NATCHEZ &045; Nearly 300 of the best senior tennis players from across the state will converge on the Duncan Park Tennis Courts for the 2005 Senior Mixed Doubles State Tennis Tournament.

The three-day tournament, which will consist of teams from six regions &045; Southwest, Jackson, East Central, Delta, Pine Belt and Gulf Coast &045; begins today with matches starting at 8 a.m. Matches on Saturday and Sunday will also begin at 8 a.m.

&uot;There are 22 teams with a minimum of 10 players. We can go up to 14 players per team, which some of them will have,&uot; State League Coordinator for Mississippi and tournament director Ronnie Bates said. &uot;Family comes with them. With this being the end of summer, there will be family members.&uot;

The only region which will not be represented in this year’s tournament will be the North Central region, which includes Oxford and Grenada.

Several towns and cities will be represented in the tournament.

&uot;The Jackson metro area consists of Jackson, Madison, Brandon, Ridgeland, Clinton and Canton. The Delta is Greenville and Leland,&uot; Bates said. &uot;East Central is Columbus and Starkville. Pine Belt is Hattiesburg and Laurel. Gulf Coast is Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport and Biloxi. Southwest is Natchez, Woodville, McComb and Brookhaven.&uot;

All of the teams advanced to the state tournament by winning their local leagues, Bates said.

There will be four levels of competition in the state tournament.

&uot;We have six teams at the 6.0 level. We have seven teams at the 7.0 level,&uot; Bates said. &uot;We have six teams at the 8.0 level. We have just three teams at the 9.0 level. Those are the very best Seniors.&uot;

The teams at the 9.0 level will play all their matches at the tennis courts at Beau Pr, Bates noted.

The Southwest Region will be well represented in this year’s tournament. Whether it has the home court advantage remains to be seen.

Cecelia Forman of Woodville will have a team in the 7.0 level, Bates said. Several of those players are from Woodville while some are from Natchez and Centreville.

There are also players from Vidalia, La., Ferriday, La., Frogmore, La. and St. Francisville, La.

Bates explained why players from Louisiana and Arkansas got to be involved in the Mississippi State League.

&uot;We have several areas, the Delta for example. The town across the (Mississippi) River (from Greenville) is Fort Village, Ark. They have players who live just 15 minutes across the bridge. They would have to drive two hours to play in their state league. So we welcome them.&uot;

Jackie Handjis from Natchez will have a team in the 8.0 level that consists of players mainly from here, but also a couple of players from Louisiana and one from Crystal Springs.

Leanne Summers from Brookhaven will have a team in the 6.0 level.

Players have to turn 50 years old during the calendar year, but Bates also commented that their will be a few players in their 70s in the tournament.