By Tommy Howard

thoward@gtowntimes.com

Tolley Rice won the Girls 16 Bullfrog USTA Southern Section tournament Monday in Arkansas. She defeated Anna Kate Anderson 6-0; 6-1.

She and her partner Karlee Bryde from Georgia placed second in the Girls 16 Doubles on Sunday.

Rice also plays for the Waccamaw High School girls tennis team.

Mike Moran, also a WHS student and boys tennis team member, went to the Bullfrog tournament too.

Laura Dean of Georgetown went along as well and made it to the Round of 16 before losing to Karlee Bryde 6-0; 6-1.

Joan Cribb, athletic director at Waccamaw High School and girls tennis coach, said "I was really proud of her. She puts in a lot of time. She works very hard and is very competitive.

Mike Moran is like Tolley, Cribb said. "He's a really hard worker and very competitive. I'm proud of both of them."

The Waccamaw team hosts Myrtle Beach on Wednesday at Wachesaw.

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The Bullfrog tournament was held in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Dan Lucas is tournament director and works at Pleasant Valley Country Club at Little Rock.

"The Bullfrog is a Southern level tournament. [Players] must qualify. They must be one of the top players in the Southeast. It's comparable to a South title.

"To win the Bullfrog is big. It's a big deal," Lucas said.

Competitors come from nine states in the South.

"Out of 500 entries, we turned 60 people away because they didn't qualify," he said.

"Every round is tough. Every player in the tournament has a ranking, so it's the best against the best."

Going places

"This tournament is so popular that we actually have kids on an alternate list who will travel 12 to 15 hours, or fly here, just to wait in hopes that they can get in the tournament."

"That young lady played one heck of a tournament. If she came here and won the Bullfrog, she's going places.

"These are kids who will get college scholarships," Lucas predicted.

He noted that the tournament used every single available court in the city of Little Rock.

That's 75 courts at seven different sites, he said.

"Little Rock really embraces this tournament. They love having the junior players come out to play."

"It's an exciting thing to see this young lady win," Lucas said.

"That's awesome."