The Stratford Tennis League has crowned its 2013 champions. Playing through occasional rain drops, the ‘A’ and ‘B’ finals have been completed. The ‘A’ final was a battle between the two teams that led the league throughout the regular season. La Debonaire Hair Design finished first in the regular season standings and easily advanced to the final. Their opponent, Sunrise Health Services, spent most of the season battling for the top spot before a late season misstep had them fall to third. Sunrise rebounded in the semifinals to gain a spot in the ‘A’ championship final.

The championship match began with a split in the men’s #1 doubles. Grant McPherson and Travis Hiller of La Debonaire took the first set 6-1, then John Noble and Nathan Duh of Sunrise won the second set by the same 6-1 score. The men’s #2 doubles was all Sunrise as Pat McCarroll and Jagdish Patel dominated Cameron Kramer and Sing Chung by a 6-2 6-1 score. The ladies #1 doubles saw La Debonaire’s  Krista Plociennik and Sandie Ennett cruise to a 6-2 6-2 victory over Marilyn Leasa and Nancy Rheaume. Sunrise took the ladies #2 doubles as Annette Garneau and Marilyn Holmes edged Jolanda Vandereijk and Sandra Hofing 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker) 6-3. This gave Sunrise a 5 sets to 3 lead heading into the mixed doubles matches.

La Debonaire took the #1 mixed set as Plociennik and McPherson blanked Leasa and Noble 6-0. Rheaume and Duh won the #2 mixed for Sunrise taking down Ennett and Hiller 6-3. The #3 mixed went to Sunrise as Garneau and McCarroll blanked Vandereijk and Kramer 6-0. The #4 mixed also went to Sunrise as Holmes and Patel defeated Hofing and Chung 6-2. This gave Sunrise Health Services a 8-4 win and the 2013 ‘A’ championship.

The ‘B’ championship final saw Donkers Agri take on Snap. The men’s #1 doubles was a split as Shannon Dyke and Murray Schiedel of Snap won the first set 7-6 (7 points to 2 in the tie-breaker) before Bob Tamblyn and Tom Warnock rebounded to take the second set 6-1 for Donkers. Donkers swept the men’s #2 doubles as Todd Chisholm and Mike Furlong beat up Gary Henry and Stuart Arkett 6-2 6-0. The ladies #1 doubles went to Snap as Johanna Billings and Linda Doig defeated Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers 6-4 6-3. Donkers won the ladies #2 doubles 6-3 6-1 as Erma Weernink and Naomi Lange took out Nancy Chung and Monica Eickmeyer. The mixed doubles opened with Andrekovic and Tamblyn of Donkers edging Billings and Dyke 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker). Snap won the #2 mixed as Doig and Schiedel doubled up Donkers and Warnock 6-3. Weernink and Chisholm defeated Chung and Henry 6-4 to give the #3 mixed to Donkers. The #4 mixed was a 6-0 victory for Lange and Furlong of Donkers over Eickmeyer and Arkett. Donkers Agri won the 2013 ‘B’ championship with the 8 sets to 4 win.

Bill White

Pat McCarroll of Sunrise Health Services swings to help his team winthe Tennis League ‘A’ Championship.

The Stratford Tennis Club has crowned its 2013 singles champions. Played out over 17 days, a record number of entries competed in ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions. The final night saw champions crowned for men and ladies in both divisions. Over 40 spectators showed up to enjoy the beautiful evening of tennis and celebrate their Club champions.

With defending champion Bob Tamblyn unable to participate, the men’s ‘A’ division was a wide open affair with several contenders. A record 48 participants started play and after 4 rounds, Monday’s semifinals saw some familiar faces and a young upstart. The top half of the draw had a match up of last year’s finalist, and top seed, Richard Bast and #4 seed Shannon Dyke. In what was probably the best match of the event the two battled for over 2 hours before Bast prevailed with a 6-3  2-6  6-3 victory to advance to his third men’s ‘A’ singles final.

The bottom half of the draw saw #3 seed Paul Coates , in his second consecutive semifinal, face teenager John Fischer who had knocked off two seeded players to advance to his first ‘A’ semi. Coates’ experience and consistency proved too much for young Fischer as Coates scored a 6-1  7-5 win sending him to his first ‘A’ championship final. The championship match was a spectacular display of tennis by Bast. Opening his first service game with an ace, Bast hit with pace and control all night. It was a an unrelenting attack by Bast and Coates was unable to withstand the pressure. Bast won his first ‘A’ singles championship with a 6-1  6-1 victory.

The ladies ‘A’ division was a question of could anyone stop Krista Plociennik. The 20 year old Plociennik had won 5 of the last 6 championships and advanced to her seventh straight final with a 6-0 6-1 win over Erma Weernink. Her opponent in the final was Marta Andrekovic who took out Sandie Ennett 6-4  6-2 in her semifinal. The championship match saw Andrekovic playing some great tennis but Plociennik was too powerful to be denied. Hitting amazing forehand winners throughout the match, Plociennik scored a 6-3  6-1 win to take her sixth ladies ‘A’ championship and cement her legacy as one of the best female players in the history of the Stratford Tennis Club. 

The men’s ‘B’ final was a face off between two of the smartest and most strategic players in the Club. Brian Arens , who qualified for the final with a 7-5  3-6  6-0 victory over Greg Vivian, took on Steven Schwartzentruber, whose 3-6  6-1  7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) semifinal win over Graham Heaton was one of the matches of the tournament. As expected, the championship match saw many long rallies and several switches in momentum. Arens took the first set 6-4, before Schwartzentruber rebounded to take the second set 6-2.

All the other finals had ended giving the fans one match to focus on and one set to determine the champion. The rallies were long and tactics were ever changing before Schwatzentruber (on his second match point) hit the best backhand of his life, cracking an outright winner to take the championship 4-6  6-2  6-3. It took over two and a half hours for Schwartzentruber to take his first championship title.

The ladies ‘B’ final was a look at ‘the next one’. 13 year old Nicolle Crowley dominated the event, advancing to the final with a 6-1  6-1 victory over fellow teenager Kaitlyn Mathieson. Her opponent in the final was Liana DeJong, who took out Laura Bossers 6-2  6-0 in her semifinal. The championship match was another impressive display by Crowley. Using her big serve and consistent and controlled ground strokes, Crowley could not be stopped. Despite long rallies DeJong could not dent Crowley’s game. Crowley took the match and championship with a 6-0  6-0 win. Crowley becomes the second youngest winner of the ladies ‘B’ title, behind only Plociennik who had won it at 12 years old.

This ends the 2013 Club Championship tournaments. 157 matches were played over the last 17 days, a record number in the history of the Club. The ‘A’ division saw repeat champions in 4 of the 5 events, with Bast the only new winner. Bast becomes only the 12th man in the 45 year history of the Club to win a men’s ‘A’ singles championship.  Junior events continue to be played as the Club crowns its 2013 champions.

Bill White

(l to r) Brian Arens (Men’s ‘B’ finalist), Steven Schwartzentruber (Men’s ‘B’ champion), Richard Bast (Men’s ‘A’ champion) , Paul Coates (Men’s ‘A’ finalists) , Marta Andrekovic (Ladies ‘A’ finalist) , Krista Plociennik (Ladies ‘A’ champion), Nicolle Crowley (Ladies ‘B’ champion), Liana DeJong (Ladies ‘B’ finalist) 

Nicolle Crowley                                                                         Steven Schwartzentruber

Krista Plociennik                                                                            Richard Bast

The Stratford Tennis League playoffs began this week. The semifinal match ups had first place La Debonaire Hair Design face Snap in the early game, while second place Donkers Agri took on third place Sunrise Health Services in the late game.

The early game was all La Debonaire. The ladies #1 doubles saw La Debonaire’s Krista Plociennik and Sandie Ennett take out Johanna Billings and Linda Doig  6-4  6-4. Ginny Smith and Sandra Hofing of La Debonaire dominated Nancy Chung and Noella Schiedel 6-0  6-2 in the ladies #2 doubles. La Debonaire also swept the men’s #1 doubles as Nathan Duh and Grant McPherson defeated Murray Schiedel and Luke Fischer 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker)  6-2. Jim Wilson and Cameron Kramer scored a 7-5  6-4 win over Gary Henry and Stuart Arkett in the men’s #2 doubles to give La Debonaire two more sets. 

 Snap got on the board by winning the #1 mixed doubles as Billings and Schiedel pounded Plociennik and Duh 6-2. La Debonaire took the #2 mixed set as Ennett and McPherson doubled up Doig and Fischer 6-3. The #3 mixed also went to La Debonaire as Smith and Wilson defeated Chung and Henry 6-4. The domination continued in the #4 mixed as La Debonaire’s Hofing and Kramer beat Schiedel and Arkett 6-3. La Debonaire advances to the ‘A’ championship game with their 11-1 victory.

The late game was as close as it could get, and unfortunately was affected by an in match injury. Things began with a split in the ladies #1 doubles. Claire Scott and Debbie Murphy of Sunrise won the first set 6-2 while Donkers’ Marta Andrekovic and Lise Couture took the second set 6-2. The ladies #2 doubles was a close match with Erma Weernink and Michele Thomson of Donkers leading Marilyn Leasa and Nancy Rheaume 4-3 when Thomson suffered a leg injury. The sets were awarded to Sunrise. The men’s #1 doubles went to Donkers as Bob Tamblyn and Greg Vivian downed John Noble and Spencer Trachsel 6-2  6-2. Sunrise took the #2 men’s doubles as Pat McCarroll and Jagdish Patel scored a 6-1  6-1 victory over Mike Furlong and Bill Steele. 

The mixed began with Donkers’ Andrekovic and Tamblyn winning the #1 match 6-2 over Scott and Noble. The #2 mixed also went to Donkers as Couture and Vivian edged Murphy and Trachsel 6-4. Leasa and McCarroll won the #3 mixed for Sunrise 6-2 over Weernink and Furlong. With Thomson’s injury the #4 mixed set was awarded to Sunrise. This gave Sunrise a 7-5 victory to send them to the ‘A’ championship match.

Next week the championship matches will be played. The early game will see Donkers Agri face Snap for the ‘B’ championship. The late game sees La Debonaire Hair Design take on Sunrise Health Services for the ‘A’ championship.  

This past weekend the Stratford Tennis Club held its annual men’s and ladies doubles championship tournaments. The large number of entries and spectacular weather made for a busy and wonderful weekend for both players and spectators.

A deep field of contenders in the men’s doubles had some top flight matches all through the weekend. The top half of the draw had top seeds and defending champions Bob Tamblyn and Kurt Eickmeier face former finalists Nathan Duh and Greg Vivian in the semifinals. The dramatic first set had Duh and Vivian get a break of serve to take a 4-3 lead but this sparked the 2012 champions to up their game. Breaking right back Tamblyn and Eickmeier went on a roll winning 9 straight games to advance to the final with a 6-4  6-0 victory. The bottom half of the draw had second seed and former champions John Noble and Richard Bast face third seed Spencer Trachsel and Shannon Dyke in the semifinal. The dramatic match went to a tie-breaker in both sets. Trachsel and Dyke scored a 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tiebreaker) 7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) victory to advance to their first men’s doubles final. The Tamblyn/Eickmeier – Trachsel/Dyke final was the match of the weekend.

Both teams had spurts of momentum only to have the other team respond with their own run of games. Tamblyn and Eickmeier took a quick lead in the first set but Trachsel and Dyke made a run to close the gap. In the end Tamblyn and Eickmeier managed to close out the set scoring a 6-4 win. Trachsel and Dyke rebounded to take the second set by the same 6-4 score setting up a third and final set for the title. The deciding set went on serve until the ninth game. The long game saw both teams have multiple game points. Eventually Tamblyn and Eickmeier converted a break point for the lead. Eickmeier’s big service game closed out the match giving the defending champions a 6-4 , 4-6, 6-4 victory and their second straight championship.

The men’s ‘B’ doubles final had teenagers Travis Hiller and Jeremy Chisholm take on Pat McCarroll and Graham Heaton. Hiller and Chisholm knocked off defending champions Mike Furlong and Jagdish Patel in their semifinal match, while McCarroll and Heaton took out brothers Christopher and Cory Smith in their semifinal. The final was dominated by the youngsters as Hiller and Chisholm scored a 6-2, 6-2 win to take their first championship.

The ladies doubles event was dominated by Krista Plociennik and Claire Scott. Plociennik and Scott eased to the final with a 6-1 6-2 win over Sandie Ennett and Nancy Chung in their semifinal. The other semifinal had mother and daughter team of Marta and Sonja Andrekovic take on 11 time former champions Ginny Smith and Linda Doig. The Andrekovics were able to hold off Smith and Doig scoring a 6-2 6-4 win to advance to the final. In the final Plociennik and Scott once again proved to be to tough, using power and touch to cruise to a 6-2 6-1 victory. This is the fourth straight ladies doubles championship for Plociennik and Scott.

The ladies ‘B’ doubles had 2009 and 2010 champions Marilyn Leasa and Lise Couture take on Annette Garneau and Heather Henke. Leasa/Couture advanced to the final with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Caryn Scott and Noella Schiedel. Garneau/Henke went to the final after downing Allison Hiller and Julie Drake 6-1 6-0 in their semifinal. The final saw a tense, close first set with Leasa and Couture able to score a 6-4 win. The momentum was all with Leasa and Couture in the second set as they cruised to a 6-0 victory to take their third ladies ‘B’ doubles title in the last five years.

Bill White

Ladies ‘A’ Winners: Claire Scott & Krista Plociennik

Mens ‘A’ Winners: Bob Tamblyn & Kurt Eickmier

Ladies ‘B’ Winners: Marilyn Leasa & Lise Couture

Mens ‘B’ Winners: Jeremy Chisolm & Travis Hiller

The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Mixed Doubles Club Championship tournament this weekend. Several familiar faces and a few new comers faced off for the titles.

The ‘A’ semifinals were filled with former champions. The first semi saw defending champions Marta Andrekovic and Bob Tamblyn take on former champions Ginny Smith and Bill White. Smith and White were no match for the 2013 champs as Andrekovic and Tamblyn scored a 6-1  6-2 victory to advance to the final. The second semi was a hard hitting affair. Former champions Johanna Billings and Richard Bast slugged it out with former winner Krista Plociennik and new partner Paul Coates. This high calibre match saw some great shot making with everyone playing in top form. Plociennik and Coates took the match 6-4  6-2 advancing to the championship match. The Sunday night final see-sawed back and forth until Andrekovic and Tamblyn took control late to take the first set  7-5. The second set was dominated by the defending champions. Superior net play gave the second set to Andrekovic and Tamblyn 6-2. Andrekovic and Tamblyn took their second straight title without losing a set all weekend and played their top tennis in the final.

The ‘B’ final had 2013 champion Sandie Ennett and new partner Todd Chisholm take on first time partners Carmen Miron and Gary Henry. The match featured every tennis shot in the book; power, spins, volleys and baseline rallies. After Miron and Henry took the first set 6-4 Ennett and Chisholm took over. After taking the second set 6-0 , Ennett and Chisholm took the title with a 6-1 win in the third set, giving Ennett her second straight mixed doubles ‘B’ title and Chisholm his first.

Next weekend the men’s and ladies doubles titles will be decided. The men’s and ladies singles tournaments are being played through the next week and a half with championship matches being played Wednesday, August 21st.

Bill White

( l to r ) Mixed Doubles ‘A’ finalists Paul Coates & Krista Plociennik, ‘A’ champions Bob Tamblyn & Marta Andrekovic

( l to r ) Mixed Doubles ‘B’ finalists Gary Henry & Carmen Miron, ‘B’ champions Todd Chisholm & Sandie Ennett 

The final week of the regular season for the Stratford Tennis League saw a shake up in the standings. With playoff positioning on the line, underdog teams came up with big wins to make the final standings the closest in league history.

The early game saw third place team Donkers Agri dominate second place Sunrise Health Services. The men’s #1 doubles was a default to Donkers as Sunrise could not field its team. The men’s #2 doubles also went to Donkers as Tom Warnock and Todd Chisholm pasted Jagdish Patel and Steven Fischer 6-2  6-0. Donkers’ #1 ladies doubles team of Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers edged Claire Scott and Nancy Rheaume 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) , 6-3. The ladies #2 doubles went to Donkers as well as Lise Couture and Erma Weernick scored a 6-1  7-6 (7 to 3 in the tie-breaker) win over Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes.

With the #1 and #2 mixed doubles matches defaulted to Donkers a sweep of all the sets seemed possible. Donkers took the #3 mixed match 6-2 as Couture and Warnock downed Leasa and Patel. The streak was finally broken in the #4 mixed match as Sunrise’s Holmes and Fischer were able to nip Weernick and Chisholm 7-5. 

The 11-1 win in sets for Donkers moved them past Sunrise in the standings and put them in contention for first place, depending on the results of the late game.

Going into the late game La Debonaire Hair Design held a 2 set lead over Sunrise and 8 set lead over Donkers for top spot in the standings. Fourth place Snap started the match by taking the men’s #1 doubles as Shannon Dyke and Chris Parson downed Richard Bast and Steven Schwartzentruber 6-3  6-4. The men’s #2 doubles was a split as La Debonaire’s Jim Wilson and Cameron Kramer took the first set 6-1 , while Snap’s Murray Schiedel and Gary Henry won the second set 6-4. The ladies #1 doubles also split with Johanna Billings and Naomi Lange of Snap winning 6-1 before La Debonaire’s Krista Plociennik and Ginny Smith rebounded for a 6-4 win in the second set. The ladies #2 doubles went to Nancy Chung and Liz Yundt of Snap as they defeated Sandra Hofing and Jolanda Vandereijk 6-1  6-3.

The mixed doubles began with La Debonaire taking the #1 match as Plociannik and Bast topped Bllings and Dyke 6-3. Snap took the #2 mixed match with Lange and Parson scoring a 6-1 win over Smith and Schwartzentruber. Chung and Schiedel of Snap took the #3 mixed with a 6-4 win over Hofing and Wilson. The #4 mixed went to a tie-breaker where Yundt and Henry of Snap edged Vandereijk and Kramer 7 points to 4.

With Snap scoring a dominating 9 set to 3 win over La Debonaire, this left the standings as close as they have ever been. La Debonaire and Donkers ended the season tied in the total sets won. The games won/games lost tie-breaker gave first place to La Debonaire Hair Design. Donkers Agri ended in second place , while Sunrise Health Services barely held off Snap for third place. The playoffs begin on August 20th with La Debonaire taking on Snap in the early game and Donkers facing Sunrise in the late game. 

Bill White

 Claire Scott of Sunrise Health Services focuses on a forehand in the ladies doubles.

AUGUST E NEWS from the STRATFORD TENNIS CLUB

Perfect weather conditions prevailed during the recent Woods and Whites Tournament held on July 20th at the Stratford tennis Club. To acknowledge and celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Stratford Tennis Club, former members Ray Cornish, Perry Hill, Velma Hansford and Mae Reed were invited back to kick off the event with some informal doubles play. Club manager,Bill White, provided some fascinating information about the beginnings of the club and these outstanding veteran tennis players.
Fifty participants dressed in their whites and/or retro attire, enjoyed an afternoon of great tennis and shared a delicious catered meal and assorted desserts donated by members. A silent auction with items donated by both club members and the community, drew some competitive bidding. The lucky recipients of the raffle draw of beer and wine were Michele Thomson and Joanna Billings.

Club President, Bob Tamblyn, organized a tribute to the Trillium Foundation for their recent grant of $46,300 to the club. Randy Pettapiece, MPP for Perth Wellington, Kerry McManus, from the City of Stratford and Rena Orr a representative for the Foundation, were the dignitaries who were present for the ceremony.

The day was very successful, raising $2400.00 for the club and garnering many positive comments! Many, many thanks to all who attended, organized and/or contributed to the day in the way of advertising, desserts and silent auction and wine donations. Your support and generosity helped to make the 2013 Woods and Whites Tournament a fundraising success!

August is the month when our Club Championship Events are held. All members are encouraged to participate. The sign up sheets are on the counter at the clubhouse. Please make note of the entry deadlines. Everyone starts in ‘A’  and moves to the ‘B’ division with a first round loss.

EVENT                                         DATE                                           ENTRY DEADLINE
Mens and Ladies Singles      August 6th – August 21st       Sunday, August 4th
Mixed Doubles                        August 9th – August 11th      Wednesday, August 7th
Mens and Ladies Doubles    August 16th – August 18th    Wednesday, August 14th

Boys and Girls Under 18        August 5th – August 11th       Saturday, August 3rd
Boys and Girls Under 16        August 12th – August 18th    Saturday, August 10th
Boys and Girls Under 14        August 19th – August 25th    Saturday, August 17th
Boys and Girls Under 12        August 23rd – August 30th    Wednesday, August 21st
**Each age category includes singles, boys and girls doubles and mixed doubles play.**

Spectators are more than welcome to come down and watch the Club Championship Finals. Bring a blanket and cushion and enjoy some superb tennis under the stars. The dates are as follows:

Mens and Ladies Singles Finals               Wednesday   August 21st  at 7:30
Mixed Doubles                                             Sunday           August 11th  at 7:30
‘A’ and ‘B’ Doubles                                      Sunday           August 18th  at 7:30

Thanks to the Trillium grant, our new concrete pad around the practice wall is now in and seeing lots of use. The new ball machine has been very popular as well. The rate is $6/hour for adults and $3/hour for juniors. Come down and give it a try!

The Superset tournament held in July met with record draws. Although the heat and humidity was intense, that did not stop players ranging in age from 13 to 84, from coming out for a great day of tennis! Many people enjoyed watching the finals at the club. The winners of the day were:

Men’s Singles               Bob Tamblyn
Ladies’ Singles             Marta Andrekovic
Mens Doubles              Travis Hiller and Grant McPherson
Ladies Doubles            Marta and Sonja Andrekovic
Mixed Doubles            Bob Tamblyn and Marta Andrekovic

Tennis Camps were highly successful this year with many weeks fully booked. The final week is August 5th to 9th and it is now full. So this means next year, reserve your week(s) early!

In Tennis League action, La Debonaire Hair Design remains in the lead with Sunrise Health Services a close second. Donkers Agri and Snap remain in 3rd and 4th place respectively. Two rained out games will be played before playoff games start and these dates are to be determined. Bill will email this information when it is confirmed.

The present adult and junior ladders will end Aug 9th and the new ladders will not begin again until August 23rd due to club championships. This ladder will finish the end of September.

The Junior tournaments have now concluded with the exception of the Parent/Child tournament in September. Our juniors are encouraged to keep practising their skills by competing in the Club Championships, joining the next ladder and attending the free lessons.

Greg is still available for private lessons if you are seeking some individual attention on how to better your game.

The courts are being well used and this is great to see! Don’t forget that you can phone one day ahead to book a court .

That’s all for this month.

Play More Tennis!
Nancy

Week 8 of the Stratford Tennis League was played this past week. The second last week of the regular season saw matches that would go a long way to determining the final standings.

 The early game had third place Donkers Agri facing fourth place Snap. The match began with Snap taking the ladies #1 doubles as Linda Doig and Johanna Billings scored a 7-6 (7 points to 5 in the tie-breaker) 6-3 win over Marta Andrekovic and Maria Donkers. The ladies #2 doubles was a split of sets as Nancy Chung and Noella Schiedel of Snap took the first set 6-3, while Donkers’ Lise Couture and Michele Thomson won the second set 6-4. The men’s #1 doubles went to Donkers’ Bob Tamblyn and Mike Furlong as they scored a 6-4  6-4 win over Chris Parson and Murray Schiedel. Donkers also took the men’s #2 doubles with John Fischer and Bill Steele downing Gary Henry and Stuart Arkett 6-4  7-5. 

The #1 mixed doubles had Andrekovic and Tamblyn of Donkers shut out Doig and Parson 6-0. Billings and Schiedel won the #2 mixed for Snap 7-5 over Donkers and Furlong. A tie-breaker decided the #3 mixed match as Donkers’ Couture and Fischer were able to edge Chung and Henry 7 points to 4 to take the set. Thomson and Steele scored a 6-2 win over Schiedel and Arkett to give the #4 mixed set to Donkers.

The match ended with Donkers taking 8 sets and Snap winning 4 sets. The 4 set advantage extended the lead for Donkers in the battle for third place. 

The late game was a battle of the first place La Debonaire Hair Design and second place Sunrise Health Services. La Debonaire started the night with a four set lead for the top spot. The ladies #1 doubles match saw La Debonaire’s Krista Plociennik and Sandie Ennett cruise to a 6-2  6-0 victory over Naomi Lange and Debbie Murphy. Sunrise took the ladies #2 doubles as Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes took out Sandra Hofing and Jolanda Vandereijk 6-4  6-1. The men’s #1 doubles had Richard Bast and Graham Heaton win the first set for La Debonaire 6-4 while John Noble and Spencer Trachsel took the second set 6-4 for Sunrise. The men’s #2 doubles went to Sunrise as Pat McCarroll and Jagdish Patel scored a 6-2  6-2 win over Jim Wilson and Sing Chung.

Plociennik and Bast won the #1 mixed doubles for La Debonaire with a 6-3 victory over Lange and Noble. La Debonaire’s Ennett and Heaton edged Murphy and Trachsel 7-5 to take the #2 mixed set for La Debonaire. Leasa and McCarroll of Sunrise won the #3 mixed doubles 6-1 over Hofing and Wilson. The #4 mixed doubles was a 6-2 win for Sunrise as Holmes and Patel downed Vandereijk and Chung.

The night ended with Sunrise taking a 7 sets to 5 win. This cut the La Debonaire lead to 2 sets in the battle for first place. Next week is the last week of the regular season where Donkers Agri will take on Sunrise Health Services in the early game , while Snap faces La Debonaire Hair Design in the late game.

Bill White

The ‘US Open’, the fourth and final leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam, took place in July at the Stratford Tennis Club.

 The boys singles saw Luke Fischer complete the season Grand Slam. Fischer won all 4 events this season, taking the ‘US Open’ title with an 8-7 (9 points to 7 in the tie-breaker) victory over Collin Rose. Sam Wyatt won the consolation title downing Ethan Misener 8-3 in the final.

The girls singles champion is Livia Passarelli who took out Kaitlyn Mathieson 8-0 in the championship match. The consolation winner is Rachel Nash who defeated Sophie Bogdan 8-5 in the final match.

With the Grand Slam events completed the players will focus on the annual Club Championship tournaments that take place during August. 

Bill White

 Week 7 of the Stratford Tennis League took place on Tuesday night. The results saw a tightening in the standings. With two weeks remaining in the regular season the playoff positioning remains up in the air.

The early game had first place team La Debonaire Hair Design face Donkers Agri. The match up saw a split in the men’s #1 doubles as La Debonaire’s Richard Bast and Grant McPherson took the first set 6-3 while Donkers’ Bob Tamblyn and Mike Furlong scored a 6-1 win in the second set. Donkers swept the men’s #2 doubles as Tom Warnock and Bill Steele defeated Cameron Kramer and Sing Chung 6-2  6-0. Krista Plociennik and Sandie Ennett of LaDebonaire dominated the ladies #1 doubles with a 6-0  6-1 win over Maria Donkers and Lise Couture. A split in the ladies #2 doubles had La Debonaire’s Sandra Hofing and Jolanda Vandereijk take the first set 6-4 while Donkers’ Heather Henke and Erma Weernink scored a 7-6 (7 points to 3 in the tie-breaker) win in the second set.

 The mixed doubles had Plociennik and Bast of La Debonaire triumph over Donkers and Tamblyn 6-1 in the #1 match up. Ennett and McPherson gave La Debonaire the #2 mixed set scoring 6-4  over Couture and Furlong. Donkers took the #3 mixed as Henke and Warnock downed Hofing and Kramer 6-3. The #4 mixed went to Donkers as Weernink and Steele defeated Vandereijk and Chung 6-2. The match up ended with both teams winning 6 sets.

The late game saw Snap score its biggest win of the season as they downed Sunrise Health Services 8 sets to 4 sets. Snap’s big night began with a sweep in the men’s #1 doubles as Shannon Dyke and Murray Schiedel downed Spencer Trachsel and Nathan Duh 6-3 7-5. Sunrise swept the men’s #2 double with a 6-4 6-2 win by Brent Hiller and Paul Barclay over Gary Henry and Sumeet Bhat. The ladies #1 doubles went to Snap’s Johanna Billings and Naomi Lange 6-3 6-1 over Claire Scott and Debbie Murphy. The ladies #2 doubles went to Snap as Annette Garneau and Noella Schiedel took out Sunrise’s Marilyn Leasa and Marilyn Holmes 6-4  7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker).

The #1 mixed set went to Billings and Dyke of Snap as they downed Scott and Trachsel 6-4. Lange and Schiedel of Snap shut out Murphy and Duh 6-0 to take the #2 mixed set. Leasa and Hiller of Sunrise won the #3 mixed 6-3 over Garneau and Kramer. Sunrise won the #4 mixed as Holmes and Barclay defeated Schiedel and Bhat 6-1.

After 7 weeks La Debonaire Hair Design holds on to a slight lead for first place in the standings. Sunrise Health Services remains in second place with third place Donkers Agri closing the gap and Snap moving back into contention with its big win. Week 8 will see Donkers Agri face Sunrise Health Services in the early game and Snap take on La Debonaire Hair Design in the late game.

Bill White

Cameron Kramer of La Debonaire hits a return in the men’s doubles.