Brannon Tennis Legacy Continues

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Standing at the edge of a field near the Middle Valley tennis courts Monday afternoon during the 5-AAA district tennis tournament, Kevin Costner’s “Field of Dreams†friends and family really thought he had been in the sun way too long.

 

“Look,†exclaims Costner. “Those two blonde girls with the talented forehands. Isn’t that Kim Brannon on court 2? And that Southern-ranked younger one … over on court 3 playing for Hixson High School… oh yeah, Kim’s sister, Audra.

 

“And those two sportswriters. I swear that’s Jack Hodges (Chattanooga Times) and Eddie Baker (Chattanooga Free Press).

 

“This could make for a great sequel,†he states.

 

His friends scoff and family members turn and walk away muttering something about Costner needs to check his glasses so he can decipher between a Trojan (Soddy Daisy) and a Wildcat (Hixson) and wondering what James Earl Jones would say about this fantasy sports story.

 

One friend does hand Costner a cool rag for his head, admitting that that Academy Award winning actor is somewhat correct and reminds him its 2012 not the 1980s and please check the calendar on his cell/ipod/kindle and the two blondes with the solid forehands are Brannons, but the Soddy Daisy High School kind, not Hixson … cousins, Callie Brannon and Abigail Ellis.

 

“No wait,†Costner said, pleading his case for anyone who would to listen.

 

“Over there. That’s teaching pro Elizabeth Leach who helped Kim to City and TVI junior titles when she was 14 and McCallie coach Eric Voges fresh out of college who works with Audra.â€

 

(editor’s note: Elizabeth Leach Bohac currently gives lessons to Abigail, Kim’s daughter, and Voges, now in his 25th year teaching tennis on the Ridge, gives lessons to Audra’s two daughters, Jenna, 8, and Natalie, 5, who are students at The Bright School).

 

While Costner has it partly right, here’s the basics.

 

Tues. May 8 – final day of the District 5-AAA singles and doubles competition at the Middle Valley courts with semis to start at 10 a.m. and finals to follow.

 

Brannon, a senior, and Ellis, a sophomore, (and doubles partner Rachel Hargis) have Soddy Daisy in a battle with McMinn County and Walker County for the team title.

 

The top two in singles and doubles and the district team champion advance to the region.

 

The Trojan cousins hope to continue the Brannon family success and earn a spot in the state tournament in three weeks in Murfreesboro.

 

Brannon faces Maddie Ohlsson (Cleveland) in a semifinal singles match, while Ellis and Hargis take on Wendi Watson and Jami Gibson of Walker Valley in doubles.

 

Brannon won the district title as a freshman in 2009 and dedicated it in memory of Kim who died in 2007 of complications following surgery on her legs.

The Brannon Family Tree

 

While Costner said, “build it and they will comeâ€, Ed Brannon – grandfather to Callie and Abigail – did much the same for his family in the mid-1970s.

 

He exposed his family to the sport and today three generations of Brannons are playing.

 

“Ed came home one day in the mid-1970s and said he had signed me up for tennis lessons and we have been playing as a family ever since,†said Ed’s wife, Winkie, who has won a couple of age division city championships.

 

Ed is part owner of The Racquet Club in Hixson and for the past 20 years has played doubles on a weekly basis with Joe Pate, Dr. David Bartow and Dr. Sam Gill.

 

The girls – Audra, Kim and Winkie – went to Hixson, while the boys - Ed and oldest son, Greg – went to Soddy Daisy. Greg played four years of varsity tennis for the Trojans. He and his wife, Anjie, who also plays, are Callie’s parents. Abigail’s dad, Paul Ellis, has remarried, and encouraged his daughter to be involved in a sport outside of tennis. The honor roll student chose volleyball and now has tennis coach Lorri Johnson for both sports.

 

Kim was a region champ and state semifinalist in 1985, while Audra (Abigail and Callie’s aunt), was a TSSAA state finalist in 1990 with a top 10 Southern ranking in the 18s and 16s.

 

Kim headed to Auburn on scholarship, earned a 4.0 in the classroom on two occasions and set the school record for career wins, while Audra was an All-American at Florida State and won a few tournaments on the pro tour.

 

Audra met her husband, Glenn Pompelly, in the mid-1990s when she was playing in a pro tournament in Lake Charles, La.

 

“I looked at Kansas, Tennessee and Florida State when I was a senior at Hixson,†said Audra who, with her daughters, have been in Chattanooga since last August to be with Winkie who has gone through chemotherapy treatments for cancer and is set for another six-month clinical trial study to hopefully put the disease in remission.

 

“When Florida State offers the sun, the beach, Bobby Bowden, Seminole football and great tennis, that’s difficult to turn down.â€

 

And while coach Johnson knows that Callie and Abigail will have it anything but easy on the court today, hopefully Audra and Kim’s tennis legacy will be more of a real life inspiration than any of Costner’s imaginary games in a field of dreams.

 

 

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net