Non-stop afternoon rain on Friday caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison forced the 22nd Annual AmSouth Cancer Tennis Tournament to be pushed back to just a two-day event.

The rain also pushed up Saturday’s start from 8:30 a.m. to 7 a.m., tournament co-director Noreen Pyron said. The matches will still be played at the Duncan Park, Trinity, Beau Pr\u00E9 and Vidalia tennis courts and Duncan Park will be the tournament’s headquarters.

&uot;We tried to wait until 8 o’clock (p.m.) to start hoping there would be a break (in the rain), but it’s almost 7 p.m. and it’s still raining,&uot; she said Friday evening. She said that Saturday’s matches may last until 8 or 9 p.m. – provided the weather cooperates.

&uot;We may be later than that finishing,&uot; she said.

Pyron said she was disappointed that the 200-plus participants (one of the biggest draws ever for this tournament) did not even get to play one match, especially those who traveled from as far as Austin, Tex., Memphis, Tenn. and South Carolina in addition to those from Jackson, Monroe, La., Baton Rouge, La. and New Orleans.

She said she did not know when Sunday’s matches will start, but that it will be earlier than the previously-indicated 8:30 a.m. start.

Because the tournament will now be a two-day tournament, scoring will be done differently to speed up play, Pyron said.

&uot;We will go to a no-add scoring. The first team to four points wins the match. There will be two matches. If a match goes to a third set, that will be the tiebreaker set,&uot; she said.

She then said that even if Saturday’s matches are rained out, there will still be a social at Mr. and Mrs. John Bergeron’s house starting at 8 p.m.

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