NATCHEZ &8212; For the several years, teams from Jackson, Baton Rouge and Memphis, Tenn., have dominated the Natchez Community Cancer Tennis Tournament, now in its 27th year.

However, that may be about to change starting this year as several teams from southwest Mississippi and east-central Louisiana are doing quite well for themselves. And for the first time in several years, the weather is cooperating.

&8220;The women, except for the 4.0 main draw, are all in the finals,&8221; tournament director Noreen Pyron said. &8220;And the men, we only have one team in the finals. In the mixed, we have quite a few teams still in.&8221;

In women&8217;s 4.0 doubles, top-seeded Melissa Auley of Lafayette, La., and Claudette Talley of Scott, La., will take on Carla Hebert and Catherine Luc, both from Lafayette, in the today at 9 a.m. after both teams rolled to straight-set wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

The women&8217;s 4.0 consolation finals will involve Mary Ruth Caldwell of Vidalia and Jackie Handjis of Natchez taking on Suzan Hogue and Nancy Laird, both from Vidalia, at 12:30 p.m. today. Hogue and Laird had to rally to defeat Pyron and Jane Opperman of St. Francisville, La., 6-7, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7).

Women&8217;s 3.5 doubles turned out to be unique because the top two seeded teams ended up in the same side of the bracket. The top-seeded team of Sally Jones and Emily Eidt, both from Natchez, defeated the second-seeded team of Cecelia Forman of Woodville and Sandy Horne of Centreville in the semifinals, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (7-0).

&8220;They were a great team,&8221; Jones said. &8220;It was a tough match. It was a huge win for us. I think they (tournament committee) were very kind to us as far as seeding us.&8221;

Jones and Eidt will take on Peggy Mayberry and Louise Mallory in an all-Natchez finals in the main draw at 9 a.m. today.

And there have been a fair share of upsets in this year&8217;s tournament compared to recent years. In the first two, 25 matches ended up going to a third-set tiebreaker, including one that went 18-16.

Betsy Hungerford and Carlyn McKinney of Natchez pulled of an upset Friday in the quarterfinals in women&8217;s 3.0 doubles, defeating the top-seeded team of Pam Riggs and Connita Sones, both from Jonesville, 6-2, 6-2.

Hungerford and McKinney lost in the semifinals Saturday to Judy Quimby of Ferriday and Betty Simmons of Vidalia, 6-4, 6-2. Quimby and Simmons will take on the second-seeded Susan Kettering of Hattiesburg and Katie Mahony of Daphne, Ala., in the finals at 9 a.m. today Kettering and Mahony defeated Lisa Dale of Natchez and Karen Jones of Olive Branch in the other semifinal, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0.

It will be a battle between Natchez and New Orleans in the men&8217;s 4.0 doubles finals at 11 a.m. today as the top-seeded team of John Amoss and Benjamin Ward of New Orleans takes on second-seeded Peter Dale and Michael Flowers of Natchez.

Both teams had 6-2, 6-4 wins in their semifinal matches.

In men&8217;s 3.5 doubles, two unseeded teams will square off in the finals in the main draw. William Argue and Phillip Davis of Natchez will take on Richard Baron of Lafayette and Joe Martin of Broussard, La., at 11 a.m. today

While Argue and Davis needed only two sets to defeat Michael Zibby of Memphis, Tenn., and Jim Kelly of Knoxville, Tenn., Baron and Martin had to go to a third-set tiebreaker to get past second-seeded Charles Long and Joel Reisman, both from Memphis, to reach the finals.

In mixed 7.0 doubles, Mayberry and Matthew Brough of Natchez will face Patrick Brown and Lee Carney of Ridgeland in the finals at 11 a.m. today.

Mixed 6.0 doubles ended going to a round-robin draw after one team withdrew due to injuries.

Lisa Dale and Joe Garrity of Natchez have the lead with three points. Ashleigh Welch-Curtis of Canton and Dustin Welch of Brandon have two points. Sally Jones and Milton Whittington of Natchez picked up one point after defeating John Ward Junkin and Jennifer Wimberly of Natchez in Saturday&8217;s last match, 7-6, 6-4.

&8220;Milton and I played three matches. We lost the first two in three-set tiebreakers,&8221; Jones said. &8220;It feels good to win one.&8221;

Caldwell said the tournament was moved back to May from June to avoid the hot and humid weather &8212; as well as the rain &8212; that has been a thorn in the side for many years.

&8220;This is the first year that I can remember in my 15 or so years playing in this tournament that it has not rained,&8221; Caldwell said.

&8220;The weather&8217;s been great, and that always helps,&8221; Pyron said. &8220;We didn&8217;t have as many from Baton Rouge as we usually do. It (Hurricane Katrina) may have kept some players away.&8221;