By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

DOWAGIAC – It’s the middle of summer, so it must be time for the Dowagiac City Tennis Tournament.
Now in its 36th year, the singles portion of the tournament will be held July 24-26, while the doubles matches – men’s, women’s and mixed – will be held Aug 1-2.
There are a few changes for this year’s tournament, the first of which is that Sonny Swartz has replaced Chuck Rubino as the tournament director.
The singles tournament will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 24.
The tournament will continue on Saturday, July 25 at 8 a.m. with the finals scheduled for Sunday, July 26, also beginning at 8.
The second change is that deadline for entry in the singles tournament is now Tuesday, July 24 at 5 p.m. The tournament draw will be posted at the Dowagiac Middle School courts on Thursday, July 23.
The men’s and women’s doubles tournament will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1. Some matches could be played on Friday, July 31, beginning at 6 p.m.
The mixed doubles tournament will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2.
Entry deadline for the doubles tournament is Tuesday, July 28 at 5 p.m. The tournament draw will be posted at the DMS courts on Thursday, July 30.
The tournament, which costs just $5 to enter for singles and $10 per doubles team, is open to all residents of Cass County, as well as graduates of the Dowagiac Union School District, and current or former members of the Dowagiac Tennis Association.
Matches will be a best two out of three format with a 12-point tiebreaker in all sets.
Balls will be furnished for all matches. The tournament is a single elimination format with a feed-in consolation round. (Feed-in matches will use an eight game pro set format)
The board reserves the right to cancel the event if not enough entries are received.
For more information, contact Swartz at (259) 591-9886.