The Stratford Tennis Club has crowned its 2013 singles champions. Played out over 17 days, a record number of entries competed in ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions. The final night saw champions crowned for men and ladies in both divisions. Over 40 spectators showed up to enjoy the beautiful evening of tennis and celebrate their Club champions.
With defending champion Bob Tamblyn unable to participate, the men’s ‘A’ division was a wide open affair with several contenders. A record 48 participants started play and after 4 rounds, Monday’s semifinals saw some familiar faces and a young upstart. The top half of the draw had a match up of last year’s finalist, and top seed, Richard Bast and #4 seed Shannon Dyke. In what was probably the best match of the event the two battled for over 2 hours before Bast prevailed with a 6-3 2-6 6-3 victory to advance to his third men’s ‘A’ singles final.
The bottom half of the draw saw #3 seed Paul Coates , in his second consecutive semifinal, face teenager John Fischer who had knocked off two seeded players to advance to his first ‘A’ semi. Coates’ experience and consistency proved too much for young Fischer as Coates scored a 6-1 7-5 win sending him to his first ‘A’ championship final. The championship match was a spectacular display of tennis by Bast. Opening his first service game with an ace, Bast hit with pace and control all night. It was a an unrelenting attack by Bast and Coates was unable to withstand the pressure. Bast won his first ‘A’ singles championship with a 6-1 6-1 victory.
The ladies ‘A’ division was a question of could anyone stop Krista Plociennik. The 20 year old Plociennik had won 5 of the last 6 championships and advanced to her seventh straight final with a 6-0 6-1 win over Erma Weernink. Her opponent in the final was Marta Andrekovic who took out Sandie Ennett 6-4 6-2 in her semifinal. The championship match saw Andrekovic playing some great tennis but Plociennik was too powerful to be denied. Hitting amazing forehand winners throughout the match, Plociennik scored a 6-3 6-1 win to take her sixth ladies ‘A’ championship and cement her legacy as one of the best female players in the history of the Stratford Tennis Club.
The men’s ‘B’ final was a face off between two of the smartest and most strategic players in the Club. Brian Arens , who qualified for the final with a 7-5 3-6 6-0 victory over Greg Vivian, took on Steven Schwartzentruber, whose 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) semifinal win over Graham Heaton was one of the matches of the tournament. As expected, the championship match saw many long rallies and several switches in momentum. Arens took the first set 6-4, before Schwartzentruber rebounded to take the second set 6-2.
All the other finals had ended giving the fans one match to focus on and one set to determine the champion. The rallies were long and tactics were ever changing before Schwatzentruber (on his second match point) hit the best backhand of his life, cracking an outright winner to take the championship 4-6 6-2 6-3. It took over two and a half hours for Schwartzentruber to take his first championship title.
The ladies ‘B’ final was a look at ‘the next one’. 13 year old Nicolle Crowley dominated the event, advancing to the final with a 6-1 6-1 victory over fellow teenager Kaitlyn Mathieson. Her opponent in the final was Liana DeJong, who took out Laura Bossers 6-2 6-0 in her semifinal. The championship match was another impressive display by Crowley. Using her big serve and consistent and controlled ground strokes, Crowley could not be stopped. Despite long rallies DeJong could not dent Crowley’s game. Crowley took the match and championship with a 6-0 6-0 win. Crowley becomes the second youngest winner of the ladies ‘B’ title, behind only Plociennik who had won it at 12 years old.
This ends the 2013 Club Championship tournaments. 157 matches were played over the last 17 days, a record number in the history of the Club. The ‘A’ division saw repeat champions in 4 of the 5 events, with Bast the only new winner. Bast becomes only the 12th man in the 45 year history of the Club to win a men’s ‘A’ singles championship. Junior events continue to be played as the Club crowns its 2013 champions.
Bill White
(l to r) Brian Arens (Men’s ‘B’ finalist), Steven Schwartzentruber (Men’s ‘B’ champion), Richard Bast (Men’s ‘A’ champion) , Paul Coates (Men’s ‘A’ finalists) , Marta Andrekovic (Ladies ‘A’ finalist) , Krista Plociennik (Ladies ‘A’ champion), Nicolle Crowley (Ladies ‘B’ champion), Liana DeJong (Ladies ‘B’ finalist)
Nicolle Crowley Steven Schwartzentruber
Krista Plociennik Richard Bast