Patty Korkowski is the first to admit that she doesn’t have a classic tennis form. She swings at the ball with nonstandard strokes. Yet that can also work to her advantage when opponents don’t know where her shots are headed—as occasionally happened at this weekend's Sandy Dyer Open Tennis Tournament at LifeTime Fitness in Fridley. Korkowski started playing tennis with her sister and never took any lessons. Yet her ranking has climbed in the 30 years she’s been playing. She played in nationals in 2010. After this past summer, her U.S. Tennis Association rating climbed from 4.0 to 4.5. She now…

If you’re looking for Kendall or Payton Meuwissen, chances are they’re in a dance studio. The Golden Valley sisters spend hours on end perfecting their skills. Kendall, a junior at Hopkins High School, spends upwards of 30 hours a week dancing between her time with Summit Dance Shoppe and the varsity dance team. That practice has paid off. Earlier this month, Kendall was third runner up at the Miss Dance/Drill Team USA competition in Irvine, CA, and also won the award for best dance technique. Payton, 9, placed first at the Little Miss Dance/Drill Team USA competition. For the Meuwissens, …

Kicking the ball around is nothing new for the players on the Bunny’s soccer team. Some of the women on the team have played together since they were 9 years old. That experience working together has led to Hopkins Pavilion recreation division championships each of the past two years. The team, so named because it’s sponsored by St. Louis Park’s Bunny’s Bar and Grill, was so good that this year it is putting its skills to the test in the more-competitive premier division. “A lot of us grew up playing soccer, so it’s just kind of a way to still play the game and also get some exercise,” said …

Editor's Note: Today, Patch is debuting the second of four new video series. Superstar Next Door highlights notable athletes and teams in community sports leagues. New editions of Superstar Next Door appear every Tuesday. You can tell who they are by the ribbons on their running shoes. The pastel strips of fabric flap in the wind to remind them why they are covering so many miles—each ribbon a symbol of someone who’s been affected by blood cancer. “It’s when the miles start getting long and my feet really start hurting that I really think about Tony,” said Eva Nelson, referring to a friend …