Week 3 of the Stratford Tennis League saw some separation in the standings. The early game had Sunrise Health Services taking on Auto Works. The #1 Men’s Doubles went to Sunrise Health Services as Bob Tamblyn and Paul Coates downed Grant McPherson and Pat McCarroll  6-3 6-4. The #2 Men’s Doubles was a family affair where Luke and Steve Fischer of Sunrise took out John Fischer and Onkar Singh 6-1  6-4.

 The #1 Ladies Doubles saw a split of sets as Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy of Auto Works won the first set 6-3 before falling to Sandie Ennett and Naomi Lange of Sunrise 6-1 in the second set. The #2 Ladies Doubles also split their sets with Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes of Sunrise winning 6-4 in the first set and Auto Works’ Ginny Smith and Sandra Hofing taking the second set 6-3.

Sunrise took the #1 Mixed Doubles match as Ennett and Tamblyn edged Billings and McPherson 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker). The #2 Mixed also went to Sunrise with Lange and Coates scoring a 7-5 victory over Murphy and McCarroll.

Auto Works won the #3 Mixed match with Smith and John Fischer doubling up Leasa and Luke Fischer 6-3. Sunrise completed their big night by winning the #4 Mixed match as Holmes and Steve Fischer took out Hofing and Singh 6-1. The 9 sets to 3 sets victory for Sunrise Health Services solidified their place at the top of the league standings.

The late game was a match up of Donkers Agri and Snapd. Donkers took the #1 Men’s Doubles with Richard Bast and John Noble downing Chris Parson and Murray Schiedel 6-4 7-5. Snapd responded by taking the #2 Men’s Doubles as Steven Schwartzentruber and Lanny Hoare defeated Larry Shurrie and Mike Schiedel 6-3 7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) . 

The #1 Ladies Doubles went to Donkers as Linda Doig and Maria Donkers scored a 6-2 6-2 win over Marta Andrekovic and Cox Wensink. There was a split in the #2 Ladies Doubles with Lindsay Murray and Nancy Chung of Donkers taking the first set 6-2 before Monica Eickmeyer and Michele Thomson of Snapd took the second set 6-3.

The #1 Mixed match went to Doig and Bast of Donkers 6-3 over Andrekovic and Parson. Donkers also took the #2 Mixed Doubles as Donkers and Noble edged Wensink and Schiedel 6-4. 

Snapd won the #3 Mixed match with Eickmeyer and Schwartzentruber doubling up Murray and Shurrie 6-3. Chung and Schiedel took the #4 Mixed for Donkers edging Thomson and Hoare 7-5.

The 8 to 4 win in sets for Donkers sends them to second place in the standings. Week 4 will see second place Donkers Agri take on fourth place Auto Works in the early game, while first place Sunrise Health Services faces third place Snapd in the late game.   Bill White

                                                 Bob Tamblyn cracks a backhand down the line in Stratford Tennis League men’s doubles action.    

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.

                                 Men’s ‘B’ champions Kevin Wood + Niko Htenas (London), finalists Dominic Sadowski (Toronto) + Graham Heaton (Stratford)

Week 2 of the Stratford Tennis League saw tight matches in both games. The early game had Auto Works facing off against Snapd. The match started with a split of sets in the Ladies #1 doubles as Marta Andrekovic and Cox Wensink of Snapd took the first set 6-4, while Johanna Billing and Nancy Rheaume of Auto Works won the second set 6-4. The Ladies #2 doubles also split sets as the Snapd pair of Monica Eickmeyer and Michele Thomson scored a 7-5 win in the first set and Auto Works’ Ginny Smith and Sandra Hofing took the second set 6-2. The splits continued in the Men’s #1 doubles as Grant McPherson and Pat McCarroll of Auto Works took the first set 7-5, while Chris Parson and Murray Schiedel of Snapd scored a 6-2 win in the second set. Ryan Lay and Lanny Hoare of Snapd won the first set of the Men’s #2 doubles 6-3 before John Fischer and Stuart Arkett of Auto Works rebounded to take the second set 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker). All splits in the doubles had the teams tied heading into the mixed doubles matches. 

The #1 Mixed match went to Auto Works as Billings and McPherson downed Andrekovic and Parson 6-1. Rheaume and McCarroll took the #2 match for Auto Works with a 6-2 victory over Wensink and Schiedel. The #3 Mixed match also went to Auto Works as Smith and Fischer doubled up Eickmeyer and Lay 6-3. Snapd took the #4 Mixed with Thomson and Hoare downed Hofing and Arkett 6-4. The mixed doubles success allowed Auto Works to win the match 7 sets to 5 sets.

The late game had Donkers Agri take on Sunrise Health Services. The match opened with a split in the Ladies #1 doubles as Linda Doig and Maria Donkers of Donkers took the first set 6-2 while  Sandie Ennett and Naomi Lange of Sunrise won the second set 7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker). Another split happened in the Ladies #2 doubles with Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes of Sunrise winning 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) in the first set before Lindsay Murray and Nancy Chung of Donkers rebounded to take the second set 6-1. The Men’s #1 doubles went to Sunrise as Bob Tamblyn and Luke Fischer scored a 6-3 6-4 victory over Richard Bast and John Noble. Donkers won the Men’s #2 doubles as Larry Shurrie and Marcel Lundrigan took out Cameron Kramer and Jagdish Patel 6-1 6-4. Once again teams headed to the mixed matches tied with 4 sets each.

Donkers won the #1 Mixed match up as Doig and Bast scored a 6-2 win over Ennett and Tamblyn. Sunrise won the #2 Mixed match with Lange and Fischer downing Donkers and Noble 6-4. Leasa and Kramer of Sunrise won the #3 Mixed with a 6-4 victory over Murray and Schiedel. Sunrise also took the #4 Mixed as Holmes and Patel edged Chung and Ciaran Buckley 6-4. Sunrise won the match 7 sets to 5 sets in another close match.

After 2 weeks there is a tie for first place in the standings as Donkers Agri and Sunrise Health Services each have 13 total sets won; while Auto Works and Snapd are tied for third place with 11 sets each. Next week Sunrise Health Services and Auto Works will meet in the early game, while Donkers Agri faces Snapd in the late game.

Bill White

                                             John Fischer of Auto Works hits his serve in men’s doubles play

The Stratford Tennis Club hosted a men’s and ladies doubles tournament for club members this past weekend. The annual Super Set Doubles event had 24 total teams competing. Teams were guaranteed to play 3 matches in the ‘pro set’ format. The glorious weather and many spectators made this a great day at the Stratford Tennis Club. 

                                             Deb Murphy and Johanna Billings – Ladies ‘A’ Doubles Champions

                                          Grant McPherson and Jeremy Chisholm – Men’s ‘A’ Doubles Champions

The 2015 Stratford Tennis League began play this week. The regular season involves a round robin schedule between the four teams of club players

The early game saw Snap’d take on Sunrise Health Services. The #1 men’s doubles saw a split of sets as Chris Parson and Murray Schiedel of Snap’d took the first set 6-4, with Bob Tamblyn and Wayne Carney of Sunrise winning the second set 6-3. The #2 men’s doubles went to Snap’d as Steven Schwartzentruber and Lanny Hoare downed Jared Larder and Stefan Anderson 6-4 6-4. The #1 ladies doubles had Sandie Ennett and Naomi Lange of Sunrise dominate Marta Andrekovic and Cox Wensink scoring a 6-2 6-1 victory. There was a split of sets in the #2 ladies doubles as Carmen Miron and Michele Thomson of Snap’d took the first set 6-4 before Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes of Sunrise rebounded to take the second set 6-1. This meant the teams were tied with 4 sets each heading into the mixed doubles matches.

The #1 mixed doubles went to Sunrise as Ennett and Tamblyn defeated Andrekovic and Parson 6-2. Sunrise took the #2 mixed match 6-2 as Lange and Carney took down Wensink and Schiedel. The #3 mixed match had Miron and Schwartzentruber of Snap’d win 6-2 over Leasa and Larder. Thomson and Hoare of Snap’d dominated the #4 mixed match shutting out Holmes and Anderson 6-0 . This meant the first game of the 2015 season ended in a tie as both teams won 6 sets.

The late game had Auto Works facing Donkers Agri. The #1 men’s doubles went to Donkers with Richard Bast and John Noble downing Pat McCarroll and Cameron Kramer 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) 6-1. Larry Shurrie and Mike Schiedel of Donkers took the #2 men’s doubles with a 6-4 6-0 win over Marcel Lundrigan and Stuart Arkett. The #1 ladies doubles went to Auto Works as Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy edged Linda Doig and Maria Donkers 7-5 7-5. The  #2 ladies doubles  were split. Monica Eickmeyer and Nancy Chung scored a 6-3 victory over Nancy Rheaume and Sandra Hofing in the first set but the latter won 6-0 in the second set.  Donkers took a 5 sets to 3 sets lead as the teams headed into the mixed doubles matches.

Doig and Bast dominated the #1 mixed scoring a 6-0 win over Billings and McCarroll. The domination continued as Donkers and Noble of Donkers shut out Murphy and Kramer 6-0 in the #2 mixed match. Auto Works got back on the board scoring a 6-2 victory in the #3 mixed as Rheaume and Lundrigan took out Eickmeyer and Shurrie. The #4 mixed match went to Auto Works as Hofing and Arkett doubled up Chung and Schiedel 6-3 .  The match ended with Donkers Agri taking 7 sets to 5 sets for Auto Works.

Week 2 will see Auto Works take on Snap’d in the early game while Sunrise Health Services faces Donkers Agri in the late game. 

Bill White

Jared Larder of Sunrise Health Services hit a serve in the men’s doubles match week 1 of the Stratford Tennis League.

EVENT DETAILS COMING SOON!

The Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam kicked off this past weekend with the Stratford Tennis Club hosting the “Australian Open”. On a beautiful day for tennis, over 30 junior tennis players participated in the event, many making their first tournament appearance. 

The Girls Under 16 event saw Mackenzie Dumais edge Ashley Humphrey 8-6 in the final. This is Dumais’ first title at the Club. Humphrey was the junior girl player of the year in 2014 and had taken the title in her last six tournament, but Dumais proved the steadier player and took the gold medal in an impressive performance. The consolation final was also a close match where Megan Furlong took the title with an 8-6 victory over Beatriz Trillo-Torres.

The Boys Under 14 event was dominated by Michael Vandewiel. Vandewiel cruised through the event including the title match where he scored an 8-1 win over Ethan Misener. The consolation final had Evan Fortin double up Declan Feore 8-4 to take the title.

The Boys Under 16 event was full of close , high calibre matches. The final was the match of the day. After fighting off a match point, Matthew Vandewiel came back to win the championship 8-7 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) over Marcel Lundrigan. Lundrigan lived and died on his serve, hitting several aces and service winners but tossed in too many double faults. Vandewiel proved that steady play can win in the end. The consolation final saw the title go to Evan Moorehead who downed Will Thibeault 8-5.

The second leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty, the “French Open” will take place at the Club on Saturday, June 27. 

                                                 Ashley Humphrey (runner up), Mackenzie Dumais (champion)

                                                      Michael Vandewiel (champion)  , Ethan Misener  (runner up)

                                                       Matthew Vandewiel  (champion) , Marcel Lundrigan  (runner up)

In 2012, the Stratford Tennis Club partnered with the Ontario Tennis Association ( OTA ), to provide free demonstrations of Progressive Tennis in a number of schools in Stratford. These included Bedford , St. Ambrose, Jeanne Sauve, St. Joseph’s, Anne Hathaway, St. Aloysius, Avon, and Hamlet Public Schools. Over 1500 students received instruction in Progressive Tennis, using the light, short racquets, the soft, over sized balls and the smaller nets, which are all key components of the program. Joel Imamovic, an OTA Nationally Certified Coach, led the workshops. The demonstration days were a huge success and there was positive feedback from both students and educators alike.

The Stratford Tennis Club is pleased to offer two instructional programs to educators in 2020 . Program One will be available from April to June. Program Two is available only in May and June. A brief summary of each program is outlined below. Please email stevschw@gmail.com (anytime) or call the club at 272 – 0062 (May to June) with your preferred dates, and we will try our best to accommodate your requests. You may also email us at info@stratfordtennisclub.com for more information.

PROGRAM ONE : Tennis Instruction at Your School

Our certified Tennis Pro (from the Stratford Tennis Club) and an assistant, will conduct the program with supervision provided by the classroom teachers. All the necessary equipment will be brought to the school gym and our Pro will instruct from 4 – 5 classes according to a time schedule provided by the school staff. The ideal age group is Grades 1 to 6. The time frame is 9am to 2:30pm. The cost of this program is $200 for the day.

PROGRAM TWO :  Schools Visit the Stratford Tennis Club

Our Club Tennis Pro and an assistant, will conduct the program with supervision provided by the classroom teacher, on our 2 hard courts and practice wall. All the necessary equipment is provided by the club. The ideal level is Grades 6 to 12, however younger classes may be accommodated. The cost of this program remains at $100 for 1 hour and $175 for 2 hours.

The Stratford Tennis Club recently held their annual awards ceremony. In addition to presenting medals and trophies to the Club Champions, the Club saluted its special award winners.

The 2014 Jerry Johnson Award for sportsmanship and love of the game was presented to junior, Kaitlyn Mathieson, and adult recipient Wayne Carney. Both Kaitlyn and Wayne embodied what the award represents by their active participation at the Club and their sportsmanship both on and off the court.

The Rebecca Miskin Award for member of the year was awarded to Steven Schwartzentruber. Steven not only won another Club Championship this season (Men’s ‘B’ Singles) but was a constant presence at the Club helping the juniors with their games and assisting in the running of all the Club programs. 

Bill White

 

The STRATFORD TENNIS CLUB held its annual Masters Doubles Tournament September 20th. The breezy but beautiful conditions led to a great day of play and socializing.

The Men’s Doubles ‘A’ final saw three time defending champions Bill White and Zdenko Andrekovic taking on Paul Coates and Larry Shurrie. White, playing for the first time in 5 weeks due to an arm injury, and Andrekovic, advanced to the final by playing a steady game with Andrekovic’s backhand volley being the dominant shot. Shurrie, who advanced to the final in 2012 with Pat McCarroll, used his big serve and great hands at the net to match the smart and steady play of Coates to book their spot in the final.

The championship match went back and forth until it reached 4 games all. After Andrekovic held his serve for a 5-4 lead he and White broke Shurrie’s serve to break the match open. After another service hold, White and Andrekovic broke again to secure their fourth straight Masters title with an 8-4 victory. 

The Men’s ‘A’ consolation title match was dominated by Jason Erb and Wayne Carney. The first year players at the Club rode Erb’s big, lefty serve and Carney’s quickness around the court to dispatch Brent Hiller and Murray Schiedel 8-2 in the final.

The Men’s ‘B’ final went the distance. In the end, Pat McCarroll and Jagdish Patel edged Stuart Arkett and Mike Furlong 8-7, to win the tie breaker 7-2 .

The Ladies Doubles ‘A’ final was going to see a new champion. Gail Shelton and Cathy Mowbray had advanced to their first final with very impressive wins. In the final they would face Ginny Smith and Janet Bradley. Bradley, in her first season at the Club, teamed up with long time member Smith to out steady opponents on their way to the final. The championship match was as close as it could get. Neither team could get an advantage as the match advanced to the inevitable tie breaker to decide the title. At 6 points to 5 Smith and Bradley had one more match point and this time got the job done. The 8-7 (7 points to 5 in the tie breaker) win gave Smith and Bradley the 2014 championship.

The Ladies ‘A’ consolation champions were Nancy Chung and Erma Weernink who downed Barb Thibeault and Allison Hiller. The final featured many long rallies but in the end Chung and Weernink took the title with an 8-5 victory.

The Ladies ‘B’ final was also a long, close match. The title eventually was won by Monica Eickmeyer and Marilyn Leasa who downed Liana DeJong and Lindsay Murray 8  to 6.

The Ladies ‘B’ consolation final saw first time tournament entrants Gayle Brooks and Liz Yundt take out Caryn Scott and Noella Schiedel 8-3 to win the crown.

Play was followed by a wonderful pot luck supper with music and laughter ending a great day at the Club.

 Bill White

(l to r)   Zdenko Andrekovic and Bill White (Men’s ‘A’ Champions), Ginny Smith and Janet Bradley (Ladies ‘A’ Champions)