Another year for the charities goes off without a hitch thanks to the leadership of John Noble and Company. This November, 296 players competed in four events: The Men's Open, Women's Open, Men's 45+, and Men's 55+.
In the women's open tournament, last season's finalists Aery/Viant and Fulton/Prendergast were no-shows. Therefore, the draw was ripe for the picking. The biggest quarter-final upsets came when 5th seeded Kerri Delmonico and Shelly Morse upset the top-seeded team of Tonia Mangan and Bobo Delaney. They proceeded to defeat Jane McNitt and Leslie Hough (who defeated 3rd seeded Hilary Debbs and Patty Hogan) in a three-set semi-final match. In the other half of the draw, 2nd seeded Mary Doten and Julia Sierks held their ground to reach the finals. Kerri and Shelly won the finals (their first Charities Title) in a hard-fought match.
In the men's draw, the top seeds proceeded [...]
Dick Squires had some thoughts on how court construction should change to grow the game:
The November, 2002 edition of Platform Tennis Magazine was primarily concerned about where our lovely sport is going...or not going. We should all be concerned.
The premier tennis court in America was built less than 50 years before the first
paddle court. Why did that sport experience widespread, meteoric growth not only in this country, but around the world? The tennis court consumes four times the amount of land and it too was initially a recreational activity for the wealthy, yet, it took off like a Southern California forest fire. How come?
It is truly a mystery why a rather boorish game like racquetball could experience astronomical growth during the late 70's. Even though participation eventually leveled off almost as fast as it grew in the ensuing years, there are millions still pla[...]
John Embree has been involved in sports, and more importantly - racquet sports, since he was a child. In college, John was a four-year letterman in both soccer and tennis. He was even voted MVP and senior athlete of the year.
In the early 70s, John went on various professional tennis tours, included in this was his participation in the 1976 Australian Open. John's enthusiasm for tennis was recognized by the USTA when they hired him in 1980. John soon after developed and implemented the new USTA League Program. Today, John's baby has 400,000 annual participants.
Wilson saw John's potential and hired him soon after. He worked his way up to become the V.P. and G.M. for Wilson Racquet Sports. One day in 1994, Wilson's President asked John if he knew of any new business ventures the company could get involved with. Citing service and quality-related problems from platform tennis' prima[...]
On January 5, 2003, a fatal propane gas explosion occurred on a platform tennis court at the Eastham Residential Community in Grantham, New Hampshire.
A suspected gas leak caused the explosion that killed 64- year-old James Owen (husband and father of one) and injured three others.
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine Vol. 4, Issue 4, March 2003
What activity can you do with kids in the middle of winter when its 15 degrees out?
Put them on the paddle courts of course! That is exactly what happened January 11, as 184 players took to the courts for the 2003 Junior National Championships hosted by the Beacon Hill Club in Summit, New Jersey.
Seven area clubs, 28 courts in all, saw non-stop action as a record number of players battled it out in hopes of winning a National Title. At day's end, four teams left with championships medals and "Champion's Chairs" while the other 88 teams left with the satisfaction of knowing they competed their best.
The winners in the 10-and-Under championship were Will Burchenal and Thomas Killian (Summit, NJ). They topped Ryan Hissey and Scotty "THRASH" Safford (West Chester,PA) 6-2, 6-3 in the finals.
Terry Keegan (Fairfield, CT) and Liam Bohannon (Westport, CT) won the 12- and-Under champ[...]
Gary Horvath paid tribute to those that made it happen:
The quiet resurrection of the junior circuit has to be included in this list of events that will shape the game in the years ahead. Junior paddle has seen its rebirth as a result of renewed support for the APTA Junior Nationals, increased programming by teaching professionals, and the creation of the Viking Cup and Viking Junior Tour. This season, over 180 players participated in the Junior Nationals. Patty Hogan, Junior Nationals Tournament Director, was impressed both with the level of enthusiasm and the improvement in the level of play.
This season also marked the first year of the Viking Junior Tour. There have been four junior tournaments held so far this season with over 350 participants. Two more are definitely scheduled and two additional tournaments are tentatively scheduled for this season.
A year after entering t[...]
One hundred and eleven men's teams negotiated their way to Philadelphia to compete for the prestigious, year-end, National Platform Tennis Championships, March 8th and 9th. When the dust cleared on Sunday afternoon, the defending National Champions, Scott Mansager and Flip Goodspeed had been upset in the semifinals by Mike Stulac and Bill Anderson. Stulac and Anderson were then defeated by David Ohlmuller and Chris Gambino in two hard-fought sets in the finals. For Ohlmuller and Gambino, the victory was especially sweet as they recaptured the National Championship from two years ago.
"We had a great year, capped off by an amazing Nationals," said David Ohlmuller. "The tournament was first class all the way. The atmosphere made it feel like the US Open," exclaimed the three-time National Champ.
With Mother Nature cooperating and providing partly sunny skies and temperatures i[...]
With defending Region IV champs missing several veteran players, the Region III dark-horse men's team delivered a stunning victory in front of their hometown fans. After four rounds of competition, Region III had won 18 out of a possible 20 points, mathematically winning the Cup prior to the final round against a strong Region I (NY/NJ) squad.
Lead by the undefeated play of John Stefanik and Tim McAvoy at #1, Region III started strong and never let up, bringing the Cup back home for the first time since 2000, when Captain Pete Mathews led the team in Rochester.
As with every PC victory, this year was a total team effort. The up and coming rookie team of David Caldwell and Blake Cordish went 4-1 at #4. Also, Chris Gorman, another first-time PC player, joined forces with Fred Gumbinner in the #5 slot and also went 4-1. They too, went undefeated in their first four matches. The veter[...]
The video was shot at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Briarcliff, NY and produced by Fox Meadow member and indie film producer Eric Taylor. It shows the fun of paddle competition and the spirit of the players.
The foursome involved were: David Ohlmuller, Chris Gambino, Mike Cochrane and John Schmitt.
Source: Eric Taylor
During his tenure as the chair of the APTA Rules and Equipment Committee Robert A Brown had conducted a number of surveys of service holds and breaks, in part because of the no-let decision in the late 1990s. In 2003 he updated his earlier work with and analysis on the 20003 Senior Men's 50+, 60+ and 70+ championships and filed the following report with PTM.
In discussions with players about the "pros" and "cons" of the no-Jet on net cord serve rule, the conversation usually progresses to a question as to whether the server In platform tennis has an advantage in serving. The "con" proponent will generally comment that this is the case and that the no-let rule further favors the server. While there Is a modicum of truth to the latter comment, It is not a significant factor, since most of the net-cord serves are returnable and the Incidence of the "dribbler" occurs on less than one-half[...]
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