The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Super Set Doubles Tournament this past weekend. The men’s and ladies doubles event is for club members only. With 12 men’s teams and 11 ladies teams it was a full day of competitive tennis.
The Men’s ‘A’ champions are the new team of Max Besworth and Zdenko Andrekovic. Andrekovic’s original partner had to withdraw the day before due to illness leaving him out of the tournament. When Besworth’s partner injured himself Friday night the call went out to Andrekovic and a new team was set. Besworth and Andrekovic advanced to the final with a thrilling semifinal win in a tie-breaker. The opponents in the final were top seeds Grant McPherson and Bob Tamblyn who had dominated on their way to the final. The championship match was an even affair with Besworth and Andrekovic’s volleying skills giving the top seeds all they could handle. A tie-breaker was needed to determine the winner and Besworth/Andrekovic took control winning the tie-breaker 7-2 to take the championship.
The Men’s ‘A’ consolation title went to brothers John and Luke Fischer. Fresh off their silver medal performance in the Ontario High School championships the brothers regrouped after their tough semifinal loss to Besworth/Andrekovic to dominate the ‘A’ consolation final shutting out Pat McCarroll and Murray Schiedel 8-0. The Men’s ‘B’ title went to Jason Erb and Wayne Carney who scored an 8-2 victory over Steven Schwartzentruber and Christopher Smith in the title match. Youngsters Luke McCarroll and Jared Larder took the Men’s ‘B’ championship by downing Stuart Arkett and Ric Oliver 8-2 in the final.
The Ladies ‘A’ championship went to Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy. Billings and Murphy the top seeds and defending champions advanced to the final with fairly routine victories over their opponents. The final was anything but routine. Facing Naomi Lange and Maria Donkers in the title match the champs were pushed to the limit but finally prevailed with a hard fought 8-6 victory.
Marta Andrekovic and Nicolle Crowley took the Ladies ‘A’ consolation title with a convincing 8-1 win over Gail Shelton and Janet Bradley. The Ladies ‘B’ championship match was another nail biter. Eventually Michele Thomson and Erma Weernink were able to edge out Julie Drake and Susan Zorgdrager 8-6 to claim the crown. The Ladies ‘B’ consolation final saw Noella Schiedel and Caryn Scott double up Jolanda Van Der Eijk and Debbie Mitchell 8-4 to secure their championship.
Picture 1 : (l to r) Bob Tamblyn + Grant McPherson – Men’s ‘A’ finalists, Max Besworth + Zdenko Andrekovic – Men’s ‘A’ champions
Picture 2 : (l to r) Deb Murphy + Johanna Billings – Ladies ‘A’ champions , Maria Donkers + Naomi Lange – Ladies ‘A’ finalists