The rain delayed week 7 of the Stratford Tennis League has been completed and caused a major shake up in the standings. The early game saw Physiotherapy Associates dominate SNAP. Physio took the #1 men’s doubles 6-3 6-3 as Richard Bast and Murray Schiedel downed Chris Parson and Spencer Trachsel. Tom Warnock and Garth Nussey of Physio won the #2 men’s doubles over Jack Watson and Sing Chung 6-2 6-0. SNAP rebounded in the #1 ladies doubles as Marta Andrekovic and Claire Scott scored a 6-1 6-3 win over Johanna Billings and Annette Garneau. Physio’s Marilyn Leasa and Sandie Ennett defeated Cathy Mowbray and Noelle Schiedel 6-2 6-4 in the #2 ladies doubles.

The #1 mixed doubles went to Billings and Bast of Physio 6-2 over Andrekovic and Parson. SNAP won the #2 mixed doubles as Scott and Trachsel  defeated Garneau and Schiedel 6-3. The #3 mixed doubles went to Leasa and Warnock of Physio as they downed Mowbray and Watson 6-2. Physio’s big night concluded when their #4 mixed team of Ennett and Nussey scored a 6-1 victory over Schiedel and Chung. The 9 sets to 3 sets win for Physio gave them 46 points for the season.

The late game had Jolanda’s Diet Secret take it to Donkers Agri. The #1 men’s doubles went to Jolanda’s as John Noble and Nathan Walsh won 6-4 6-2 over Bill White and Grant McPherson. The #2 men’s doubles was won by Donkers as Jim Wilson and Gary Henry took out Pat McCarroll and Stuart Arkett 6-3 7-5. The #1 ladies doubles was won by Jolanda’s as Krista Plociennik and Deb Murphy edged Linda Doig and Lise Couture 6-3  7-5. Gail Shelton and Ivy Chung gave Jolanda’s another win as they defeated Sandie Ennett and Louise Lever 7-5  6-2 in the #2 ladies doubles.

The mixed doubles saw domination by Jolanda’s. The #1 mixed doubles had Plociennik and Noble of Jolanda’s pound Doig and White 6-1. Jolanda’s #2 mixed team was just as dominating as Murphy and Walsh whipped Couture and McPherson 6-1. Shelton and McCarroll took the #3 mixed doubles for Jolanda’s with a 6-3 win over Ennett and Wilson. Donkers finally got a mixed win as Lever and Henry took the #4 mixed doubles 6-2 over Chung and Arkett.

With the 9 sets to 3 sets victory Jolanda’s jumped past Donkers in the standings leaving Donkers who has lead the standings all season in third place.

The standings after 7 weeks of play are :  1. Physiotherapy Associates  46 points ; 2. Jolanda’s Diet Secret  44 points ; 3. Donkers Agri  43 points ;  4. SNAP  35 points. The week 8 match ups see Physio face Donkers in the early game and Jolanda’s face SNAP in the late game.        

Week 6 of the Stratford Tennis League took place this week. In the early game SNAP had their three week winning streak snapped as Donkers Agri doubled up on them winning 8 sets to 4. Donkers #1 men’s doubles team of Bob Tamblyn and Bill White dominated the SNAP team of Grant McPherson and John Fischer 6-0  6-1. The #2 men’s doubles also went to Donkers as Travis Hiller and Jagdish Patel edged Paul Barclay and Gary Henry  6-4  6-4. SNAP took the #1 ladies doubles 6-2  7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) as Marta Andrekovic and Nancy Rheaume downed Maria Donkers and Sandie Ennett. Donkers got back in the winning column with Sandra Darby and Louise Lever taking the #2 ladies doubles  6-0  6-2 over Stacey Wlson and Monika Andrekovic.

The #1 mixed doubles went to SNAP as Marta Andrekovic and McPherson took out Donkers and Tamblyn  6-3. Rheaume and Fischer won the #2 mixed doubles for SNAP 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) over Ennett and White. Donkers’ Darby and Hiller scored a 6-2 victory over Wilson and Barclay in the #3 mixed doubles. A tie-breaker decided the #4 mixed doubles as Lever and Patel of Donkers edged Monika Andrekovic and Henry 7 points to 3. The 8 sets to 4 sets win for Donkers keeps the team in first place in the standings.

The late game was a battle between Jolanda’s Diet Secret and Physiotherapy Associates. In the #1 men’s doubles Physio’s Richard Bast and Murray Schiedel took the first set 6-3 , while Jolanda’s John Noble and Nathan Walsh took the second set 6-4. Physio breezed in the #2 men’s doubles as Tom Warnock and Gary Henry drubbed Cameron Kramer and Stuart Arkett 6-0  6-2. The #1 ladies doubles saw Jolanda’s Krista Plociennik and Deb Murphy rout Johanna Billings and Ginny Smith 6-2  6-0. The #2 ladies doubles was split as Jolanda’s Monica Eickmeyer and Jolanda Vandereigt won the first set 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) and Physio’s Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes took the second set 6-4.

The #1 mixed doubles went to Jolanda’s Plociennik and Noble 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) over Billings and Bast. Physio took the #2 mixed as Smith and Schiedel defeated Murphy and Walsh 6-2. Physio also took the #3 mixed doubles as Leasa and Warnock scored a 6-2 win over Eickmeyer and Kramer. The #4 mixed doubles went to Jolanda’s as Vandereigt and Arkett took out Holmes and Henry 6-2. The teams ended the evening winning 6 sets each meaning that Physiotherapy Associates maintained its 2 point lead over Jolanda’s Diet Secret in the standings.

After 6 weeks Donkers leads the standings with 40 points. Physiotherapy Associates are in second place with 37 points , while Jolanda’s Diet Secret has 35 points. SNAP sits in fourth place with 32 points. Week 7 will see Physiotherapy Associates take on SNAP in the early game and Donkers Agri faces Jolanda’s Diet Secret in the late game.  

Bill White

The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Super Set Tournaments this past weekend. The singles events were played on Saturday, with the doubles events scheduled for play on the Sunday.

The men’s ‘A’ singles proved once again that Max Besworth is the city’s best tennis player. Besworth defended his Super Set title cruising through the draw losing only 2 games in his four matches. Besworth is the two time MVP of the University of Western Ontario tennis team and will compete in the university national championships in Montreal this August. Facing Besworth in the ‘A’ final was Spencer Trachsel. Trachsel was the talk of the tournament as he scored upset after upset to reach the final. Trachsel took out the #2 seed John Noble in the second round 8-7 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker), then downed the #6 seed Greg Vivian 8-5 in the quarterfinals, and in the semifinals Trachsel overcame a 6-2 deficit to score an 8-6 win over #3 seed Richard Bast. But in the final Trachsel was no match for Besworth as Max scored an easy 8-1 win to take the ‘A’ championship. 

The men’s ‘A’ consolation title went to Murray Schiedel. Schiedel, the crafty left hander, took down teenager John Fischer 8-4 in the final. Jim Wilson won the men’s ‘B’ title with a convincing 8-3 win over Michael Blackburn. The men’s ‘B’ consolation final was a battle of youngsters, with Ryan Lay taking the championship 8-4 over Leam Hughes.

The Ladies ‘A’ singles final was a battle between the city’s best two female players. #1 seed Krista Plociennik cruised through her side of the draw, and #2 seed Claire Scott was just as dominant on her half of the draw. In a great final that featured some spectacular shot making and brilliant winners Plociennik was able to edge Scott in a tie-breaker. The 8-7 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) win for Plociennik was one of the best ladies matches in years at the Stratford Tennis Club.

The Ladies ‘A’ consolation title was won by Marta Andrekovic 8-3 over Sandie Ennett. Monica Eickmeyer scored an 8-3 victory over Erma Weernick to take the Ladies ‘B’ title. The Ladies ‘B’ consolation final saw Maria Donkers double up Gail Shelton 8-4.

 The doubles events were well on their way when the rains put a halt to play. The teams will resume play when they can arrange the time. A full recap will follow when play is completed.

The third leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam was held at the Stratford Tennis Club this weekend. The “Wimbledon” event saw the junior girls compete against the boys in the Under 14 event. The Boys Under 18 event was once again dominated by Grant McPherson. McPherson had won the Boys Under 14 title in the opening Australian Open event, and took the Under 18 title in the French Open. The Wimbledon final was a rematch of the French Open final as John Fischer faced off against McPherson. Once again McPherson proved too strong for Fischer as he downed Fischer 8-3 in the final. The consolation title went to Tim Clay. Clay unleashed his powerful forehand all day and rolled to the Under 18 consolation title with an 8-3 win over Collin Rose.

The Boys Under 14 champion is Evan Moorehead. Moorehead played steady tennis all day and continued his fine play in the final where he took out Ryan Lay 8-5. This is Moorehead’s first Grand Slam title. The consolation final saw one of the girls take on one of the boys. Nicolle Crowley lost her main round match to eventual champion Moorehead, but could not be stopped in the consolation. Dropping only 2 games in her three consolation matches Crowley cruised to the title with an 8-0 win over Zach Misener.

The fourth and final Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam event, the “US Open”, will be held on Saturday, July 28.

Bill White

Picture 1 (l to r)  Ryan Lay , boys under 14 runner up  +  Evan Moorehead , boys under 14 champion

Picture 2 (l to r)  John Fischer , boys under 18 runner up + Grant McPherson, boys under 18 champion 

 Week 3 of the Stratford Tennis League is in the books. The early game saw PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES regain their winning form as they scored a  9 – 3 win over JOLANDA’S DIET SECRET. Richard Bast and Tom Warnock of PHYSIO took the #1 men’s doubles 6-1  6-2 over Nathan Walsh and Paul Barclay. The #2 men’s doubles also went to PHYSIO as Todd Chisholm and Gary Henry downed Cameron Kramer and Stuart Arkett 7-5  6-1. JOLANDA’S #1 ladies doubles team of Krista Plociennik and Deb Murphy got their team on the scoreboard with a 6-0  6-0 pasting of Johanna Billings and Annette Garneau. PHYSIO’s Ginny Smith and Marilyn Leasa got PHYSIO back on the winning track in the #2 ladies doubles with a 6-2  6-3 win over Jolanda Vandereigk and Monica Eickmeyer.

JOLANDA’S took the #1 mixed match as Plociennik and Walsh dominated Billings and Bast 6-1. PHYSIO’s Garneau and Warnock scored a 6-3 win over Murphy and Barclay in the #2 mixed match. Smith and Chisholm won the #3 mixed for PHYSIO with a 6-3 downing of Vandereigk and Kramer. PHYSIO completed their impressive victory with a 6-0 win by Leasa and Henry over Eickmeyer and Arkett in the #4 mixed match. The 9 sets to 3 sets victory by PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES moves them back into second place in the Startford Tennis League standings.

The late game saw DONKERS AGRI’s winning streak get snapped as SNAP scored a 7 – 5 victory. The #1 men’s doubles was a split as SNAP’s Chris Parson and Greg Vivian took the first set 6-3 , while DONKERS’ Bob Tamblyn and Bill White rebounded to take the second set 6-2. Jack Watson and Larry Shurrie of SNAP won the first set of the #2 men’s doubles 6-4 but Mike Furlong and Brian Arens of DONKERS evened the match with a 6-3 win in the second set. SNAP took the first set of the ladies #1 doubles as Marta Andrekovic and Nancy Rheaume edged Linda Doig and Maria Donkers 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) while Doig and Donkers scored a 7-5 win in the second set. Nancy Chung and Cathy Mowbray of SNAP won both sets of the ladies #2 doubles , scoring a 6-1  6-4 victory over Lise Couture and Sandra Darby.

Doig and Tamblyn won the #1 mixed match for DONKERS with a 7-5 victory over Andrekovic and Parson. SNAP’s Rheaume and Vivian took the #2 mixed 6-4 over Donkers and White. The #3 mixed also went to SNAP as Chung and Watson defeated Couture and Furlong 6-3. DONKERS took the #4 mixed as Darby and Arens edged Mowbray and Shurrie  7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker). The 7 sets to 5 sets victory for SNAP gave DONKERS their first loss of the season. DONKERS remains in top spot in the standings while SNAP’s first victory moves them 2 points out of third place.

Week 4 will see this week’s losing teams JOLANDA’S DIET SECRET and DONKERS AGRI face off in the early game; while PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES will take on SNAP in the late game.

  Week 3 of the Stratford Tennis League is in the books. The early game saw PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES regain their winning form as they scored a 9 – 3 win over JOLANDA’S DIET SECRET. Richard Bast and Tom Warnock of PHYSIO took the #1 men’s doubles 6-1  6-2 over Nathan Walsh and Paul Barclay. The #2 men’s doubles also went to PHYSIO as Todd Chisholm and Gary Henry downed Cameron Kramer and Stuart Arkett 7-5  6-1. JOLANDA’S #1 ladies doubles team of Krista Plociennik and Deb Murphy got their team on the scoreboard with a 6-0  6-0 pasting of Johanna Billings and Annette Garneau. PHYSIO’s Ginny Smith and Marilyn Leasa got PHYSIO back on the winning track in the #2 ladies doubles with a 6-2  6-3 win over Jolanda Vandereigk and Monica Eickmeyer.

JOLANDA’S took the #1 mixed match as Plociennik and Walsh dominated Billings and Bast 6-1. PHYSIO’s Garneau and Warnock scored a 6-3 win over Murphy and Barclay in the #2 mixed match. Smith and Chisholm won the #3 mixed for PHYSIO with a 6-3 downing of Vandereigk and Kramer. PHYSIO completed their impressive victory with a 6-0 win by Leasa and Henry over Eickmeyer and Arkett in the #4 mixed match. The 9 sets to 3 sets victory by PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES moves them back into second place in the Startford Tennis League standings.

The late game saw DONKERS AGRI’s winning streak get snapped as SNAP scored a 7 – 5 victory. The #1 men’s doubles was a split as SNAP’s Chris Parson and Greg Vivian took the first set 6-3 , while DONKERS’ Bob Tamblyn and Bill White rebounded to take the second set 6-2. Jack Watson and Larry Shurrie of SNAP won the first set of the #2 men’s doubles 6-4 but Mike Furlong and Brian Arens of DONKERS evened the match with a 6-3 win in the second set. SNAP took the first set of the ladies #1 doubles as Marta Andrekovic and Nancy Rheaume edged Linda Doig and Maria Donkers 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) while Doig and Donkers scored a 7-5 win in the second set. Nancy Chung and Cathy Mowbray of SNAP won both sets of the ladies #2 doubles , scoring a 6-1  6-4 victory over Lise Couture and Sandra Darby.

Doig and Tamblyn won the #1 mixed match for DONKERS with a 7-5 victory over Andrekovic and Parson. SNAP’s Rheaume and Vivian took the #2 mixed 6-4 over Donkers and White. The #3 mixed also went to SNAP as Chung and Watson defeated Couture and Furlong 6-3. DONKERS took the #4 mixed as Darby and Arens edged Mowbray and Shurrie  7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker). The 7 sets to 5 sets victory for SNAP gave DONKERS their first loss of the season. DONKERS remains in top spot in the standings while SNAP’s first victory moves them 2 points out of third place.

Week 4 will see this week’s losing teams JOLANDA’S DIET SECRET and DONKERS AGRI face off in the early game; while PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES will take on SNAP in the late game.

Bill White

 This weekend the Stratford Tennis Club held the second leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam. The “French Open” had competitors in two age categories for the boys and one category for the girls. The Boys Under 18 category saw many of the younger players move up an age group and take on the older boys.

Grant McPherson, who won the Australian Open in the Under 14 category, showed he belonged in the older age group. McPherson advanced to the final where he took on Boys Under 18 Australian Open champion John Fischer. In the final McPherson scored an 8-5 victory to take the Boys Under 18 French Open title. The consolation title went to Ben Nelson. Nelson lost a heartbreaking first round match 8-7 to finalist John Fischer but won three rounds in the consolation division, taking the final 8-3 over Lukas Kaufman. 

The Boys Under 14 category saw the #1 and #2 seeds upset in the semifinals. Joe Yundt took out #1 seed Stefan Andrekovic in one semifinal, advancing to his first Grand Slam final. In the other semifinal #2 seed Luke McCarroll fell to Ryan Lay sending Lay into the final. Lay continued his stellar play downing Yundt 8-2 in the championship match to claim the Boys Under 14 title. The consolation final saw Michael Vandeweil take the title with an 8-0 drubbing of Dorian Redfern.

The Girls final once again saw a battle between sisters Sonja and Alexandra Andrekovic. Sonja continued her domination of Grand Slam events, winning the French Open final 8-5 adding to her Australian Open championship won last month. Australian Open finalist Nicolle Crowley fell to the consolation round this tournament where she defeated Jenna Lobsinger 8-3 to take the French Open consolation title. 

Next up for juniors at the Stratford Tennis Club is the Optimist Junior Tennis Day; Saturday, June 23. Open to members and non-members the Optimist Day should see many young tennis enthusiasts having a great morning of tennis fun. The Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam continues with the “Wimbledon” event on July 7. 

This week the Stratford Tennis League completed week 2 of its 9 week regular season. The early game saw last weeks winners face off against each other. Last week both PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES and DONKERS AGRI scored impressive victories. This week is was all DONKERS AGRI. DONKERS got the winning started with its #1 ladies doubles team of Linda Doig and Maria Donkers taking down Johanna Billings and Annette Garneau 7-5  6-4. The #2 ladies doubles also went to DONKERS as Sandie Ennett and Louise Lever scored a 6-4 6-2 over Ginny Smith and Marilyn Holmes. The #1 men’s doubles had Bob Tamblyn and Bill White of DONKERS double up Richard Bast and Tom Warnock  6-3  6-3. DONKERS completed the sweep in the #2 men’s doubles with Brent Hiller and Mike Furlong scoring a 6-3  6-4 win over Todd Chisholm and Garth Nussey.

PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES finally got on the board in the mixed doubles matches. The #1 mixed match was won by PHYSIO’s Billings and Bast as they downed Doig and Tamblyn  6-4. PHYSIO’s Garneau and Warnock then took the #2 mixed 6-3 over Donkers and White. Smith and Chisholm won the #3 mixed for PHYSIO as they defeated Ennett and Hiller 6-4. DONKERS finally got back on the winning side as Lever and Furlong topped Holmes and Nussey in the #4 mixed match. This was the second straight 9 sets to 3 victory for DONKERS AGRI putting them in first place in the league standings.

The late game also saw one team dominate as JOLANDA’S DIET SECRET easily handled SNAP. The #1 ladies doubles had JOLANDA’S Krista Plociennik and Deb Murphy winning 6-1  6-3 over Marta Andrekovic and Nancy Chung. Gail Shelton and Monica Eickmeyer won the #2 ladies doubles for JOLANDA’S 6-2  6-1 over Cathy Mowbray and Noella Schiedel. The #1 men’s doubles went to JOLANDA’S 6-1 6-1 as John Noble and Nathan Walsh crushed Chris Parson and Greg Vivian. SNAP got their first wins in the #2 men’s doubles as Jack Watson and Larry Shurrie took down Pat McCarroll and Kosmo Kramer 6-4 7-5.

The #1 mixed doubles went to JOLANDA’S with Plociennik and Noble beating Andrekovic and Parson 6-1. Murphy and Walsh scored a 6-2 victory over Chung and Vivian to take the #2 mixed doubles set for JOLANDA’S. The #3 mixed also went to JOLANDA’S as Shelton and McCarroll took out Mowbray and Watson 6-1. The #4 mixed was won by SNAP with Schiedel and Shurrie defeating Eickmeyer and Kramer 6-2. The 9 sets to 3 victory for JOLANDA’S moves the team into second place after two weeks of play.

Next weeks match ups will see PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSOCIATES take on JOLANDA’S DIET SECRET in the early game and SNAP will face DONKERS AGRI in the late game.

This weekend the Tennis Access Tour made its annual stop at the Stratford Tennis Club. Players from across the province made their way to the Stratford Club for rain delayed men’s and ladies doubles on Saturday, and battled the heat on Sunday to compete in the mixed doubles event. Players from the host Club had a great weekend with winners or finalists in 5 of the 6 events, making this the most successful tennis access event for Stratford players in history.
For the first time in over 25 years a Stratford player was on the winning men’s ‘A’ doubles team. Max Besworth and his partner Matt Jaekel (London) dominated every match they played on Saturday including the ‘A’ final where the scored an 8 – 3 victory over Scott Barrett and Colin Doll of Toronto. The men’s ‘B’ final saw Stratford’s John Noble and Richard Bast get off to a great start before running out of gas and falling 8 – 5 to Collingwood’s Paul Cornfield and Bob Coady.
 The Ladies ‘A’ championship went to Sandra Barrett and Sue Scharlach of Toronto who downed Sara Arashmin and Cheryl Burrows of Ajax in the final 8 games to 5. The ladies ‘B’ final was an all Stratford affair, and the closest final of the weekend. Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy were able to edge Maria Donkers and Sandie Ennett 8 -7 (7 points to 1 in the tie-breaker) to take the title.
 Stratford took a part of the mixed ‘A’ title as the home club’s Bob Tamblyn teamed with Barrett to defeat Scharlach and Doll 8 – 6 in a well played final. Stratford’s Grant McPherson, at 13 by far the youngest competitor in the event, put on a great display in the mixed doubles. Grant teamed with Cheryl Burrows (Ajax) to have one impressive win after another, advancing to the mixed ‘B’ final where they fell 8 – 0 to Porjai Jansresattana and Steve Rumazza of Milton.

Men’s Doubles ‘A’ Champions (l to r) Matt Jaekel (London) and Max Besworth (Stratford)

Mixed Doubles ‘A’ (l to r) Champions Bob Tamblyn (Stratford) + Sandie Ennett (Toronto), Finalists Colin Doll + Sue Scharlach (Toronto)

Ladies Doubles ‘B’ (l to r) Finalists Maria Donkers + Sandie Ennett (Stratford), Champions Johanna Billings + Deb Murphy (Stratford)

Bill White