The Stratford Tennis Club hosted its annual Men’s and Ladies Doubles Tournament this past weekend. The event held on the second Saturday in June for the last 46 years drew teams from Toronto, Guelph, Cambridge, Waterloo, and London as well as several entries from the home Club. 18 total teams took part in the tournament that features round robin play to determine qualifiers for an ‘A’ and ‘B’ playoff.
The Ladies ‘A’ final saw multi-time champion Mary Ann Gaskin and new partner Janet Hofstra of Cambridge facing Stratford’s Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy. The visitors were too strong and steady for the home team as Gaskin and Hofstra scored an 8-3 win to take the 2015 championship.
The Men’s ‘A’ championship was contested between two-time defending champions Matt Brown and Sung Min Yoon of Waterloo and Grant McPherson and Bob Tamblyn of Stratford. McPherson and Tamblyn broke Yoon’s serve in the first game and maintained their one break lead until late in the match before Brown and Yoon broke back and took a 7-6 lead. McPherson was able to hold his serve to send the championship into a tie-breaker to determine the winner. The tie-breaker, much like the set before it, saw McPherson and Tamblyn show off some incredible defense, keeping rallies alive until they could get a put away shot. The home team scored a 7-2 win in the tie-breaker to take the 2015 Men’s ‘A’ title. McPherson and Tamblyn become only the second Stratford team in the 46 year history of the event to take the Men’s ‘A’ championship.
The Men’s ‘B’ title match saw the team of Graham Heaton of Stratford and Dominic Sadowski of Toronto take on London’s Niko Htenas and Kevin Wood. Heaton and Sadowski were competing in their second straight Men’s ‘B’ final while Htenas and Wood returned to the event for the first time in 16 years. Htenas and Wood raced out to a big lead before Heaton and Sadowski made a comeback. With a lead of 7-6 Wood was forced to win his serve to avoid a tie-breaker. With some well placed serves Wood and Htenas were able to put the match away scoring an 8-6 victory to take the title.
On another beautiful day for tennis at the Stratford Tennis Club , the high quality of play and wonderful bar b q in the park provided a memorable event for the visitors and home players alike. With competitors in all the event finals , including taking the Men’s ‘A’ championship , it was a very successful tournament for the Stratford Tennis Club.
Many thanks to our salad donaters; Heather Henke, Ginny Smith, Michele Thomson, Nancy Rheaume, Wayne Carney, Noella Schiedel, Philomena Monaghan, and Stacey Wilson as well as our barbecuer Steve Fischer. Their donations of food and time made the tournament lunch a highlight of the day. Our guests had nothing but praise for the hospitality shown by our members. Big thanks also go out to Zdenko Andrekovic and John Noble who ran the errands and donated prizes for the tournament. The help of all these people made this not only a great tournament but also a successful fund raiser for the Club. Thanks to you all!!!!
Bill White
Ladies ‘A’ champions Mary Ann Gaskin + Janet Hofstra (Cambridge), finalists Johanna Billings + Deb Murphy (Stratford)
Men’s ‘A’ champions Bob Tamblyn + Grant McPherson (Stratford), finalists Matt Brown + Sung Min Yoon (Waterloo)
Men’s ‘B’ champions Kevin Wood + Niko Htenas (London), finalists Dominic Sadowski (Toronto) + Graham Heaton (Stratford)