The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Super Set Doubles Tournament this past Saturday. The beautiful weather and large number of entries led to a long, glorious day of tennis. 

There were 11 ladies doubles teams that participated in the event. The ‘A’ final was contested between Marta Andrekovic & Maria Donkers  and Krista Plociennik & Sandie Ennett. Both teams had put in strong performances advancing to the final. The championship match was controlled by Plociennik and Ennett. Many great rallies ended in their favour leading to an 8 – 4 win.

Plociennik, just back from Scotland where she had a very successful university tennis season, had won the title last year with partner Claire Scott. The ‘A’ consolation final saw Johanna Billings and Debbie Murphy down Marilyn Holmes and Marilyn Leasa 8 – 3 for the title. Gail Shelton and Nancy Chung won the ladies ‘B’ title with an 8 – 4 victory over Noella Schiedel and Caryn Scott. The ladies ‘B’ consolation final saw sisters-in-law Barb Thibeault and Allison Hiller  double up the mother / daughter team of Cox and Margreit Wensink with an 8 – 4 win.

The men’s event had 13 entries of many different ages and years of experience. The ‘A’ final showed that younger age may have trumped years of experience. The youngster team of Grant McPherson and Greg Vivian overpowered and out moved the experienced team of Zdenko Andrekovic and Bill White. Andrekovic and White had come back from 2 match points down in 2 of their previous matches, including the semifinal, but were no match for McPherson and Vivian. With big serves and superior net play, McPherson and Vivian took the championship with an 8 – 3 victory. This is McPherson’s second straight Super Set doubles championship, winning last season with Travis Hiller. The ‘A’ consolation title went to Murray Schiedel and Brent Hiller with an 8 – 4 win over John Noble and Richard Bast in the final. Luke Fischer and Tom Warnock took the ‘B” championship edging Pat McCarroll and Mike Furlong 8 – 6 in the championship match. The father / son team of Jim and James Wilson took the ‘B’ consolation title over Stuart Arkett and Steve Fischer with an 8 – 5 win. 

It was a great day at the Stratford Tennis Club for the 48 participants and many spectators. The players now get four weeks to recover before the Super Set singles tournament on July 5. 

Bill White

The Stratford Tennis League opened its 2014 season this week. The early game saw Donkers Agri take on Snap’d. The #1 men’s doubles match up had a split of sets with Donkers’ Richard Bast and Pat McCarroll taking the first set  6-4, and Grant McPherson and Chris Parson of Snap’d taking the second set 6-3. The #2 men’s doubles went to Donkers as Mike Furlong and Bill Steele swept Larry Shurrie and Ric Oliver 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) and 6-3. The #1 ladies doubles also went to Donkers as Sandie Ennett and Maria Donkers scored a 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker) 6-2 win over Linda Doig and Deb Murphy. Snap’d rebounded to take the #2 ladies doubles as Marilyn Leasa and Michele Thomson beat Lindsay Murray and Liz Yundt 6-2 6-3.

The #1 mixed doubles saw Ennett and Bast of Donkers edge Doig and McPherson 6-4. Snap’d took the #2 mixed match as Murphy and Parson scored a 6-4 win over Donkers and McCarroll. Leasa and Shurrie of Snap’d downed Murray and Furlong 6-4 to take the #3 mixed match. Snap’d won the #4 mixed as Thomson and Oliver scored a 6-4 victory over Yundt and Steele. This resulted in the opening match of the 2014 season ending in a 6 sets to 6 sets tie.

The late game had Auto Works face off against Sunrise Health Services. Sunrise took the #1 men’s doubles as Paul Coates and Tom Warnock walloped Jeremy Chisholm and Wayne Carney 6-1 6-1. The #2 men’s doubles was a split of sets as Auto Works’ Todd Chisholm and Stephan Anderson won the first set 6-2 while Steven Schwartzentruber and Stuart Arkett of Sunrise Health took the second set 6-1. Sunrise Health swept the #1 ladies doubles as Marta Andrekovic and Ginny Smith defeated Johanna Billings and Cox Wensink  7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) , 6-0. Nancy Chung and Sandra Hofing of Auto Works scored a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Marilyn Holmes and Debra Mitchell to take the #2 ladies doubles. 

 The #1 mixed doubles went to Sunrise Health as Andrekovic and Coates edged Billings and Jeremy Chisholm 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker). Smith and Warnock blanked Wensink and Carney 6-0 to take the #2 mixed doubles for Sunrise Health. Auto Works won the #3 mixed as Chung and Todd Chisholm downed Holmes and Schwartzentruber 6-2. The #4 mixed doubles went to Auto Works as well, with Hofing and Anderson scoring a 6-1 win over Mitchell and Arkett. Sunrise Health Services won the match 7 sets to 5.

After week 1, Sunrise Health Services with 7 sets won sits in first place. Donkers Agri and Snap’d are tied with 6 sets won while Auto Works trails with 5 sets won. Week 2 will see Snap’d take on Auto Works in the early game and Sunrise Health Services facing Donkers Agri in the late game.

 Bill White                                                                                    Jeremy Chisholm of Auto Works serves in the men’s doubles match .

The Stratford Tennis Club recently held its first Royal LePage Hiller Realty junior tennis tournament of the season. The beautiful weather allowed the players to put their best abilities on display and led to many close, high caliber matches.

The girls ‘A’ final saw Ashley Humphrey defeat Isabelle Thibeault 8 – 1 in the championship match. The girls ‘B’ final had Mackenzie Dumais score an 8 – 5 victory over Megan Furlong for the title.

The boys ‘A’ champion was Ryan Lay who scored an 8 – 2 win over Collin Rose to take the title. The boys ‘A’ consolation final saw Marcel Lundrigan outlast Luke McCarroll 8 – 6 for the win. The boys ‘B’ championship went to Matthew Vandewiel with an 8 – 2 victory over Stefan Andrekovic in the final. Kadin Dench took the boys ‘B’ consolation title with an 8 – 4 win over Ronan McCarroll in the championship match.

The next Royal LePage Hiller Realty junior tournament will take place on Saturday, June 21st.

These awards were recently presented at the Stratford Tennis Club.

The JERRY JOHNSON AWARD  is  awarded annually, to an adult and junior member who demonstrate sportsmanship and love for the game of tennis. 

Gary Henry 

Gary has not been a member for very long but has involved himself in many Club activities. He plays morning group, tennis league, men’s night, and Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He hones his game constantly with the use of the ball machine. Gary shows a passion for the game and for the Club. Always enjoying his time on the court, Gary is deserving of this award.  

 Ethan Misener

Ethan is the youngest member of the tennis loving Misener family. Always smiling and a true sportsman on the court, Ethan was a positive force around the Club. Many hours hitting against the wall will improve his game in the future but his attitude needs no improvement. Ethan is a well deserving winner of an award honouring Jerry Johnson.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR – THE REBECCA MISKIN AWARD

Ryan Lay

Ryan Lay or Frito as some may know him , was a constant presence at the Club this season. Ryan assisted in every way possible; helping me with the maintenance, helping with the camps, helping with the tournaments. Ryan displayed his love of the game by participating in all the tournaments, subbing in for the morning group when they needed someone, subbing in men’s night when needed. A top junior player at the Club and multiple club championship winner, Ryan has a bright future in the game. Ryan is just the third junior to win the Member of the Year Award.

Bill White

 2013 Junior Club Champions

                                                       2013 Adult Club Champions

OCTOBER E NEWS 

The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Masters Doubles Tournament this past weekend. The beautiful weather provided the perfect day for playing tennis. 11 ladies and 10 mens’ teams took part the the Tennis Club’s final competition of the season.

The Ladies ‘A’ doubles final saw defending champions Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers facing Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy. Andrekovic and Donkers scored an 8-5 victory to retain the title. The Ladies ‘A’ consolation winners are Linda Doig and Ginny Smith who downed Annette Garneau and Liz Yundt 8-3 in the final. Allison Hiller and Barb Thibeault took the Ladies ‘B’ championship with an 8-6 win over Marilyn Holmes and Marilyn Leasa. The Ladies ‘B’ consolation title went to Lynn Bast and Julie Drake who took out Arlene Pol and Vanessa DeGroot 8-1 in the final.

The Men’s ‘A’ final was a match up of two time defending champions Zdenko Andrekovic and Bill White and 2011 finalists Brent Hiller and Murray Schiedel. Behind some big serving Andrekovic and White took their third straight title with an 8-5 victory. The Men’s ‘A’ consolation title went to Pat McCarroll and Jack Watson who downed Mike Furlong and Jagdish Patel 8-3 in the final. Brian Arens and Paul Coates took the Men’s ‘B’ championship scoring an 8-4 win over Gary Henry and Bill Steele in the final. The Men’s ‘B’ consolation champions are Stuart Arkett and Steve Fischer who doubled up Paul Barclay and Todd Chisholm 8-4 to take the title.

 This ends the competitive events for the 2013 season at the Tennis Club. The Club will salute the all tournament champions with its awards presentation on Saturday, September 28th. 

Bill White

 Men’s ‘A’ Champions Bill White and Zdenko Andrekovic    Ladies ‘A’ Champions Maria Donkers and Marta Andrekovic

Throughout the month of August, the Stratford Tennis Club held its annual junior club championship tournaments. Players competed in 4 age categories. With several participants competing in multiple age categories, it was a busy month of play for the players.

The Boys Under 18 singles champion is John Fischer. Fischer defeated Jeremy Chisholm 6-4  6-2 to win his first Under 18 singles title. Chisholm teamed with Travis Hiller to claim the Boys Under 18 doubles championship. Chisholm/Hiller downed the Fischer brothers, John and Luke, 6-4  6-2 in the final. This is Chisholm’s fourth straight Under 18 doubles title.

The Girls Under 18 champion is once again Sonja Andrekovic. Andrekovic repeated as champion by downing Kaitlyn Mathieson 6-0  6-1 in the final. The Under 18 mixed doubles winners are Nicolle Crowley and Ryan Lay. The youngsters knocked off Caitriona and Ciaron Buckley 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker)  6-3 to win their title.

The Girls Under 16 singles was won by Nicolle Crowley. After winning the Under 12 and Under 14 titles last season Crowley added the Under 16 category to her resume with a 6-2  6-0 victory over Kaitlyn Mathieson. The Boys Under 16 champion is Grant McPherson. McPherson repeated as champion as he dominated Luke Fischer in this years final, scoring a 6-1  6-1 win.

John and Luke Fischer took their second straight Boys Under 16 doubles title with a 6-2  6-1 win over Grant McPherson and James Wilson. Nicolle Crowley and Ryan Lay added the Under 16 mixed doubles title to their collection in one of the best matches of the month. Crowley/Lay edged Mathieson and Luke Fischer 4-6  6-4  6-3 in the championship match.

Luke Fischer took the Boys Under 14 singles championship. Fischer, who had won the Under 12 singles the last two seasons, defeated Ryan Lay 6-3  6-2 for his first Under 14 singles championship. Fischer then teamed with Evan Moorehead to win the Boys Under 14 doubles with a 7-5  6-0 victory over Lay and Stefan Andrekovic.

For the second straight year Nicolle Crowley is the Girls Under 14 singles champion. Crowley downed Kaitlyn Mathieson 6-1  6-1 in the final. Crowley and Lay took their third age group mixed doubles title with a 2-6  6-2  6-0 win over Mathieson and Fischer.

The Girls Under 12 champion is Ashley Humphrey. Humphrey defeated Rachel Nash in the final 6-0  6-3 to take her first singles championship. Nash and partner Sophie Bogdon teamed to take the Girls Under 12 doubles with a 6-2  6-4 win over Humphrey and Jada Kraemer. The Boys Under 12 final saw Jacob Wunder down Michael Vandewiel 6-2  6-3 to win the championship. Wunder then took the Boys Under 12 doubles title with partner Mac Starkebaum, downing Vandewiel and Ethan Misener 6-2  6-3 in the championship match.

All winners will be presented with championship medals at the annual awards ceremony at the clubhouse on Saturday, September 28.

The Stratford Tennis League has crowned its 2013 champions. Playing through occasional rain drops, the ‘A’ and ‘B’ finals have been completed. The ‘A’ final was a battle between the two teams that led the league throughout the regular season. La Debonaire Hair Design finished first in the regular season standings and easily advanced to the final. Their opponent, Sunrise Health Services, spent most of the season battling for the top spot before a late season misstep had them fall to third. Sunrise rebounded in the semifinals to gain a spot in the ‘A’ championship final.

The championship match began with a split in the men’s #1 doubles. Grant McPherson and Travis Hiller of La Debonaire took the first set 6-1, then John Noble and Nathan Duh of Sunrise won the second set by the same 6-1 score. The men’s #2 doubles was all Sunrise as Pat McCarroll and Jagdish Patel dominated Cameron Kramer and Sing Chung by a 6-2 6-1 score. The ladies #1 doubles saw La Debonaire’s  Krista Plociennik and Sandie Ennett cruise to a 6-2 6-2 victory over Marilyn Leasa and Nancy Rheaume. Sunrise took the ladies #2 doubles as Annette Garneau and Marilyn Holmes edged Jolanda Vandereijk and Sandra Hofing 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) 6-3. This gave Sunrise a 5 sets to 3 lead heading into the mixed doubles matches.

La Debonaire took the #1 mixed set as Plociennik and McPherson blanked Leasa and Noble 6-0. Rheaume and Duh won the #2 mixed for Sunrise taking down Ennett and Hiller 6-3. The #3 mixed went to Sunrise as Garneau and McCarroll blanked Vandereijk and Kramer 6-0. The #4 mixed also went to Sunrise as Holmes and Patel defeated Hofing and Chung 6-2. This gave Sunrise Health Services a 8-4 win and the 2013 ‘A’ championship.

The ‘B’ championship final saw Donkers Agri take on Snap. The men’s #1 doubles was a split as Shannon Dyke and Murray Schiedel of Snap won the first set 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker) before Bob Tamblyn and Tom Warnock rebounded to take the second set 6-1 for Donkers. Donkers swept the men’s #2 doubles as Todd Chisholm and Mike Furlong beat up Gary Henry and Stuart Arkett 6-2 6-0. The ladies #1 doubles went to Snap as Johanna Billings and Linda Doig defeated Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers 6-4 6-3. Donkers won the ladies #2 doubles 6-3 6-1 as Erma Weernink and Naomi Lange took out Nancy Chung and Monica Eickmeyer. The mixed doubles opened with Andrekovic and Tamblyn of Donkers edging Billings and Dyke 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker). Snap won the #2 mixed as Doig and Schiedel doubled up Donkers and Warnock 6-3. Weernink and Chisholm defeated Chung and Henry 6-4 to give the #3 mixed to Donkers. The #4 mixed was a 6-0 victory for Lange and Furlong of Donkers over Eickmeyer and Arkett. Donkers Agri won the 2013 ‘B’ championship with the 8 sets to 4 win.

Bill White

Pat McCarroll of Sunrise Health Services swings to help his team winthe Tennis League ‘A’ Championship.

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