The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual regional Men’s and Ladies Doubles Tournament this past weekend. For 46 years the Club has held this event on the second Saturday in June. This tournament, founded and the format invented by Ray Cornish, drew players from the region for a full day of tennis and a barbeque in the park. After 10 years of being a part of the Tennis Access Tour, the Club struck out on its own to recapture the southwestern area feel to the event. Players from Waterloo, Cambridge, and London joined teams from the host club in this 2014 tournament.

The Ladies Doubles saw 9 teams compete in the round robin portion which determines whether teams advance to the ‘A’ or ‘B’ playoff. The ‘A’ playoff had two teams from Cambridge, 1 from London, and the Stratford team of Marta Andrekovic and Ginny Smith compete for the championship. In the semifinals, Andrekovic and Smith fell to Gwen Chaisson  and Kim Hutt-Taylor of Cambridge 8-4. The other semifinal saw Mary Ann Gaskin and Sue Ovenden of Cambridge top Donna Scott and Gail Lockyer of London 8 – 3. This set up an all Cambridge final. Gaskin has won this tournament more times than any other player in the history of the event. With usual partner Peggy Fairs of London unavailable this year, it was Ovenden’s turn to help Gaskin to another title. Gaskin and Ovenden took the championship match 8-4 over their fellow Cambridge players. 

The Ladies ‘B’ division saw a collection of Stratford teams in the running for the title. The first semifinal saw Stratford’s Sandie Ennett and Kaitlyn Mathieson take on Lisa Hoffman and Suzanne Edwards of Waterloo. The visitors prevailed, advancing to the final with an 8-4 victory. The other semifinal was a battle of Stratford teams. Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy downed Michele Thomson and Erma Weernink 8-1 to book their spot in the final. The championship match saw Hoffman and Edwards outlast Billings and Murphy scoring an 8-5 win to take the title.

The Men’s Doubles event also had 9 teams competing during the day. The ‘A’ playoff had defending champions Matt Brown and Sung Min Yoon of Waterloo joined by Marcel Rydenski and Bob Boudreau of Cambridge and two Stratford teams; John and Luke Fischer as well as Grant McPherson and Paul Coates. The semifinals saw the defending champions Brown and Yoon take out Rydenski and Boudreau 8-1 to advance to the final. The all Stratford semifinal was dominated by McPherson and Coates as they dispatched the Fischers 8 games to 1. In the championship match, the defending champions could not be stopped. Brown and Yoon cruised to their second consecutive title with an 8-0 shutout of McPherson and Coates.

The Men’s ‘B’ playoffs had several Stratford players vying for the title. Both semifinals were the closest matches of the day with both ending in tie-breakers. The first semifinal had Graham Heaton of Stratford and partner Dominik Sadowski of Burlington edge out Zdenko Andrekovic of Stratford and Miki Susic of Oakville 8-7 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) to advance to the final. The other semifinal was a battle between Stratford teams as Nathan Duh and Greg Vivian took on Pat McCarroll and Murray Schiedel. McCarroll and Schiedel were able to outlast Duh and Vivian 8-7 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) setting their place in the final. The final belonged to McCarroll and Schiedel as they doubled up Heaton and Sadowski 8 – 4 to claim the championship.

Many thanks go out to Rob and Chris Duh for their great help with the spectacular barbeque and Lynn Bast for purchasing the barbeque necessities. Thanks to Stacey Wilson and John Noble for the prize purchases and donations. Also a big thank you to Michele Thomson, Ginny Smith, Debbie Mitchell, Monica Eickmeyer, Nancy Chung, and Ruth Cornish for donating the delicious salads. Many positive comments were made by our out of town visitors about these salads, with even some requests for the recipes. A special shout goes out to Greg Misener ( The Fudge Guy ) for his generous donation to our gift packages. It was a very sweet gesture and greatly appreciated! The help of all our members has led to the Club having its most successful fundraising June doubles tournament in many years. A great day was had by all at the Club and it was also a great day for the Club!

The Stratford Tennis League played week 2 of its schedule June 10th. The early game saw Snap’d take on Auto Works. The #1 ladies doubles went to Snap’d as Linda Doig and Debbie Murphy swept Johanna Billings and Cox Wensink 6-2 6-3. There was a split in the #2 ladies doubles with Marilyn Leasa and Michele Thomson of Snap’d taking the first set 6-3 and Nancy Chung and Sandra Hofing of Auto Works taking the second set by the same 6-3 score. Snap’d took the #1 men’s doubles as Grant McPherson and Chris Parson downed Murray Schiedel and Jeremy Chisholm 6-2 7-5. A split in the #2 men’s doubles saw Larry Shurrie and Stephen Fischer of Snap’d blank Todd Chisholm and Stuart Arkett 6-0 in the first set before Chisholm and Arkett gave Auto Works the second set 7-5.

The mixed doubles opened with Auto Works winning the #1 mixed 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) as Billings and Schiedel edged Doig and McPherson. The #2 mixed went to Snap’d as Murphy and Parson doubled up Wensink and Jeremy Chisholm 6-3. Auto Works won the #3 mixed as Chung and Todd Chisholm downed Leasa and Shurrie 6-2. Thomson and Fischer of Snap’d scored a 6-2 win over Hofing and Arkett in the #4 mixed match. In conclusion, Snap’d took 8 sets to 4 against Auto Works for a week 2 win.

The late game was a match up of Sunrise Health Services and Donkers Agri. The match up of #1 ladies doubles went to Sunrise as Marta Andrekovic and Ginny Smith swept Sandie Ennett and Maria Donkers 6-2 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker). Donkers took the #2 ladies doubles as Lindsay Murray and Monica Eickmeyer took out Erma Weernink and Marilyn Holmes 6-3 6-4. The #1 men’s doubles had a split of sets as Paul Coates and John Fischer of Sunrise won the first set 7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) and Richard Bast and Pat McCarroll of Donkers took the second set 6-3. Mike Furlong and Bill Steele of Donkers swept the #2 men’s doubles with a 6-4 6-3 win over Tyler Kocher and Cameron Kramer.

Sunrise scored a 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker) win in the #1 mixed as Andrekovic and Coates edged Ennett and Bast. Donkers dominated the #2 mixed with Donkers and McCarroll blanking Smith and Fischer 6-0. Murray and Furlong scored a 6-4 victory over Weernink and Kocher to give the #3 mixed to Donkers. Holmes and Kramer of Sunrise won the #4 mixed with a 6-2 downing of Eickmeyer and Steele. The match up for week 2 went to Donkers with a 7 sets to 5 sets advantage.

The standings after two weeks of the 2014 season, see Snap’d taking over first place. One point behind is Donkers Agri , with Sunrise Health Services falling to third place. Auto Works trails in fourth. Next week the early game will have Snap’d face off against Sunrise Health Services , while Auto Works attempts to get in gear against Donkers Agri in the late game.

Bill White

The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Super Set Doubles Tournament this past Saturday. The beautiful weather and large number of entries led to a long, glorious day of tennis. 

There were 11 ladies doubles teams that participated in the event. The ‘A’ final was contested between Marta Andrekovic & Maria Donkers  and Krista Plociennik & Sandie Ennett. Both teams had put in strong performances advancing to the final. The championship match was controlled by Plociennik and Ennett. Many great rallies ended in their favour leading to an 8 – 4 win.

Plociennik, just back from Scotland where she had a very successful university tennis season, had won the title last year with partner Claire Scott. The ‘A’ consolation final saw Johanna Billings and Debbie Murphy down Marilyn Holmes and Marilyn Leasa 8 – 3 for the title. Gail Shelton and Nancy Chung won the ladies ‘B’ title with an 8 – 4 victory over Noella Schiedel and Caryn Scott. The ladies ‘B’ consolation final saw sisters-in-law Barb Thibeault and Allison Hiller  double up the mother / daughter team of Cox and Margreit Wensink with an 8 – 4 win.

The men’s event had 13 entries of many different ages and years of experience. The ‘A’ final showed that younger age may have trumped years of experience. The youngster team of Grant McPherson and Greg Vivian overpowered and out moved the experienced team of Zdenko Andrekovic and Bill White. Andrekovic and White had come back from 2 match points down in 2 of their previous matches, including the semifinal, but were no match for McPherson and Vivian. With big serves and superior net play, McPherson and Vivian took the championship with an 8 – 3 victory. This is McPherson’s second straight Super Set doubles championship, winning last season with Travis Hiller. The ‘A’ consolation title went to Murray Schiedel and Brent Hiller with an 8 – 4 win over John Noble and Richard Bast in the final. Luke Fischer and Tom Warnock took the ‘B” championship edging Pat McCarroll and Mike Furlong 8 – 6 in the championship match. The father / son team of Jim and James Wilson took the ‘B’ consolation title over Stuart Arkett and Steve Fischer with an 8 – 5 win. 

It was a great day at the Stratford Tennis Club for the 48 participants and many spectators. The players now get four weeks to recover before the Super Set singles tournament on July 5. 

Bill White

The Stratford Tennis League opened its 2014 season this week. The early game saw Donkers Agri take on Snap’d. The #1 men’s doubles match up had a split of sets with Donkers’ Richard Bast and Pat McCarroll taking the first set  6-4, and Grant McPherson and Chris Parson of Snap’d taking the second set 6-3. The #2 men’s doubles went to Donkers as Mike Furlong and Bill Steele swept Larry Shurrie and Ric Oliver 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) and 6-3. The #1 ladies doubles also went to Donkers as Sandie Ennett and Maria Donkers scored a 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker) 6-2 win over Linda Doig and Deb Murphy. Snap’d rebounded to take the #2 ladies doubles as Marilyn Leasa and Michele Thomson beat Lindsay Murray and Liz Yundt 6-2 6-3.

The #1 mixed doubles saw Ennett and Bast of Donkers edge Doig and McPherson 6-4. Snap’d took the #2 mixed match as Murphy and Parson scored a 6-4 win over Donkers and McCarroll. Leasa and Shurrie of Snap’d downed Murray and Furlong 6-4 to take the #3 mixed match. Snap’d won the #4 mixed as Thomson and Oliver scored a 6-4 victory over Yundt and Steele. This resulted in the opening match of the 2014 season ending in a 6 sets to 6 sets tie.

The late game had Auto Works face off against Sunrise Health Services. Sunrise took the #1 men’s doubles as Paul Coates and Tom Warnock walloped Jeremy Chisholm and Wayne Carney 6-1 6-1. The #2 men’s doubles was a split of sets as Auto Works’ Todd Chisholm and Stephan Anderson won the first set 6-2 while Steven Schwartzentruber and Stuart Arkett of Sunrise Health took the second set 6-1. Sunrise Health swept the #1 ladies doubles as Marta Andrekovic and Ginny Smith defeated Johanna Billings and Cox Wensink  7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) , 6-0. Nancy Chung and Sandra Hofing of Auto Works scored a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Marilyn Holmes and Debra Mitchell to take the #2 ladies doubles. 

 The #1 mixed doubles went to Sunrise Health as Andrekovic and Coates edged Billings and Jeremy Chisholm 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker). Smith and Warnock blanked Wensink and Carney 6-0 to take the #2 mixed doubles for Sunrise Health. Auto Works won the #3 mixed as Chung and Todd Chisholm downed Holmes and Schwartzentruber 6-2. The #4 mixed doubles went to Auto Works as well, with Hofing and Anderson scoring a 6-1 win over Mitchell and Arkett. Sunrise Health Services won the match 7 sets to 5.

After week 1, Sunrise Health Services with 7 sets won sits in first place. Donkers Agri and Snap’d are tied with 6 sets won while Auto Works trails with 5 sets won. Week 2 will see Snap’d take on Auto Works in the early game and Sunrise Health Services facing Donkers Agri in the late game.

 Bill White                                                                                    Jeremy Chisholm of Auto Works serves in the men’s doubles match .

The Stratford Tennis Club recently held its first Royal LePage Hiller Realty junior tennis tournament of the season. The beautiful weather allowed the players to put their best abilities on display and led to many close, high caliber matches.

The girls ‘A’ final saw Ashley Humphrey defeat Isabelle Thibeault 8 – 1 in the championship match. The girls ‘B’ final had Mackenzie Dumais score an 8 – 5 victory over Megan Furlong for the title.

The boys ‘A’ champion was Ryan Lay who scored an 8 – 2 win over Collin Rose to take the title. The boys ‘A’ consolation final saw Marcel Lundrigan outlast Luke McCarroll 8 – 6 for the win. The boys ‘B’ championship went to Matthew Vandewiel with an 8 – 2 victory over Stefan Andrekovic in the final. Kadin Dench took the boys ‘B’ consolation title with an 8 – 4 win over Ronan McCarroll in the championship match.

The next Royal LePage Hiller Realty junior tournament will take place on Saturday, June 21st.

These awards were recently presented at the Stratford Tennis Club.

The JERRY JOHNSON AWARD  is  awarded annually, to an adult and junior member who demonstrate sportsmanship and love for the game of tennis. 

Gary Henry 

Gary has not been a member for very long but has involved himself in many Club activities. He plays morning group, tennis league, men’s night, and Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He hones his game constantly with the use of the ball machine. Gary shows a passion for the game and for the Club. Always enjoying his time on the court, Gary is deserving of this award.  

 Ethan Misener

Ethan is the youngest member of the tennis loving Misener family. Always smiling and a true sportsman on the court, Ethan was a positive force around the Club. Many hours hitting against the wall will improve his game in the future but his attitude needs no improvement. Ethan is a well deserving winner of an award honouring Jerry Johnson.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR – THE REBECCA MISKIN AWARD

Ryan Lay

Ryan Lay or Frito as some may know him , was a constant presence at the Club this season. Ryan assisted in every way possible; helping me with the maintenance, helping with the camps, helping with the tournaments. Ryan displayed his love of the game by participating in all the tournaments, subbing in for the morning group when they needed someone, subbing in men’s night when needed. A top junior player at the Club and multiple club championship winner, Ryan has a bright future in the game. Ryan is just the third junior to win the Member of the Year Award.

Bill White

 2013 Junior Club Champions

                                                       2013 Adult Club Champions

OCTOBER E NEWS 

The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Masters Doubles Tournament this past weekend. The beautiful weather provided the perfect day for playing tennis. 11 ladies and 10 mens’ teams took part the the Tennis Club’s final competition of the season.

The Ladies ‘A’ doubles final saw defending champions Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers facing Johanna Billings and Deb Murphy. Andrekovic and Donkers scored an 8-5 victory to retain the title. The Ladies ‘A’ consolation winners are Linda Doig and Ginny Smith who downed Annette Garneau and Liz Yundt 8-3 in the final. Allison Hiller and Barb Thibeault took the Ladies ‘B’ championship with an 8-6 win over Marilyn Holmes and Marilyn Leasa. The Ladies ‘B’ consolation title went to Lynn Bast and Julie Drake who took out Arlene Pol and Vanessa DeGroot 8-1 in the final.

The Men’s ‘A’ final was a match up of two time defending champions Zdenko Andrekovic and Bill White and 2011 finalists Brent Hiller and Murray Schiedel. Behind some big serving Andrekovic and White took their third straight title with an 8-5 victory. The Men’s ‘A’ consolation title went to Pat McCarroll and Jack Watson who downed Mike Furlong and Jagdish Patel 8-3 in the final. Brian Arens and Paul Coates took the Men’s ‘B’ championship scoring an 8-4 win over Gary Henry and Bill Steele in the final. The Men’s ‘B’ consolation champions are Stuart Arkett and Steve Fischer who doubled up Paul Barclay and Todd Chisholm 8-4 to take the title.

 This ends the competitive events for the 2013 season at the Tennis Club. The Club will salute the all tournament champions with its awards presentation on Saturday, September 28th. 

Bill White

 Men’s ‘A’ Champions Bill White and Zdenko Andrekovic    Ladies ‘A’ Champions Maria Donkers and Marta Andrekovic

Throughout the month of August, the Stratford Tennis Club held its annual junior club championship tournaments. Players competed in 4 age categories. With several participants competing in multiple age categories, it was a busy month of play for the players.

The Boys Under 18 singles champion is John Fischer. Fischer defeated Jeremy Chisholm 6-4  6-2 to win his first Under 18 singles title. Chisholm teamed with Travis Hiller to claim the Boys Under 18 doubles championship. Chisholm/Hiller downed the Fischer brothers, John and Luke, 6-4  6-2 in the final. This is Chisholm’s fourth straight Under 18 doubles title.

The Girls Under 18 champion is once again Sonja Andrekovic. Andrekovic repeated as champion by downing Kaitlyn Mathieson 6-0  6-1 in the final. The Under 18 mixed doubles winners are Nicolle Crowley and Ryan Lay. The youngsters knocked off Caitriona and Ciaron Buckley 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker)  6-3 to win their title.

The Girls Under 16 singles was won by Nicolle Crowley. After winning the Under 12 and Under 14 titles last season Crowley added the Under 16 category to her resume with a 6-2  6-0 victory over Kaitlyn Mathieson. The Boys Under 16 champion is Grant McPherson. McPherson repeated as champion as he dominated Luke Fischer in this years final, scoring a 6-1  6-1 win.

John and Luke Fischer took their second straight Boys Under 16 doubles title with a 6-2  6-1 win over Grant McPherson and James Wilson. Nicolle Crowley and Ryan Lay added the Under 16 mixed doubles title to their collection in one of the best matches of the month. Crowley/Lay edged Mathieson and Luke Fischer 4-6  6-4  6-3 in the championship match.

Luke Fischer took the Boys Under 14 singles championship. Fischer, who had won the Under 12 singles the last two seasons, defeated Ryan Lay 6-3  6-2 for his first Under 14 singles championship. Fischer then teamed with Evan Moorehead to win the Boys Under 14 doubles with a 7-5  6-0 victory over Lay and Stefan Andrekovic.

For the second straight year Nicolle Crowley is the Girls Under 14 singles champion. Crowley downed Kaitlyn Mathieson 6-1  6-1 in the final. Crowley and Lay took their third age group mixed doubles title with a 2-6  6-2  6-0 win over Mathieson and Fischer.

The Girls Under 12 champion is Ashley Humphrey. Humphrey defeated Rachel Nash in the final 6-0  6-3 to take her first singles championship. Nash and partner Sophie Bogdon teamed to take the Girls Under 12 doubles with a 6-2  6-4 win over Humphrey and Jada Kraemer. The Boys Under 12 final saw Jacob Wunder down Michael Vandewiel 6-2  6-3 to win the championship. Wunder then took the Boys Under 12 doubles title with partner Mac Starkebaum, downing Vandewiel and Ethan Misener 6-2  6-3 in the championship match.

All winners will be presented with championship medals at the annual awards ceremony at the clubhouse on Saturday, September 28.