The Stratford Tennis Club hosted its annual Tennis Access doubles tournaments this past weekend under perfect weather conditions. The men’s and ladies doubles tournament was held Saturday while the mixed doubles event took place on Sunday. Players from around the province competed against the top players from the Stratford Tennis Club, providing some high level competition. Once again this year, the home players put on an impressive display with winners in 5 of the 6 events. 

The Ladies Doubles had Stratford winners in both ‘A’ and ‘B’ categories. The ‘A’ final saw the home club’s team of Krista Plociennik and Marta Andrekovic take the championship with an 8-4 win over Sandra Barrett and Edith Howden of Toronto. The ‘B’ championship also went to a Stratford team as Johanna Billings and Debbie Murphy defeated Linda Ellis and Theresa Ho of Toronto 8-1 in the final.

The Men’s ‘A’ champions were Matt Brown and Sun Min Yoon of Waterloo who scored an 8-6 victory over Joe Hock of Barrie and Mustapha Jamal of Hamilton in the final. The ‘B’ final was contested by Stratford players. Shannon Dyke and Spencer Trachsel of Stratford took the title with an 8-4 win over Greg Vivian of Stratford and Jeff Guse of Cambridge. 

Sunday’s Mixed Doubles also saw Stratford players finding success. Stratford’s Bob Tamblyn and his partner Sandra Barrett of Toronto defended the ‘A’ title they won last year by defeating Natalia and Sergey Borodulin of Mississauga 8-6 in the final. The ‘B’ champions were the home club’s Claire Scott and Greg Vivian . Scott and Vivian doubled up Karen Spisak and Adrian Faulkner of Toronto scoring an 8-4 victory in the final.

(L) Greg Vivian (Stratford) cracks a backhand on way to Mixed Doubles ‘B’ championship                                              

(R) Ladies Doubles ‘B’ champions Debbie Murphy & Johanna Billings (Stratford), runners up Linda Ellis & Theresa Ho (Toronto)

(L) Ladies Doubles ‘A’ champions Krista Plociennik & Marta Andrekovic (Stratford)  

(R) Men’s Doubles ‘B’ champions Spencer Trachsel & Shannon Dyke (Stratford), runners up Greg Vivian (Stratford)  & Jeff Guse (Cambridge)

Mixed Doubles ‘B’ finalists Adrian Faulkner & Karen Spisak (Toronto) Champions Claire Scott & Greg Vivian (Stratford)

 Mixed Doubles ‘A’ finalists Sergey & Natalia Borodulin (Mississauga)         
Champions Sandra Barrett (Toronto) & Bob Tamblyn (Stratford)

After a rain out last week the Stratford Tennis League finally got underway this week. This season the league is being sponsored by La DEBONAIRE SPA and HAIR DESIGN, SNAP, DONKERS AGRI and SUNRISE HEALTH SERVICES.

The early game had DONKERS AGRI facing LaDEBONAIRE HAIR DESIGN. Donkers took a big lead after the men’s doubles matches as Bob Tamblyn and Tom Warnock of Donkers downed Richard Bast and Grant McPherson of LaDebonaire 6-4 6-3 in the #1 men’s doubles. Mike Furlong and Todd Chisholm of Donkers took out Jack Watson and Sing Chung of LaDebonaire 6-4 6-1 in the #2 men’s doubles. LaDebonaire began its comeback in the ladies doubles. The #1 ladies doubles was a split as Donkers Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers took the first set 6-4 while LaDebonaire’s Krista Plociennik and Sandie Ennett scored a 6-2 win in the second set. LaDebonaire’s Ginny Smith and Sandra Hofing took both ladies #2 doubles sets defeating Heather Henke and Michele Thomson 6-4 6-1 . Donkers took a 5 sets to 3 sets heading into the mixed doubles matches.

The #1 mixed doubles match had LaDebonaires’s Plociennink and Bast edging Andrekovic and Tamblyn 6-4. Ennett and McPherson also scored a win for LaDebonaire with a 6-4 win over Donkers and Warnock in the #2 mixed match. LaDebonaire took the #3 mixed match when Smith and Watson blanked Henke and Furlong 6-0. Thomson and Chisholm salvaged the night for Donkers scoring a 6-4 victory over Hofing and Chung in the #4 mixed match. This left the first match of the season a tie with both teams winning 6 sets.

The late game was a battle between SUNRISE HEALTH SERVICES and SNAP. Snap took the #1 men’s doubles with Shannon Dyke and Chris Parson downing Sunrise’s Spencer Trachsel and Pat McCarroll 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) 6-3. The #2 men’s doubles was a split of sets with Sunrise’s Jagdish Patel and Paul Barclay taking the first set 6-4 and Snap’s Jim Wilson and Gary Henry taking the second set 6-2. Sunrise took the ladies #1 doubles as Claire Scott and Debbie Murphy scored a 6-2 and 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) win over Linda Doig and Johanna Billings. Nancy Rheaume and Marilyn Leasa of Sunrise took the first set in ladies #2 doubles 6-3 while Nancy Chung and Liz Yundt of Snap took the second set 7-5. The teams entered the mixed matches tied 4 sets each.

Snap took the #1 mixed match 6-2 as Doig and Dyke downed Scott and Trachsel. Sunrise won the #2 mixed with Murphy and McCarroll defeating Billings and Parson 6-4. The #3 mixed also went to Sunrise with Rheaume and Patel scoring a 6-4 victory over Chung and Wilson. Sunrise completed the comeback when they took the #4 mixed as Leasa and Barclay doubled up Yundt and Henry 6-3. The mixed success gave Sunrise a 7 sets to 5 sets win for the night.

Week 2 will see Sunrise Health Services face Donkers Agri in the early game and Snap take on LaDebonaire Hair Design in the late game. 

Heather Henke keeps her eye on the ball as she prepares to hit a backhand.

Bill White

JUNE E NEWS  Click to view.

The Stratford Tennis Club held the first leg of the Royal Le Page Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam this past weekend. The “Australian Open” saw competition in two age categories.
The boys under 18 category final was a family affair as brothers John and Luke Fischer faced each other for the title. The day belonged to Luke as he easily downed his older brother taking the championship 8 games to 3 games. The consolation title was won by Matt Vandeweil as he held off Collin Rose 8-6 to take the win.
In the boys under 15 category Evan Moorehead defended his title from last season. Moorehead defeated Luke McCarroll 8-5 in the final to win his second “Australian Open” championship. Ryan Lay took the consolation title with an 8-4 victory over Michael Vandeweil.

Left  Boys Under 18 champion Luke Fischer (L), runner up John Fischer (R)

Right Boys Under 15 champion Evan Moorehead (L) , runner up Luke McCarroll (R)

Under 18 champion Luke Fischer stretches for a short ball in title match.
 

MAY-E-NEWS Click to Read.

As part of our fundraising efforts, the STRATFORD TENNIS CLUB occasionally hosts a BINGO. A portion of the night’s proceeds go towards youth programs at the Club. We invite you to play Bingo on our hosting night, to help us raise funds . If you would like to volunteer and work that night rather than play, come a half hour earlier.  COME JOIN IN THE FUN!!!

  WHEN:   Friday June 7th                    TIME:   7:00pm  to 10:00pm

WHERE:   Stratford Agriplex ( upstairs ) 353 McCarthy Road                                                              

Bill White, our club manager, and his crew have worked very hard these past few days and the CLAY COURTS are now open! Don’t they look wonderful!

This season our club pro will be Greg Vivian. I am sure you all know Greg as he has been a valued staff member for several seasons. This year he moves up to head pro. Greg will be providing the group lessons and is available for private lessons for those interested. Contact the club for rates and available times. The clubhouse staff will be myself , Steven R. Schwartzentruber ,and Travis Hiller. Travis and Vienna Wilson will supervise our junior camps. This is an experienced staff and we know that this will ensure an enjoyable season for all.

Our free group lessons for all members return at the same scheduled times as last season. We encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity to improve your game and interact with other members. The round robins are back with the ladies playing Monday  7:00pm or 8:00pm and the men playing Thursday at 8:00pm. The weekly sign up sheets will be on the counter. The ‘Morning Group’ will continue to meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 8:30am. The Tennis League will once again go on Tuesday nights. To register, sign the sheet on the counter as soon as possible as league play will begin before the end of May. The FREE Kid’s Program will begin on Saturday, May 11th. Check the tournament schedule for the dates of your favorite events.

 We thank the Optimists Club for once again sponsoring a Junior Tennis Day on Saturday, June 22nd. Also thanks to Royal LePage Hiller Realty for again showing their generous support for junior tennis by sponsoring a grand slam of team tennis events. This event has a new format this year so please ask for  more details.  Last season we held a “Woods and Whites” event that included a round robin, costumes, and a silent auction. It was a GREAT day so we are doing it again this season (July 20th). Hopefully you can all participate in this fund raising and fun tennis event.

The best way to help out with our fund raising efforts would be to bring in another member to the club. If you know anyone who may be interested in joining the club invite them to our OPEN HOUSE WEEK. From May 6th to May 12th all play and programs are free to anyone who is interested. Both group lessons and the round robins begin this week. On Friday night ,May 10th, we will have an adult round robin and social. All levels of play are invited and a splendid time is guaranteed for all. Invite someone new to introduce to our great club, and have fun in the process.

The clubhouse will officially open for the season on SATURDAY, APRIL 27th. The nets should be up on the hard courts a few weeks before that so keep an eye on the club for your first opportunity to play tennis this season. I look forward to seeing you all soon. Let’s play !!!!

Bill White  –  Club Manager         

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank our members and friends for contributing to a successful 2012 season.  Our membership numbers were strong, our lessons and programs were well attended, and our fundraising efforts allowed us to replace our leaking clubhouse roof.

During 2012 we partnered with the Ontario Tennis Association to introduce Kids Tennis into local elementary schools.  Over 1500 children at eight different schools participated in this program.  Look for this program to be renewed in 2013.  Also new in 2012 was our Woods and Whites celebration day.  It was great to see so many supporters out having a fun time and we hope that it will become an annual highlight.

One of our challenges as a seasonal not-for-profit organization is to balance the budget.  We succeeded in 2012 with revenues and expenses of about $70,000.  While the Stratford Tennis Club is stable financially on an operating basis, we do need to fund raise to undertake club renewal projects.  For 2013, the Board has set a fundraising goal of $5000 to allow us to replace the aging flooring.  Members are encouraged to help however they can, whether by cash donation, working at a bingo, recruiting new members, or volunteering their time to help at events.

The club has applied for a Trillium grant for lighting repairs, replacement of the deck, and repaving of the practice wall area.  The successful applicants will be announced in April 2013.

We should all take great pride in our club as it has been a family friendly destination for more than 40 years.  2013 is shaping up to be another excellent year and I look forward to seeing you soon on the courts!

Bob Tamblyn
President

2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bob Tamblyn, President
John Noble, Past President
Lynn Bast, Treasurer
Richard Bast, Secretary
Zdenko Andrekovic
Nancy Chung
Stephen Fischer
Marilyn Holmes
Pat McCarroll
Caryn Scott
Shawna Stonehouse

Double Click on poster to enlargen.