PENN TWP — The West Penn Inter-Club Mixed Doubles Junior Tennis Team Championships — held Thursday at the Butler Country Club courts — are 23 years old now.

BCC's ties to tennis and its positive effect on families run much longer.

Emily Ivory, an incoming sophomore at Mars High School who played No. 2 singles for the Planets last year, teamed up with Jake Santora for Thursday's event. They won two of their three matches as BCC took second place.

Ivory and Santora have teamed up in the West Penn tourney before. Their families have teamed up for years.

Laura Santora — Jake's mother — and Jenny Ivory — Emily's mother — were youths themselves in the BCC tennis program under the late Dave Barnes. They wound up as teammates at Washington & Jefferson College.

“We went to Knoch when there was no girls tennis program there,” Santora said. “We were able to play for W&J because it was Division III and we acquired enough skills through this program.”

Whitney Snyder, BCC's tennis pro for 31 years and director of the West Penn event, said Jenny Ivory “was one of my assistant coaches in my first year here as club pro.”

While Bud and Laura Santora introduced their four children — Elle, Jake, Ava and Tripp — to tennis at a young age, Emily started out in gymnastics.

“My whole family plays, so I was exposed to tennis,” Ivory said. “I was doing both sports for a while, but I was getting injured a lot in gymnastics.

“I joined the youth (tennis) program here when I was 11. Whit makes it fun here. You hit balls and play, there's music playing, you make a lot of friends ... it's inviting.”

Judy Barkley is Emily's grandmother and also has a long history with BCC tennis. Her son, Jay, has played in the West Penn event and his children, ages 11 and 6, both play tennis.

“It's wonderful. I love it,” Barkley said of watching Emily play. “She's developed into such a good player.

“Whit makes a lot of this happen because he cares so much. He does more than teach tennis here. He teaches the manners of the game along with the strokes. He teaches life lessons, how to conduct yourself, as well as tennis lessons. Today, that's important.”

Elle Santora is the No. 1 girls singles player at Shady Side Academy and will be entering her junior year this fall. Ivory has aspirations of playing in college.

“I definitely want to do that,” she said.

But she admits she has trouble beating her mother on the tennis court.

“Mom still has a wicked slice shot,” Ivory said, smiling. “I can't handle it.”

Ivory is already giving back to the BCC program.

“Emily is very team-oriented, always polite, a wonderful girl to coach,” Snyder said. “She takes time to work with the younger kids. She has no ego at all.”

Former BCC youth tennis player Maggie Moses is like that as well. She once played in the 18-under division of the West Penn event as a 12-year-old.

Now 19, Moses is in her first year as a coach on Snyder's staff.

“I remember when I told Maggie she'd have to play with the 18-year olds,” Snyder said. “She just looked at me and said 'OK.' She was fearless. She's still that way.”

“It's different,” Moses said of coaching. “It's a lot of organizing stuff, organizing matches, office skills, calling parents of players, getting people to come to play. But it's fun teaching the kids.

“I enjoy my time here. I'd love to come back next summer.”

Unlike the Santora and Barkley children and grandchildren, Moses was not raised on tennis.

“My parents never played,” she said. “I tried golf, swimming ... they weren't for me. My parents put me and my sister in youth tennis here and I'm glad they did. Now I have a sport I can play for life.”

Snyder wished other older teens felt the same way. There are 45 kids in the BCC youth tennis program this year. None are older than 14.

“I wish they'd try it just for the socialization of the sport,” he said. “Tennis has a lot to offer there.”

WEST PENN INTER-CLUB MIXED DOUBLES JR. TENNIS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

1st: Sewickley Area — 18's Amanda Chau/Potter Oliver 3-0, 12's Loren Barnes/Nick Allan 3-0

2nd: Butler Country Club — 18's Emily Ivory/Jake Santora 2-1, 12's Ava Santora-Chris Recchia 2-1

3rd: Butler Junior Tennis — 18's Lexi Chapell/Jack Somerville 1-2, 12's Natalie Coughenour-Riley Chapla 1-2

4th: Long Vue — 18's Delaney Mulderig/Jeffrey Patterson 0-3, 12's Maeve Bersford/Johnny Bertucci 0-3

Sportsmanship Awards — Chris Recchia (Butler Country Club), Maeve Bersford (Longue Vue)

Extra Effort Awards — Nick Allan (Sewickley Area), Lexi Chapell (Butler Junior Tennis)