NATCHEZ &8212; More than 200 tennis players 60 years and older converged in Natchez for the 2006 Mississippi Super Seniors State Championship held over the weekend at the Duncan Park and Trinity Episcopal tennis courts.

&8220;We have 23 teams with approximately 10 players per team. So we had about 230 players,&8221; State League Coordinator Ronnie Bates said. &8220;Delta, Jackson, Southwest, North Central, East Central, Gulf Coast and Pine Belt. All our local leagues are represented.&8221;

One of those teams from the Southwest district was the Harvey team captained by Luejean Harvey from Silver Creek, which won the Women&8217;s 3.0 Division. That team was co-captained by Ann Johnson of Monticello.

&8220;I was just the captain this year because we have 10 players,&8221; Harvey said. &8220;They all played great. I can&8217;t say that one is stronger than the other.&8221;

Harvey then noted that she will play in this tournament next year. Before winning this year, the Harvey team had won this event the previous two years, and in October of 2005 made it to Nationals in Palm Springs, Calif.

&8220;Out of 15 states, we finished second in a third-set tiebreaker,&8221; Johnson said. &8220;We&8217;ve been together for five years. If we win here, we go to Regionals in Georgia.&8221;

The Harvey team, along with winners in the Women&8217;s 3.5, Men&8217;s 3.0, Men&8217;s 3.5 and Men&8217;s 4.0 divisions in this round-robin tournament as well as a wild card team, will play in the Sectional Championship in Columbus, Ga., March 30-Apri 1, 2007.

In addition to Johnson, the other players on the team are Betty Simmons from Natchez, Lolly Schultz, Betsy Smith, Doris Panzica, Carolyn Rounsaville, Carol Haley, Bobby Power, Peggy Polk and Judy Phillips.

&8220;I&8217;ve been on this team for five years,&8221; Simmons said. Simmons then added that this is the best team she&8217;s ever been on, especially Super Seniors.

The Thompson team from Jackson won the Women&8217;s 3.5 Division, but none of their players were available for comments. Bates is a member of the Williams team from Jackson which is captained by Charlotte Williams.

&8220;We received the wild card to the Sectional Championship in Women&8217;s 3.5,&8221; Bates said. &8220;The Southern Section has a total of 10 teams advance. They have a rotation with the rotation and Mississippi received the wild card in Women&8217;s 3.5.&8221;

George Terry, captain of the Terry team from Jackson in the Men&8217;s 3.5 Division, had good things to say about the tournament and the weather.

&8220;I think it&8217;s an excellent tournament,&8221; Terry said. &8220;The weather&8217;s been beautiful. I&8217;ve really enjoyed it. We have not fared well, but we&8217;ve been competitive. The other team from Jackson is in first place.&8221;

That team, the Foreman team captained by Clarence Foreman, won the Men&8217;s 3.5 Division. The only division that was still up for grabs with rain approaching was the Men&8217;s 3.0 Division.

Louis Fratesi of the Nokes team from the Delta gave Bates a lot of praise for putting on the tournament.

&8220;It&8217;s been great,&8221; Fratesi said. &8220;Ronnie does a great job putting on these tournaments. Last year we won it. I don&8217;t know who will win this year. Our team&8217;s done well.&8221;

One of the more unique teams competing in this year&8217;s tournament was the Collins team from the Delta that competed in the Women&8217;s 3.0 Division. Unique because two players on this team are from Arkansas &8212; Gail Robinson from Lake Village and Jane Lucky from McGehee &8212; and the rest are from the Greenville/Leland area.

&8220;Trinity Episcopal allowed the use of their facilities,&8221; Robinson said. &8220;This is my first year to play in Super Seniors. I turn 60 next week. I can&8217;t wait to tell those young girls what good tennis these old ladies can play. And the men&8217;s tennis, oh my goodness. I&8217;ve just been amazed by their play. Smart players.&8221;

Lucky said that the Collins team had more fun than the rest of the teams playing in this tournament.

&8220;The Southern hospitality was well exemplified her in Natchez,&8221; Lucky said. &8220;Want to come back. We have a 78-year-old on our team.&8221;

Collins said that the tournament is a lot of fun and that they like coming to Natchez &8220;as long as it&8217;s dry.&8221;

&8220;The Visitor&8217;s Bureau put on a player party with food from all the restaurants (Saturday night),&8221; Collins said. &8220;The facilities at Duncan Park and Trinity are excellent.&8221;

The Biddle team from the North Central district, captained by George Biddle, won the Men&8217;s 4.0 Division.

&8220;We always have a good time down here. We ate all the good restaurants we could think of,&8221; Biddle said. &8220;We have a good group of folks. We had a good match against the Gulf Coast. We won this morning.

&8220;We split the first two sets and won the third set. We enjoy coming to Natchez. This is the second time I&8217;ve been here this year. I played in the Senior Mixed Doubles.&8221;

And they brought some fans with them to not only watch them play, but win as well.

Theresa Edmonson of Columbus said she thinks the tournament is &8220;wonderful,&8221; while Leet Maggio of Indianola said they had a &8220;great time&8221; and that they had &8220;lots of fun.&8221;

&8220;It&8217;s very congenial. Everyone&8217;s been nice. We stayed at the Eola Hotel. It&8217;s a beautiful hotel because it&8217;s different. I went to Kelly&8217;s Kids to buy stuff for my grandkids. I had a real experience at Dirt Cheap because I&8217;ve never been there. We ate at Mammy&8217;s Cupboard. That was a real experience. We ate at Pearl Street Pasta.&8221;

Ernest Vetrano from Ridgeland and Donnie Walker of Laurel played on the LeMay team from the Pine Belt captained by Ralph LeMay in the Men&8217;s 4.0 Division.

&8220;It&8217;s been fun,&8221; Vetrano said. &8220;We&8217;ve had a good time. The weather&8217;s been great until now.&8221;

&8220;It&8217;s been a good tournament,&8221; Walker said. &8220;Everything&8217;s been real organized.&8221;