News from previous seasons: 2007-2008
Congratulations to Fritz Odenbach and Rusty Wright for their Canadian Open victory over Andrew Daw and Paul Stulac, on April 4, 2009. In the Women's draw, Anna Lis & Steph Russell prevailed over Sandra Odenbach & Karen Later. For details and pictures, please visit the new KPTC web site.
(l-r) Paul Stulac, Rusty Wright (holding Vivianna), Fritz Odenbach, Andrew DawPhoto by Kingsway Platform Tennis Club
A record 90 teams participated in the annual Rochester District Platform Tennis Championships last Saturday March 28th in Rochester New York. The event was hosted by Shadow Lake Golf and Racquet Club and chaired by Sandra and Fritz Odenbach.
There were 6 separate tournaments all completed in one day, with a Men’s A/B/C division and a Women’s A/B and a new Women’s C Level tournament which was filled at 16 teams. Teams from neighboring Buffalo and Syracuse were invited also and chipped in with 4 teams.
What a great day for paddle; sunny and 50 degrees, put everyone in a great mood all day. The event included an awesome lunch at Shadow Lake followed by a late afternoon party by the courts for all the finals that included lots of adult beverages, pizza, and some great matches. A large crowd of well over 150 paddle enthusiasts enjoyed a great afternoon.
The previous record for this event was 64 teams so paddle is definitely alive and growing up here in the north. Since hosting the Nationals in 2008 paddle is the hot ticket for winter activity in Rochester.
Men’s C Division: Steve Dwyer-Bob Scura over Mike Claffey-Angelo PonticelloMen’s B Division: Mike Spaeth-Paul Callahan over Jay Sullivan-Kevin McIntyreMen’s A Division: Huy Nguyen-Fritz Odenbach over Sky Kalkman-Steve Pike
Women’s C Division: Kati Healey-Ruth McElherny over Anne Schuler-Valerie UpsonWomen’s B Division: Carrie Irvine-Robyn Roberts over Kelly Callahan-Stacy BarkstromWomen’s A Division: Bev Dyminski-Vicky Nagy over Susan Maher- Sandra Odenbach
The Viking Junior Tour came to Cincinnati on Sunday, January 25. Another successful junior tournament shows how much fun paddle can be at all ages.
Men's Draw Women's Draw
The top two seeds made it to the finals but the semis uncovered a young up and coming player from Chicago – Drew Eberly who just finished his tennis career at Ohio State teamed up with Peter Berka to make it all the way to the semi-finals and took the number 1 seeded team to a tie breaker of a 1 hour 40 minute first set.
If the finals, Flip Goodspeed and Scott Mansager took home another Midwesterns title, defeating Mike Cochrane and Scott Estes 6-4, 6-4 and adding to their impressive tally of wins in Cinicinnati.
In the top half semi-final, #1 seeds Flip Goodspeed and Scott Mansager defeated #5 seeds Scott Bondurant and Mark Johnson 6-4, 6-3. In the other semi match #2 seeds Mike Cochrane and Scott Estes defeated #6 seeds Thaddeus Reed and Todd Ward 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
In the quarter reprieve, #7 seeds Berka - Eberle won 6-3, 6-1 over #3 seeds English - Heil.
52 intrepid women braved temperatures in the low teens to enjoy the great paddle and warm friendship that is the hall mark of the Midwesterns . Players came from Boston, Pittsburgh , Detroit , Minneapolis and Chicago, to compete with the Ohio contingent.
The finals saw the #1 seeds Lynn Schneebeck and Heather Prop take on the #2 Nancy Budde and Eva Welsher (the only non local of the four) . After Budde and Welsher took the first set, Schneebeck and Prop switched sides and were able to pull out the last two sets to take the title.
Kudos to Mark Kebe and his committee for the great favors, prizes and for the wine and cheese party that the players and spectators were treated to during the finals.
Yesterday, number eight seeded Kelly Fischer and Jessica Guyaux took the West Penn Women's title, defeating top seeds Chrissy Johnston and Lynn Thompson.
Full draw in Excel format Full draw in pdf format
Sisters Jody Coffey & Julie Kolenda are the winners of the Consolation round. Allison Francis & Linda Savin are the runners up.
Bev Dyminski & Vicki Nagy took the Quarter Final Reprieve prize home to Rochester. Karen Henke & Holly Peck were the runners up.
The top 4 seeds advanced to the semis in the Men's West Penn Open held December 6-7, with McFadden-Stulac taking the honors in a 3 set final.
On Saturday, November 22, the Country Club of Buffalo and Saturn Club hosted the Buffalo & WNY Late Fall Invitational and as expected - cold and snow ruled the day. With frigid temperatures hovering in the low 20’s, teams from Canada, Rochester, and Buffalo gathered to compete in the 16-team tournament.
In the finals, first seeds Sky Kalkman and Dave Kotalik from Rochester defeated Randy Murphy and Dave Jentsch from Buffalo. Kalkman and Kotalik got to the finals by dispatching hosts and fourth seeds Chris Ross and Bob Shookus in a grueling and epic semi-final; while Murphy and Jentsch outlasted third seeds Travis Odenbach and Eric Yeakle in the other spirited semi-final.
In other brackets, Canadians Jeff Reuter and Rich Allen from the Loch Ness club in Welland, Ontario won the Consolation round over Rob Drake and Jamie Carbone from Buffalo while JT Jacus and Cary Greenberg (Rochester) won the Reprieve and Robert Butcher and Ted Walsh (Buffalo) won the Last Chance bracket.
The tournament was a terrific success - as was the lunch at CCB - and the fires that were burning both inside and outside by the courts were fantastic! Buffalo continues to grow as a paddle community with an increasing number of players, more tournaments, more players traveling to other tournaments, and increased investment in the local facilities. Thank you to both the hosts - Bob Shookus of the Country Club of Buffalo and Chas Maloney of the Saturn Club - as well as all the players who participated. Stay-tuned for another - and larger - tournament in the spring.
Winners: Kotalik & Kalkman Finalists: Murphy & Jentsch
Winners: Reuter & Allen Finalists: Drake & Carbone
Winers: Jacus & Greenberg Finalists: Anderson & Herlan
Winners: Butcher & Walsh Finalists: Nagle & Patterson
Click here for the full draw.
TERRI GOLLINGER DECEMBER 1, 2008 SEWICKLEY, PA
The Fall Fantastic Tournament was a great time and for those that didn't win, it was still a delightful day of paddle, food and friendship!
Kathy Kunschner and tournament director extraordinaire, Erica Zappala
Chairperson Erica Zappala would like to especially thank the following 'paddle buddies' from North Park, Shannopin and Lakeview for their terrific assistance in the hut: Wendy Harrington, Tammy DiBonis, Nancie Jaicks, Wanda McGarry, Sandy Balutanski, Kathy Kunschner, Kim Brown and Roxanne Kiliany; and the 'lunch ladies' Margaret Kelman and Jean McCarthy. An extra special thank you goes to Kathy Kunschner for all of the wonderful photographs and to Jyll Lilly for help with prizes and favors!
Erica would also like to thank the participating clubs for allowing us to host the tournament in the Sewickley area: Edgeworth Club, Sewickley YMCA and Allegheny Country Club, which also hosted the ladies luncheon.
(from left) Runners Up Brigit Bly & Liz Fecko (Edgeworth) Winners Debbie Rossman & Jyll Lilly (North Park)
(from left) Winners Betsy Thompson & Anna Konrad (Oakmont) Runners Up Kris Arnold & Karen Penrod (Shannopin)
(from left) Winners Kelly Herbert & Cathy Saunders (North Park) Runners Up Leslie McJunkin & Heather Bracken (Longue Vue)
(from left) Winners Amy Braham & Amanda Schaffer (Fox Chapel Golf Club) Runners Up Mary Fetter & Diane LaRusse (Lakevue)
Liz Devins & Linda Jones (Allegheny CC)
Tonja Condron & Dara Henne (Pittsburgh Field Club)
(from left) Winners Janice Davidson & Dawn Kaelin (Shannopin) Runners Up Ann Hunt & Amy Morris (Shannopin)
Despite the rains and winds from mother nature on Saturday, the 34th Annual Cleveland Masters went off without a hitch November 14 - 16, 2008.
On the National Ranking and PCQ Mens side, #1 seed Brian Heil and Denny English of Columbus, OH defeated Brett Englesberg and Jeff McMasters of Pittsburgh, PA.
For the Women's PCQ, the team of Kathy Allen and Lindy Ward of Cincinnati, OH defeated Vicki Nagy and Beverly Dyminski of Pittsford, NY, 6-1, 6-1.
In the Mens 90+ Open, John Schloss and Eric "Who want's to be my partner" Miller from Cleveland, OH were the champs defeating last year's champs, Danny McLaughlin (Cleveland, OH) and Billy Sullivan from Columbus.
Men's Open finalists: Brett Englesberg, Jeff McMasters, Denny English, Brian Heil
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 .
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
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 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.