held at 9:00 am on Friday, October 25 and the matches will continue all day. Come cheer on the USA in this one-day only event.

The players representing the United States are: Girls #1 Jordaan Sanford (Cucamonga, California) and #2 Morgan Basil (St. Petersburg, Florida). Boys #1 Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and #2 Denis Kudla (Fairfax, Virginia). The U.S. players were selected from the "Little Mo" Regional Champions.

The players representing Europe are: Girls #1 Ajla Tomljanovic (Croatia) and #2 Ema Burgic (Bosnia/Herzegovia). The #1 boy is Javier Marti (Spain).

The "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl will be held prior to the "Little Mo" Nationals tournament which features the top 16 players in the United States in Boys and Girls 8, 9, 10, and 11 & under. The Nationals will be held at Barton Creek Country Club in Austin, Texas from Saturday, October 26 through Monday, October 28.

The "Little Mo" is a program of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation which furthers junior tennis development for boys and girls 8, 9, 10 and 11 & under. The "Road to the Little Mo Nationals" is a nationwide, year-long circuit of fun, competitive tournaments culminating in a national champion being crowned in each age division. The "Little Mo" tournaments offer an opportunity for the younger player to compete against others who are the same age at the sectional, regional, and national level.

The "Road" begins this spring with a "Little Mo" Sectional tournament held in each of the seventeen sections for boys and girls. After the Sectional tournaments have been completed, the eight (8) quarterfinalists from each age division will advance to the "Little Mo" Regionals in the summer. There are four regional "Little Mo" tournament sites: Alpharetta, Georgia (East); Dallas, Texas (South); San Diego, California (West); and Homewood, Illinois (North).

After the completion of the Regional "Little Mo" tournaments, the four (4) semifinalists from each age division will advance to the prestigious "Little Mo" Nationals at St. Stephen's Tennis Academy in Austin,Texas from October 26-28, 2002. The "Little Mo" Nationals will have a prestigious draw of 16 from each age division and the winner of each age division will be crowned "Little Mo" National Champion. The "Little Mo" Nationals is the only event in the country which offers the opportunity for a youngster to become a National Champion in Boys & Girls 8, 9, 10, and 11 & under.

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