The Newsletter of the Santa Monica Tennis Club
September-October 2009
In This Issue:
Open play dates:
9/13 – Open play to 2:00,
9/20, 9/27, 10/4,
10/11 – Doubles championships – limited play
Court times: Court #1: 9AM to 4PM; Court #2: 9AM to 3PM; Court #6: 10AM to 2PM.
Court times depend upon the usage of the courts.
9/13 – Open play to 2:00,
9/20, 9/27, 10/4,
10/11 – Doubles championships – limited play
Court times: Court #1: 9AM to 4PM; Court #2: 9AM to 3PM; Court #6: 10AM to 2PM.
Court times depend upon the usage of the courts.
SANTA MONICA TENNIS CLUB YEAR END CHAMPIONSHIPS!
October 17, 18, and 25
The Santa Monica Club Tennis Championships is scheduled for 10/17, 10/18, and 10/25. 10/24 is available if there is the rarest possibility of rain. The tournament director will be Bill Nissley, Director, who is also of the Tournament Director for the 80th Santa Monica Open.
The price for first entry is $40.00 which includes the gourmet banquet catered by club member and chefs extraordinaire, Katherine Spetner with David McKennen. The banquet and trophy ceremony will occur Sunday pm at Katherine's home on 26th St. Dinner menu can be seen by clicking here so whet your appetites and prepare to enjoy. Dinner guests will be allowed @ $30 per person.
If you want to enter more than one event, the cost is $10.00 per event.
Thus, you may enter singles, doubles and mixed doubles and have a delicious gourmet meal to celebrate the conclusion of the championships for $60.00.
The championship's is the major tournament club event. It will be single elimination, two out of three sets, regular scoring!! If you enter more than one event, you will be able to compete more.
So, let's celebrate with lots of fun, fair, foot fault-free tennis by entering three events.
Fabulous trophies will be presented to Champions and Finalists. There must be at least four entries to make the event happen.
You may enter at your level or higher. (3.5; 4.0 and 4.5) Marguerite Jorgensen will help me coordinate this tournament, so please send your entry forms to her on the entry blank in this newsletter.
The tournament was advertised at the Santa Monica Open that precedes it in September. We are hoping to attract more players, as SMTC is sponsoring some of the prize money for the tournament...SMTC members may also compete in the Open, but must be USTA members, The USTA is the umbrella organization for tennis, and it is a good deal to be a member..you will get the magazine TENNIS as part of your membership package. You can check it out by going to www.usta.com/tennislink and then input the tournament id# which is 651765809.
If you have any questions, feel free to phone me, Bill Nissley (310)850-9407, Tournament Director
Click here for the entry form.
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UPCOMING INTERCLUB EVENT: NEW CLUB! Oakridge Athletic Club
We are having a new club - Oakridge Athletic Club from Simi Valley is coming to Reed Park on September 13th from 2 to 4 o'clock (won't interfere with regular Sunday court schedule) and will consist of the following teams:- Ladies doubles, one team each of 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0's
- Men's doubles, one team each of 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0's
Santa Monica Tennis Club will furnish the balls, the courts and the refreshments.
Click here for the entry form.
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MIXED DOUBLES MATCHES
Tournament Director Jim Castagnola has extended the deadline to October 1st, with the playoffs on Sunday, October 11th. Your team must have played five matches to be eligible for the playoffs. In Division #1 and Division #2, the four top teams will play each other, best out of three pro sets; the top two of these will play each other. Two matches might have to be played at Ocean View courts, but the finals will be at Reed Park.Back To Top
Welcome New Members
- Garcia, Efrain 925-918-2584 4.0 M
- Kim, Janice 310-310-8592 4.0 F
- Lynch, Brenden 310-907-8889 C 3.0 M
- Okita, Keiji 310-74-9692 C 5.0 M
- Pulford, Michael 310-592-8911 C 4.0 M
- Robtblatt, Steven 310-487-3344 C 3.5 M
- Shapero, Barbara (Bebe) 310-367-5616 C 3.5 F
- Suchecki, Paul 310-306-3104 C 3.5 M
- Vasquez, Ginger 3l0-488-08561 C 3.5 F
- Zong, Shangyou (Sandy) 310-435-6999 C 4.0 F
(C denotes cell phone #)
Michael, Bebe, Paul and Sandy were previous club members from several years ago - nice to have you back again. Brenden is also a returning member from quite some years ago.
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MEMBERS PAGE
We have some of our members with injuries - Geoff Egginton had surgery on his shoulder, Marie Lafayette has a broken wrist (from her dog, not tennis), Klavdia Goldshteyn also has a broken wrist and Mara Zaslove is out for some time. Guy Massé is scheduled for surgery and will be out for two to three months - hurry back all of you.Mary Sunshine signed up for a movie out of town and will be out of town for three months or so...we will miss her nice smile...and good tennis.
Bob McGuire, our most popular partner has moved to Hawaii full-time to be with his family who needs him at this time. We wish him the best of luck (he already has found places to play over there) and welcome him back to visit any time he can.
I'll remind everyone one more time; this is your page to write something of interest to the club that you would like to say.
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MESSAGE FROM AN AUSSIE VISITOR COMING SOON
We will have a guest here visiting from Australia in September and he wrote the following message:Hi Marguerite
Many thanks for your kind welcome to your club and I am sure I will really enjoy the experience.
I am there for 2 weeks in Santa Monica en route to Spain for 3 tournaments, then finally giving a lecture on tactics at the world coaching conference in Valencia, Spain before heading home back to Australia in November.
I am happy to assist any of your members wanting help with their game whist there, so please don't hesitate to ask and no fee required. I own my own Club here in Brisbane and have an International project with professionals in Alicante on the Costa Blanca in Spain.
I mentioned that Fred Stolle who lives in Florida is a friend of mine and assists in between Wimbledon and the French with my Academy. I play a reasonable game (58 years) and would enjoy some company enjoying training whilst in Santa Monica.
I am single and really love your part of the world.
Again, many thanks and will see you in the near future.
Les Haines (his friends call him Harry)
We certainly will make space for him to give clinics when he is here!
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FRIDAY NIGHT AFFAIRS RECAP + UPCOMING FRIDAY NIGHT EVENTS
THE FALL OF BASTILLE - July 17thOne more time, this was an ideal set-up - 12 people each of opposite sexes - however, two fellows didn't realize that 7 o'clock meant start playing at 7 o'clock - not arrive at 7:25 then have to warm up! Oh well, all that ends well is well (I guess). Two of our former members that rejoined, showed they had not lost their touch. Sandy Zong, had 28 games, followed by Sue Moore with 26 games, then Karin Anderson had 24 games...pretty close competition. Michael Pulford, had 29 games, followed by Rob Baumann and Cyrus Namini, each with 24 games. Thanks to Gwendolyn Coleman for helping people with the draw and thanks to Carol Reston and Bob Firring for collecting the score sheets and putting them in order. Again, some of the more hardy souls went to El Cholo to 'celebrate' or just mingle with the rest of the group, which makes a nice end to an evening.
There were complaints that the evening ran too long, so it was decided for the next event that we would not have a second deuce, just a sudden death point, gender to gender when the score was tied.
HOT AUGUST NIGHTS - August 21st
First of all, I forgot to put this in the July/August newsletter, but no problem, I sent out emails. Was pleasantly surprised that by Tuesday, August 18th, I had all the spots filled, then had alternates...well people kept changing their minds, so by Thursday, I was using the alternates, but Friday afternoon I had to call for an additional lady because someone called me @ 3 o'clock to say they could not play…still no problem, I had twelve ladies/twelve gentleman - at least on paper. Joel and Carrel Hoffman had volunteered to help so they could see about having a second Friday social a month. It was very nice of them, because at 7 o'clock we were missing four people! Phone calls brought in three people within twenty minutes and Marguerite recruited a person walking by who graciously filled in (I only know his first name which was Mark) so once again we could have the desired number of players! A couple of people played singles for awhile, but everyone was very courteous about the delay. Lady high scorers were: Carol Reston, 29 games, followed closely by Carrie Gold, 28 games and third place was Shirley McClaine, 25 games. Gentlemen high scorers were: Ron Elmer, 30 games, followed by Chuck Crump, 27 games. Only ten people turned in their score sheets, so I am reporting from what I had record of. About half of the players went to El Cholo for 'socializing' which is an important part of the evening!
We had decided that we would have the first deuce be the deciding game and it was a good thing as the last person turned in their score sheet, the lights went off.
Thank you, Joe and Carrel, for your help with this event.
P.S. Joel and Carrel decided that once a month was good enough for this event.
***UPCOMING: Autumn Haze - Friday, September 18 and Halloween Scare - Friday, October 30***
We will have the next Friday night, Autumn Haze, September 18th, (the third Friday of September) and then in October we will have our Friday night Halloween 'scare', October 30th, which will conclude the Friday night socials for 2009. Thanks to everyone that arrives on time and participates with good sportsmanship. It is a social event, not a tournament!
Click here for the entry forms.
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PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENTS
The UCLA Farmers Insurance tournament was attended by twenty members and friends on a Wednesday night which gave us a nice price for the tickets. The WTA in Carson was attended by ten of us (not through SMTC) which again made it nice to see familiar faces. If more people are interested next year, we can get better prices for more people...please keep this in mind for next year.Back To Top
DOUBLES CLINIC RECAP - AUGUST 8TH
The USTA gave us Grant Money to be used for clinics and this one finished the funds we were given in 2008. For this reason, we charged a very nominal amount of $10 per person for one and one-half hours of pro instructions from Kris Jordan, Mountain Gate Activity Director, and his assistant Nick. We certainly had a better turnout this time - thirty SMTC members and a few guests - took advantage of this opportunity to sharpen their skills under Kris' capable expertise. Allison Starcher was kind enough to reiterate how she felt about the experience.
Kris Jordan Doubles Clinic Recap: The Forehand Rules
by Allison Mia Starcher
A lifetime of learning is what I aspire to and tennis is no exception. Whether you are simply being reminded to watch the ball or get your footwork right a tennis clinic can have an immediate positive effect on your game no matter what your level. Hey, even computers need their software updated from time to time.
On August 8th the SMTC was lucky to have Kris Jordan, from Mountain Gate come to Reed Park and coach a doubles strategy clinic. The price was right, a very reasonable $10 and the weather was perfect for both sessions. Kris and his capable assistant spent the majority of the classes training our brains to, when time permitted, run around our backhands and hit aggressive forehands. This was especially difficult for those of us who fancy our backhands to be winners but soon the wisdom of this concept became evident. Ground stokes, lobs, approach shots and volleys could all be adapted and made stronger using this simple concept. I always poo pooed players who relied so heavily on their forehand and believed they should work on rounding out their game but now I understand that no matter how much you like your backhand, the forehand can and should be your deadliest weapon. This also meant that if your partner was running around their backhand, you needed to cover the middle of the court, something us doubles players can always benefit from being reminded about!
I had the opportunity to use my new skills the next morning and was rewarded by being on the winning side in 2 out of three sets. The greater reward was a surprising confidence in shots that I would have typically plopped back from the backhand side and now hit aggressively by back-pedaling a few steps and attacking with a focused forehand. I will definitely continue to practice and employ this tactic whenever possible.
Tennis clinics not only expand our knowledge of the game and hone skills but they are a great way to work together with other club members in a non-competitive and playful atmosphere. We all left wishing we could do this more often and ready to sign up for next year!
SMTC does plan to have at least one more clinic this year and another one early next year. Strangely enough there are only so many weekends available.
by Allison Mia Starcher
A lifetime of learning is what I aspire to and tennis is no exception. Whether you are simply being reminded to watch the ball or get your footwork right a tennis clinic can have an immediate positive effect on your game no matter what your level. Hey, even computers need their software updated from time to time.
On August 8th the SMTC was lucky to have Kris Jordan, from Mountain Gate come to Reed Park and coach a doubles strategy clinic. The price was right, a very reasonable $10 and the weather was perfect for both sessions. Kris and his capable assistant spent the majority of the classes training our brains to, when time permitted, run around our backhands and hit aggressive forehands. This was especially difficult for those of us who fancy our backhands to be winners but soon the wisdom of this concept became evident. Ground stokes, lobs, approach shots and volleys could all be adapted and made stronger using this simple concept. I always poo pooed players who relied so heavily on their forehand and believed they should work on rounding out their game but now I understand that no matter how much you like your backhand, the forehand can and should be your deadliest weapon. This also meant that if your partner was running around their backhand, you needed to cover the middle of the court, something us doubles players can always benefit from being reminded about!
I had the opportunity to use my new skills the next morning and was rewarded by being on the winning side in 2 out of three sets. The greater reward was a surprising confidence in shots that I would have typically plopped back from the backhand side and now hit aggressively by back-pedaling a few steps and attacking with a focused forehand. I will definitely continue to practice and employ this tactic whenever possible.
Tennis clinics not only expand our knowledge of the game and hone skills but they are a great way to work together with other club members in a non-competitive and playful atmosphere. We all left wishing we could do this more often and ready to sign up for next year!
- Marguerite
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TOLUCA LAKE INTERCLUB
On Saturday afternoon, July 18th, Santa Monica Tennis Club journeyed over the hill to this nice facility, Toluca Lake Tennis Club, courtesy Ben Brunkow, Tennis Director. We were served a nice buffet lunch...and serious tennis. Harry Weiss and Fitzroy Samoth upheld our honor in the 4.5 men's division (against two young players who were probably a combination of 45 years of age); Phoebe Neil and her partner also upheld our honor in the 4.5 women's division; Randy Chow and Cyrus Namini won one of the men's 4.0 matches and Ron Elmer and Marguerite squeaked out a win in the one mixed doubles match…but that was pretty much the winners of the sets. SMTC won 9 sets and Toluca Lake won 15 sets.Toluca Lake has some very nice competent players and they are familiar with playing with each other...so the percentage of their wins was like 70% and ours 30%. Every player was very hospitable and friendly. The weather was very toasty (to say the least).
Ron Elmer wants to thank everyone who played their best. The saving grace of the day is that they want to come to our facility and have a rematch...which will not be the month of September/October. We can practice together more with the partners we plan on playing with! - Ron Elmer
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USTA Fall Doubles League
NOTE: even though the flyer (link below) says the deadline is August 31, it is not too late, we can still join in if we get enough players. You can still sign up for a team after the deadline, but please sign up as soon as possible as there is room left on the team roster.Click here for the flyer.
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Santa Monica Tennis Club - Since 1928 - www.santamonicatennisclub.com