Miami Suns, Lady Fire Offer Exposure Opportunities



Miami’s Katie Meier (top) and Michigan State’s Suzy Merchant will both have committed recruits competing this weekend.

The summer season is over, but there are still a few quality events remaining in 2013. Two of those will be held this weekend. The Mac Irvin Lady Fire will host the Fire Fall Classic, and the Miami Suns will host the Stars Under the Sun/Team Showdown event.

The Fire Fall Classic will be played at the Waukegan (Ill.) Field House on Sept. 27, with an expected field of 30 teams. Mac Irvin, the president of the Lady Fire, believes this could be the finest event in the tournament’s eight year history.

“One of the big reasons we have this tournament is for the seniors who may be looking for more options,” Irvin explained. “This gives them one more chance, so we want as many coaches at the event as possible. We are going to have the best set of teams we’ve ever had, and we’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from the college coaches.

“I think we’ll have at least 50 or 60 college coaches, and that would make me happy. Of course, I would be very, very happy if we could get up to 80 college coaches.”

Down south, the Miami Suns will have 32 teams playing at the three courts in the Coral Springs Gymnasium on Sept. 27-29. The Suns will also be hosting approximately 230 individuals who will be showcasing their talents.

“We want to bring as many college coaches as possible to South Florida to get a good look at these kids,” said Suns president Miguel Diaz. “There are a lot of talented players down here that don’t get a real chance to travel. This event will give them an opportunity to compete in front of a lot of college coaches.

“We are expecting upwards of 50-plus college coaches. We are going to have a lot of the big time schools represented, but I’m also very pleased that we are going to have a number of smaller schools. We are going to be giving a lot of kids a quality opportunity.”