NATCHEZ &045; The Natchez Forman team from the Southwest Region wound up in a tie for the lead with the Lott team from Laurel in the Pine Belt region after day two of competition at the Mississippi Senior Mixed Doubles State Tournament.

Both teams picked up much needed wins Saturday afternoon over two tough teams to go into today’s matches at the Duncan Park Tennis Courts with 3-1 records in the 7.0 level of this round robin tournament.

Natchez Forman won two out of three matches over the previously undefeated Overcash team from Jackson.

Bobby Holder and Wanda Horne rallied to David Barge and Beth Gee in dramatic fashion, 1-6, 6-2, 1-0. Marshall Savage and Pamela Johnson had an easier time in defeating John Carr and Jerry Drummond in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.

&uot;They’ve been playing great,&uot; Natchez Forman team captain Cecelia Forman said. &uot;Very competitive tennis. A good place to rekindle friendships. I think we have a good chance of going to Chattanooga for regionals in October. We went two years ago.&uot;

Overcash had to defeat the Register team from the Delta region Saturday night to get back into a tie with the Natchez Forman and Lott teams.

After losing the first match, Lott won the last two matches to defeat the Wilkinson team from the Gulf Coast region, which knocked Wilkinson out of contention with its second loss of the tournament.

Karen Rasberry and Gerald Hannah defeated Camille Sykes and David Compton, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 while Jayne Cooper and Pat Welch defeated Michael Dickinson and Suellen Mcraney with a nearly identical score, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0.

During the match against Natchez Forman, Overcash team captain Rita Overcash was happy but nervous about the team being undefeated at the time.

&uot;My team has played very well,&uot; Rita Overcash said. &uot;In this heat, they’ve played excellent. Bob Dowd and Annette Pressley are undefeated. Gail Dickinson and Terry Overcash, so far they’re undefeated. Terry manages Bridges Tennis Center in Jackson.&uot;

The McCleskey/Ruffin team from the Pine Belt region is undefeated in the 6.0 level with a 3-0 record. This team has won all nine of its matches over the first two days. No other team in the entire tournament has lost fewer than two matches.

First place was on the line Saturday afternoon in the 8.0 level as the Rula team from Jackson and the Clark team from the Delta region went into their match with 3-0 records.

It didn’t take long to figure out which team was the better of the two as the Rula team won all three matches over the Clark team &045; all in straight sets.

&uot;They’re hanging in there,&uot; Clark team captain Billy Clark said. &uot;The ladies have played well. We’re having a good time. We didn’t have to play any league matches. We automatically qualified for State. No expectations.&uot;

The Handjis team from the Southwest region, led by team captain Jackie Handjis from Natchez, got off to a rough start with losses to the Rula and Clark teams on Friday, but came back strong with two wins on Saturday.

&uot;It’s been very competitive tennis,&uot; Handjis said. &uot;More competitive than it’s ever been. We’re out of contention. We’ve lost two matches. We’ve had a great time. Hot, hot, hot! All my team members played great. Everybody puts out 110 percent.&uot;

The Brady team from Jackson leads the 9.0 level with a 2-1 record. The Guice-Davis team from the Gulf Coast has a 1-1 record. All the matches in this level are being played at Beau Pr Country Club’s tennis courts.

&uot;We’re trying to move the 9.0 matches,&uot; tournament director and Mississippi State League Coordinator Ronnie Bates said when asked how Hurricane Katrina is going impact matches involving teams from the Gulf Coast and Pine Belt regions.

&uot;We have one team (Guice-Davis team) from the Gulf Coast that plays twice (today). We’re going to have to move those up to 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. They’re concerned about getting back home.&uot;

There are several local sponsors for this year’s tournament, Straton Hall with the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau said.