Seabrook’s Johnson, Beaufort teen Green also win titles
Staff reports
Beaufort tennis pro Larry Scheper won two titles at the American Tennis Association’s (ATA) 107th National Championships at the USTA’s National Campus in Orlando, Florida last week.
Along with his partner, Louisiana-based Kenny Myers, Scheper, well known in Beaufort for being both a world-ranked player and a coach, won the ATA National Adult Age Group Championships in 50-and-over Men’s Doubles and 60-and-over Men’s Doubles.
Other champions with local ties included Seabrook resident Denton Johnson, who won the 80-and-over Men’s Doubles crown, and Beaufort native Sarah Green, 14, who won in the 16-and under Women’s Doubles age bracket.
Scheper and Myers have played together since college. Both attended Grambling State University in Louisiana. Myers graduated in 1986. Scheper didn’t finish his coursework, opting instead to make tennis his full-time career.
“There was no 55 age category,” said Scheper, who will be 61 in November, “so we had to play against much younger men (in the 50-and-over bracket). It’s all about mind set and mind control. You think you can and you will.”
One of the hardest challenges, said Scheper, was playing against his former college teammate, Lonnie White. White was a stronger player in college, and in an ongoing rivalry, they were well aware of each other’s weaknesses and strengths.
“It all came down to who had the stronger mind in the heat,” Scheper said.
During their match temperatures on the court were above 100 degrees.
But it was the finals of the 50-and-older that was the most difficult. Scheper taught a juniors’ clinic that morning and had played one match already. During the finals he experienced severe leg cramps caused by dehydration and the extreme heat.
A trainer was called and Scheper was told if the problem didn’t resolve in ten minutes, he would have to forfeit the match.
“I told the trainer to go back and I walked it off. I drank a lot of liquids,” Scheper said. “I had a great partner who never gave up on me. He talked me through it and we changed our strategy since I couldn’t run. I’m normally a rabbit but I got into a snail’s pace.”
Scheper had to serve underhanded because his legs and arms were in so much pain. Myers dominated at the net and kept Scheper motivated and in a positive frame of mind.
“He did most of the running for us in that match. I placed the ball in the right spot and Kenny ended the points. He got everything back. I just stayed smooth. I set him up every time so he could win the point.”
They won the finals by 6-2, 6-2 despite Scheper’s cramps.
“It was awesome,” said Leone di Properzio, 14, who watched the game. Di Properzio is one of Scheper’s students, earned Most Valuable Player at Beaufort Academy in 2023, and also competed in the tournament. “He’s always the best wherever he goes. He’s the most amazing tennis player I’ve ever met in my entire life.”
The ATA was founded in 1916 in response to the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) exclusion of black players from its events. It is the oldest Black sports organization in the United States.
The ATA National Championships, which began in 1917 with three events, is an annual historic tournament that brings hundreds of players of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities to compete on a national stage. The tournaments were held from July 21 to July 28, drawing players from all over the world, including Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
Scheper, who is currently ranked in the top 10 percent in the world for tennis players 60 and older, has now won 18 ATA national championships since 2012.
“I’d love to do more tournaments and travel internationally,” Scheper says. “But I need sponsors.”
