Cleveland Masters Results
LISSY HILL
NOVEMBER 18, 2008
CLEVELAND, OH
The Cleveland Masters was played November 14-16 and included Men's Open, Women's Open and Men's 90+ divisions. Finals were held at Chagrin Valley Country Club.
Women's Open PCQ
| Draw |
Winners |
Finalists |
Score |
| Main |
Ward/Allen |
Nagy Dyminski |
6-1 /6-1 |
| Consolation |
Heil/Easdale |
Dudley/Lencewicz |
6-2/-6-1 |
| Reprieve |
Wilson/Kelley |
Mazzola/Ubersax |
7-5/6-2 |
| Last Chance |
Martin /Stover |
North/Lopresti |
|
Buffalo & WNY tournament
NOVEMBER 12, 2008
BUFFALO, NY
Leveraging the enthusiasm built from the APTA exhibition and clinic last month, Dave Jentsch, Bob Shookus, Chas Maloney and Chris Ross have put together a special one day tournament. The Buffalo and WNY Late Fall Invititational will be held on Saturday, November 22 at the Country Club of Buffalo, the Saturn Club and maybe East Aurora. Click here for the entry form and details.
Buffalo Clinic & Exhibition 2008
DAVE JENTSCH
OCTOBER 24, 2008
BUFFALO, NY
The Buffalo, NY platform tennis season opened quickly this year when Buffalo hosted an APTA exhibition and clinic on October 3rd and 4th. Inveterate veteran Fritz Odenbach arrived from nearby Rochester, NY with colleagues Sky Kalkman and Andy Thompson and teamed with Bob Considine from Paddlepro for the weekend. Festivities included a Friday night clinic, exhibition, open house, and dinner at the Country Club of Buffalo while Saturday festivities included clinics for kids, women, and men at the Saturn Club. More
Platform Tennis Comes to Buffalo! Mark your calendars!
On October 3rd and 4th, 2008, the American Platform Tennis Association (APTA) is bringing its professionals to Buffalo and putting on a series of exciting exhibitions and not-to-be-missed clinics.
On Friday the 3rd, there will be a late afternoon clinic for 'A' players. At 6:30 p.m., everyone and anyone is invited to an Open House at 6:30 p.m. at the Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville.
On Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and continuing throughout the day, there will be clinics for women, B/C players, and kids at the Saturn Club on Delaware Avenue.
These events are open to the public and everyone is invited -- not just to watch, but to play. Come prepared to participate, with comfortable clothes and sneakers. While an element of the exhibitions is to grow local enthusiasm and improve skill levels, our goal is to introduce new players to platform tennis.
Please invite your friends, neighbors, and kids so they can experience the thrill of this winter sport. Please contact any of us with questions: Dave Jentsch (East Aurora, 888-0297); Chas Maloney (Saturn Club, 362-9899); Bob Shookus (CCB, 830-3388); or Chris Ross (Buffalo Club, 830-1519).
The Midwest Platform Tennis Camp, Cincinnati, Ohio
Backhand volleys, soft into the screens, and shift with the ball. These “golden rules” of paddle tennis are the catch phrases to be used next month during the 3rd annual Midwest Platform Tennis Camp (MPTC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Camp instructors, Nancy Budde, Heather Prop, Lynne Schneebeck and Ann Turner plan to meet over 100 new and returning campers with these all important paddle phrases.
The four friends and paddle enthusiasts developed the idea for a paddle tennis camp two seasons ago after witnessing the surge of the game in the Cincinnati area. Their love of and devotion to platform tennis were perfect fits for this new endeavor. For one paddle packed week each September, the MPTC holds 3 hour sessions, morning, afternoon and evening. Many participants use the camp as a refresher course on the do’s and don’ts of paddle and as friendly reminders of the differences between paddle and that “other racquet sport”. Newcomers and beginners to the game learn valuable lessons such as how to play a tiebreaker, serve and first volleys, and how to play the screens. Paddle strategies, positioning, and shifting are also essential lessons taught to the beginner as well as the more advanced and seasoned player.
All important snacks, drinks, and new demo equipment courtesy of Wilson Sports greet each camper. Although it is not necessarily paddle weather, the warmer temperatures allow for plenty of time to retrieve balls off the screen and give each camper a well-earned physical workout. What better way to spend a day than with friends and fellow paddle lovers learning the best game in the world? A cool t-shirt as a favor and M&M’s and nuts sure help too.
"Sensational in Survival" Tournament in Rochester 
STEVE PIKE, TENNIS CLUB OF ROCHESTER
JANUARY 19, 2008
PITTSFORD, NY
The second annual SIS Ladies Paddle tournament was a smashing success with a record number of 54 teams entered across four divisions.The SIS event which means “Sensational in Survival” raised over $10,000 to assist survivors of breast cancer with their financial needs.
The Tourney kicked off on Friday night with a clinic and social, held for novice players to introduce them to the sport. Randy Strausser, Matt Dibiase, Sky “the kid” Kalkman and Steve Pike took part in an exhibition match and then stayed on to teach the ladies the rules of the game and offered pointers while they played. 32 women signed up and were treated to food, beverages and prize drawings after paddle. The cost was a $25 donation.
Play started at noon on Saturday across the Rochester paddle courts. The match play was continuous from noon to four pm, when all the participants returned to the Midtown Club for the finals and the after party. Participants enjoyed a great dinner and drinks, much of which was donated, and were entertained not only by the amazing finals but by live music in the club.
Another fund raising success story of the event was the Chinese Auction. The committee received over 80 donations ranging from trips to the Bahamas; designer purses and hair and spa treatments. The key to this auction format is that you put your raffle ticket down for the item you want to win. Each prize has its own bin that is used to pick the winner from. Almost every player won a prize.
The winners and finalists were (by division):
- A Vicki Nagy & Bev Dyminski defeated Sandra Odenbach & Suzanne Lanthier ( Toronto )
- B+ Bernadette Lodico & Lisa Mauro defeated Phylis Wilunda & Maryann Torchio
- B- Mary Pavone & Robyn Roberts defeated Linda Downey & Christa Meyer
- C- Debbie Nawoczenski & Margie Berliant defeated Kati Healy & Bonnie Maddox
Special thanks to the committee who organized the event: Lisa Abbott-Cisco, Carrie Irvine, Maryann Lester, Lisa Hayes and Steve Pike.
Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship
SARA LANTHIER
JANUARY 26, 2008
TORONTO, ON
Twenty-four teams gathered in Toronto on a snowy January Saturday to battle it out for the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championships. Teams from Rochester NY, Fonthill ON, Niagara ON, Cleveland OH, London ON and Toronto partook in great paddle, cold beer and hot chili.
Pictured left to right are Dionne Bothner, Steve Pike, Rusty Wright, and Daniela Pino.
At the end of the day – Daniela Pino and Rusty Wright, with new daughter Viviana cheering (or sleeping) in the clubhouse took the final over Dionne Bothner and Steve Pike from Rochester. To make the finals, Daniela and Rusty defeated Ariane and Mike Boire of Toronto while the Rochester duo took out Karen Stone from London and her Toronto partner Carey Lowe.
Tourament co-ordinators Suzanne Lanthier and Dave Gallagher lost in the consolation final to Anna and Ted Lis of Toronto.
The next tournament in Toronto is the Canadian Open on March 29 – 30 th . We’re looking forward to another strong draw. Maybe a rematch of last years final of Paul Stulac and Scott McFadden and Mike Stulac and Tim Main? For information contact Sara Lanthier at slanthier@corusent.com .
The weather was great for the 5th Annual Cincinnati Adult/Child T
DIANE TODD, TOURNAMENT CHAIR
JANUARY 10, 2008
CINCINNATI, OH
The weather was great for the 5th Annual Cincinnati Adult/Child Tournament held on Sunday January 6. Twenty eight teams were entered. They played their matches at The Cincinnati Country Club, The Glendale Lyceum, Queen City Racquet Club and The Wyoming Golf Club. The children were enthusiastic as they encouraged the adults to play harder and high fives and smiles were seen frequently. A round robin format was used in all divisions with the 2 teams having the highest number of rounds won playing in the finals. [ See larger images ]
SEBASTIEN GLINZLER,
TENNIS DIRECTOR,
CLEVELAND SKATING CLUB
DECEMBER 15, 2007
Greg Aten (Local Pro) and I hosted a junior paddle evening. I think this is break - through for us in Cleveland as we had about 35 kids on 3 courts for a hour and a half.
SARA LANTHIER
DECEMBER 3, 2007
The annual Women's We Try Harder tournament at the Kingsway Platform Tennis Club was held Saturday, November 25th. Thirty women take part in the tournament which generally matches experienced players with new players of the game. Tournament chair Stephanie Booth put on a fantastic spread at the club and great times…and a few glasses of wine…were had by all!
Janis Stitski and Stef Pilacinski won The Barb White Memorial trophy, this year beating Anna Lis and Cree Carr, a first-time player, in the final. The trophy is named for Barb White a wonderful woman, Mom and avid paddle player who passed away several years ago.
This a ‘NO MEN ALLOWED' tourney, as you can see by
the imaginative decorations!
The club follows this up with the Men's Christmas Chaos tournament on December 8th. This annual tourney began as a father/son event and has grown to become legendary north of the border. Each year a country is chosen as a theme, ithIreland being the chosen one for 2007. The Guinness will be tapped by 7:30am and this writer has the inside scoop that a piper is starting off the festivities. If anyone will talk after, I'll report on this one next month!!!
Annual Holiday Tourney in Rochester Huge Success
SARA LANTHIER
DECEMBER 3, 2007
The Country Club of Rochester annual men's Holiday Paddle Tournament on December 1st and once again it was a huge success. This 32 team, one-day event is consistently a sell- out and this year was no exception (there was even a waiting list).
The Holiday Paddle Tournament is a handicap event so many teams have an equal chance to come home with the winner's trophy. The Rochester Paddle leagues are divided up by levels of ability and not by which Club a person plays for. The over 700 men and women Rochester league players are divided up into 13 levels of play with Level 1 being the most advanced players and Level 13 being the beginner players. For this tournament, the men's teams have to add up to a total of 5 or more (Level 1 player has to play with a level 4 player or below or a Level 2 player has to play with a level 3 player or below).
Once the entry forms come out there is a mad rush of phone calls to grab the best players available to qualify for the draw. This format is a great way to encourage new or non- tournament players to enter.
But let's be honest – the biggest draw is the famous CCR lunch that features perfectly cooked courtside steaks, plenty of beers and card games between matches. Teams from Buffalo and Syracuse made the trip to participate too.
The sunny and cold weather was perfect for paddle. The finals saw the #1 seeded team of Rick Massie and John Henderson defeat the #2 seeds Jeff Natapow and Rick Glazer. Tournament chairman Bob Koegel did an amazing job organizing this annual event. The popularity of the tournament proves that Platform Tennis is alive and well and stronger than ever in Rochester!
Semifinalists (L to R) Josh Fernandez, Randy Strausser, Jeff Natapow, Rick Glazer
The 33rd Cleveland Masters
ANDREW SIKOROVSKY
NOVEMBER 18, 2007
In what could be regarded as the deepest draw in recent memory, 26 teams from all over The team of Fritz Odenbach (Rochester, NY) and Doug Jones (Cincinnati, OH) defeated the #3 seed of Scott McFaden (Pittsburgh, PA) and Paul Stulac (Toronto, ON) 7-5, 6-1.
Left to right:
Paul Stulac (Toronto, ON), Scott McFaden (Pittsburgh, PA), Fritz Odenbach (Rochester, NY) and Doug Jones (Cincinnati, OH)
Mr. Odenbach last won the tournament in 1997 with Mike Stulac beating Scott Mansager and Tom Sullivan. Mr. Odenbach was a runner-up in 1993, 1995, and 2006. This was Mr. Jones first Masters victory after a runner-up appearance last year with Mr. Odenbach.
14 players of the top 32 ranked teams from the 2006-07 year-end APTA rankings competed. The top seeds were:
1. Peter Berka and Ed Granger (Chicago, IL) APTA #6
2. Denny English / Brian Heil (Columbus, OH) APTA #11
3. McFaden / Stulac APTA #12
4. Brett Englesberg / Brad Kelly (Pittsbugh, PA) APTA #16
This was without a doubt a most impressive tournament for Mr. Odenbach and Mr Jones having to beat out the #1, #3 and #4 seeds for their championship. An elated and tired Mr. Odenbach commented, "it was a great tournament and we hope to be back next year." Cleveland hopes they and the rest of the field will return!
Left to right:
Jessica Guyaux, Kelly Fischer, Holly Peck and Lynn Thompson all from Pittsburgh, PA
SARA LANTHIER
OCTOBER 29, 2007
The first major Region IV tourney of the year at Shadow Lake in Rochester was a huge success! The threat of bad weather turned out to be just that! The men's final was one of the best ever, where a huge crowd saw John Milbank and Drew Broderick (#2 seed) beat Mike Stulac and Blake Cordish (#1 seed) 4-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
Dave and Mike Gallagher (Men's B players) and the women's A team of Sonja Erskine / Suzanne Lanthier
Mike Stulac, Blake Cordish, John Milbank, Drew Broderick
Natalie Lemieux and Kelly Fischer easily won the Women's A draw beating Lisa Lange and Amy Taylor (Rochester) in the finals 6-1 6-2. Fifty teams overall participated in the event.
There was a separate Women's B draw for the first time which was a huge success. The men's B draw was well represented with 16 teams, including 2 teams from Toronto, 2 teams from Syracuse, 3 teams from Buffalo, and 1 team from Michigan.
This was the 29th Annual Shadow Lake tournament and tournament co-chairs Fritz and Sandra Odenbach introduced two new popular features. An afternoon cook out was held during the semis and finals. Grills were set up right next to the courts and a bar was in the hut. This kept everyone around until the end and the crowd noise got louder as the matches went on. The other great addition was a live feed into the Shadow Lake Bar all day long. Participants and fans could eat lunch and not miss a minute of the action on all 18 TV's throughout the bar.
The party continued at everyone's favourite local watering hole, Thirsty's, later that evening. Sandra and Fritz hosted a Tournament brunch at their house on Sunday morning for all the out of towners to send them on their way. Fantastic tournament and a great warm-up for this year's Nationals in Rochester!
Cincinnati Juniors Taking to the Courts
Cincinnati has experienced huge growth in platform tennis over the last 10 years. Most of the growth has occurred in the adult game in the form of Men's and Ladies recreational and league play.
Ashley and Michael Todd from the Glendale Lyceum, started a parent child tournament 4 years ago. The kids came out slowly but surely, not knowing about this strange sport played outdoors in the wintertime. Now the tournament has reached nearly 40 kids and this year, Ashley and Michael Todd have volunteered to start the first junior platform league here in Cincinnati. Parents from other participating clubs have volunteered to throw matches/parties through November thru January on Friday nights. Each team is made up of two coed age divisions. They will play 8 game, no add sets and enjoy pizza and various other treats in the paddle hut between matches. This new venture should go a long way into making platform "cool" with the kids.
SARA LANTHIER
SEPTEMBER 30, 2007
The 2007-2008 season is shaping up to be an exciting one with the return of the U.S. Nationals and President Cup Tournaments to Region IV.
Rochester, NY will host the Nationals from March 13 – March 16, 2008. Tournament chairpersons Sandra and Fritz Odenbach and their organizing committee are hard at work ensuring that this year's Nationals are the best ever.
The event schedule is as follows:
March 13th Women's President's Cup (Region IV women are defending champs!)
March 14th Men's President's Cup & Women's Nationals Day 1
March 15th Women's Finals and Men's Nationals Day 1
March 16th Men's Finals
Oak Hill Country Club will host the Saturday night bash. It's a safe bet that St. Patrick's Day will factor into the party somehow!
home or the 'tough' first round matches. My partner and I sum up our trip to the Nationals last home or the 'tough' first round matches. My partner and I sum up our trip to the Nationals last year in Westchester, NY like this “ 16 hours of driving; 4 hours of shopping; 2 hours of playing and numerous hours of watching mind-blowing, jaw- dropping paddle.
Don't feel up to playing? How about having your club organize a bus trip down (or up) to Rochester to check out the action. Keep checking back to the APTA website for more information on the 2008 Rochester Nationals as plans unfold.
Is your club doing something noteworthy this year? Have a tournament you want reported on? Drop me an email at sara. lanthier@corusent.com and we'll be sure to include it in an upcoming Region IV update!
Inferno Cup lives up to its Name
Inferno Cup. It took place on September 1st (Labor Day weekend) and with the challenged everyone's endurance and patience!
temperatures reaching 90, player's showed up to play a round robin format that
challenged everyone's endurance and patience!
At courtside, sat a cooler filled w/ beer, Powerade, and Platform Tennis balls that were iced down the night before and wrapped in foil until the moment they were put into play. Guys were stretching, chugging drinks, and pounding Advil as the day went on, but in the end everyone had a great time says Gray. The word around the club was the next day many were sore and were not seen back on the courts for several days.
Gotta love Platform!!!!!!!!!
Jason Gray
Director of Racquet Sports @ Four Bridges Country Club
Women's West Penn Open (ranking and President's Cup Qualifying) Tournament on November 29-30
This annual tournament is scheduled for a Thursday 8 AM start in the Sewickley area, with a lunch at Edgeworth Country Club and a "Yellowbox Fundraiser" to benefit Sojourner House on Thursday evening at Allegheny Country Club from 5 to 8 PM. Contact Linda Weaver, at (412) 831-1996 or lindaweaver1@comcast.net , to register. Fee is $60 per paddle.