Heard Around The Courts…

Doubles Tournament Results.  

The first tournament of the season is in the books, and it was a good one.

We had 44 players (a total of 22 teams). A number of these teams were family affairs, with father-son, husband-wife, and even a brother-brother pairing. All family members are reportedly still on speaking terms.

The A Division final saw Russ Neale and Rick Riess taking on Scott Zenack and Bob DiCara.  Russ and Rick came into the Finals full of confidence, after cruising through the round robin phase, including a 6-0 beat-down of Scott and Bob, in which Bob said “We didn’t even have an ad game.”  But Scott and Bob, who won their two other round-robin matches, raised their game for the Finals.  In the first set, the teams traded holds and looked evenly matched through the first four games.  Russ and Rick earned a tough break to go up 3-2, and held on from there to win 6-4.  Both teams were playing excellent tennis and delighting the stadium crowd.  In the second set, Russ and Rick came out hot and got an early break, followed by a second break four games later.  Russ now found himself serving for the match at 5-2.  But Scott and Bob were not going away.  They broke back and then held to force Rick back to the line.  This time Russ and Rick were not to be denied.  6-3, 6-4. Congratulations!

The B and B+ Divisions had to play both semifinal and final matches on Sunday.  It was a hot day so endurance was a key factor.

The B+ Division  saw some close matches with Sonya and Jim Beigel, Joe and Eric Hefez, Barry and Matt Arkin, and Gordie Sands and Umesh Bhasin (the only unrelated pair of the four) advancing to the semifinals Sunday morning. The final, which followed, featured Sonya and Jim and Joe and Eric, and it was a nail biter.   The teams exchanged 6-2 sets to set up a super tiebreak to decide the winner.  Joe and Eric brought out their best stuff, and earned the victory by 10 points to 4.  Congratulations!

In the B Division, Susan Purdue and Dawn Curran, Sahar Forghan and Wedsky Moise, Ben Cooley and John Kokot, and Alan and Matthew Ames all progressed to the semifinals.  Ben and John and Alan and Matthew advanced from there to the final.  The points and games were long, but the crafty veterans, Ben and John, were too tough and took home the title in two sets.  Congratulations!

Conveniently, all of the final matches finished within 5 minutes of each other.

Thanks to all of the players and the fans who cheered them on.   Special thanks to Janet Wenzel and Scott Zenack for co-directing the tournament and to Mark Brass for getting the courts ready.

Next up is the Mixed Doubles Tournament, Aug 17-18.  Find your partner and get ready!  You too can have your picture in a newsletter!  Details and registration deadlines forthcoming.  

Court 1 Repair Project.  

Sunday was also the date of our remediation project for the Court 1 drainage issues.  Thank you to the team of volunteers who came together for an hour or so of “fun” re-grading the back of the court and digging drainage trenches behind the court.  Our motto was “Well … this probably won’t make it any worse!”  The ultimate solution will be laser-grading of the courts at some point, but hopefully our little DIY effort will improve the situation enough to get Court 1 open sooner after a rain.  Thanks again, Team. (Note, this picture was taken moments before we realized that the wheelbarrow had two flat tires, making the project even more “fun.”

and finally…..

Guest Fees.

A reminder that there is a $5 fee per guest for each visit.  If you have accumulated guest fees for the year, this would be a good time to pay them.  Payment is easy – just go to the Membership Payment page on the website and add Guest Fees to your cart.  Then check out just as you did when you purchased your membership.  Thank you!

See you on the courts!

Dan Smith

President

dsmith9.stc@gmail.com

info@sharontennisclub.org