Northridge Country Club has a grand tradition of fostering No. 1 players. Through the junior rankings each year, the No. 1's call the six lighted hard-courts at Northridge home. Head Tennis Professionals Ann and Rusty Tarwater, with Assistant Professional Tony Flarity have carved out a comprehensive tennis program that makes the global sport fun for Northridge members.
The Tarwaters were both junior tennis players who went on to play college tennis at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Rusty went on to be the assistant coach of the women’s team. While Ann was a player and Rusty was coach at UALR, the team won three NAIA National Championships.
Rusty went on to be assistant professional at the Little Rock Athletic Club while Ann was assistant professional at the Burns Park Tennis Center. The Tarwaters moved to Texarkana to assume the tennis program at Northridge in 1990. Since that time, the Arkansas Tennis Association has honored Northridge as Facility of the Year twice. The Tarwaters have been coaches for the Arkansas Junior Davis Cup and Wrightman Cup teams for two years for the Southern Competition. In 2008, they were named Arkansas Tennis Professional of the Year.
Ann has won the United States Tennis Association National Championship twice: once as a 5.0 player and the second time in the open division competing against 5.5/6.0 teams. She has been to the USTA Sectional Championships numerous times.
Northridge players are well known throughout Arkansas in USTA team competition. Teams begin at 2.5 women and 3.0 men and up in regular team competition, mixed doubles and the fall combo teams. Both men’s and women’s teams have faired well in regional and state competitions, almost always securing berths in the state championship and many times representing the state in the USTA Southern Sectional Championships.
But the titles begin with hard work from beginner classes to weekday drills for juniors and several days a week of drills for women and men. Club leagues are also in place to make players match-ready. Club tournaments dot the calendar for its members and the club hosts two USTA state-wide junior championships at Northridge each year. One of the junior tournaments is a USTA Southern-level tournament attracting the elite junior players from across the South. Several junior clinics are held during holidays and school breaks.
