Chicago Charities – Berendt and Cooper capture the Women’s and Caldwell and Cordish the Men’s

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With the lone exception of the National Championships, no other tournament packs the talent like the Chicago Charities. With few exceptions, the best of the best showed up for the 35th annual tournament benefiting the Northwestern Healthcare Kellogg Cancer Care Centers.

Women’s: On November 2nd, 52 Women’s teams kicked off the 2007 Chicago Charities. Six of the top eight teams from the 2006-07 season competed. Absent was the nation’s top team – Lauren Zink/Cindy Prendergast and the nation’s #6 team – Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan.

Last season’s #2 team of Sally Cottingham and Chris Sheldon took the #1 seed spot, while Delmonico/Main, Doten/Keane, Dardis/Shay, Prop/Schneebeck, Ohlmuller/Takach, Flynn/Tarzian and Henke/Lemieux rounded out the 2-8 seed spots. Tournament Director John Noble’s draw sheet ran as expected with all seeded teams reaching their anticipated finish with one exception and it was a major exception!

In the round-of-16, the 8th seeded team from Pittsburgh, Karen Henke and Nathalie Lemieux, ran into a freight train when they lost to Laura Berendt and Annica Cooper 6-0, 6-0. Cooper (New York City) had been playing the sport for just over a year when she called Berendt (Chicago), the assistant pro at the Glenview Club, looking to pair up. The two had been Chicago junior tennis rivals before eventually starring in college and eventually playing the pro circuit.

With all other seeds making their way into the quarterfinals, Berendt and Cooper ran into the top-seeded team (and #2 in the country), Sally Cottingham and Chris Sheldon.

After losing the first set 6-4, Berendt and Cooper stepped up their baseline ground-stroke attack. At the same time, they elected a net strategy rarely seen in the women’s game, with Berendt pounding low forehand overheads into the corners. The unseeded team won the remaining sets 6-2 and 6-4.

In the Saturday morning semi-finals, the 3rd seeded team, Mary Doten and Susie Keane felt little consolation with their drawplacement, knowing that they had to play the ladies that just defeated the #1 ranked team.

The two-hour match began at 11a.m. and was watched by 100+ spectators. Everyone got their money’s worth as the former national champions traded ground-strokes and volleys with the tournament’s upset team. In the end, Berendt and Cooper outlasted the veterans, Doten and Keane, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 paving the way for a final against the 2nd seeded team from New York, Aila Main and Kerrie Delmonico-Stulac. Main and Delmonico-Stulac made their way to the finals by winning back-to-back three-setters against the #7-seeded team of Flynn/Tarzian (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) in the quarters and #4-seeded Dardis/Shay (7-5, 3-6, 7-6) in the semis.

On one side of the net, the finals exhibited powerful backhand drives from Main and well-placed forehands from Delmonico-Stulac. On the other side, Berendt and Cooper stunned the seeded team with powerful forehands and backhands from every angle.

With the final score of 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 it was certainly one of the most offensively-oriented women’s finals ever played in the Chicago Charities. All who attended were privy to an amazing show of platform tennis.

Men’s: For those surprised how packed deep the women’s draw was, they must have been amazed to see that 14 of the top 15 men from the 2006-07 season competed in the 2007 Charities.

The seeded teams were: #1 Cochrane/Estes, #2 Caldwell/ Cordish, #3 Goodspeed/Mansager, #4 Bancila/Easterbrook, #5 Gambino/Ohlmuller, #6 Keevins/Uihlein, #7 Berka/Granger and #8 Bondurant/Johnson.

The round-of-16 had one upset, if you’ll call it that, when two Chicago teams met up; one, a pair of former national champions- Mike Marino and Bill Fiedler and two, the #8-seeded team of Scott Bondurant and Mark Johnson. Marino and Fiedler defeated the seeded team and then went on in the quarterfinals to defeat the #1 seeded Mike Cochrane (New York) and Scott Estes (Toledo) 6-2, 6-2.

The biggest surprise of the men’s draw occurred in the Saturday evening men’s quarter-finals when the #6 team Uihlein and Keevins defeated the #3 seeded Goodspeed/Mansager, 6-0, 6-0!

The semi-finals were set with Marino/Fiedler against Gambino/ Ohlmuller and Caldwell/Cordish against Uihlein/ Keevins. Gambino and Ohlmuller made it to the semi after a tight 6-2, 7-5 win in the quarters vs. Bancila/Easterbrook and a win against Heil/English in the 16’s. Caldwell/Cordish reached the semis, defeating Albrikes/Jonason in the 16s and Berka/Granger in the quarters.

A game of momentum and match-ups, the semis showcased the best players in the sport, with Caldwell and Cordish advancing over Keevins/Uihlein 6-1, 6-4; and, Gambino/Ohlmuller over Marino/Fiedler 6-3, 6-3.

A hundred spectators packed the Glenview club to witness a display of inhuman reflexes, power, consistency and chessmanship. After 90 minutes of battle, Caldwell and Cordish walked away with the Charities title, taking the finals 6-2, 6-3.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 2, December, 2007

Bulletworks launches “Advantage Paddle Courts” – growth eyed in Southeast and West

Bullet and Jacki Brown, owners of BulletWorks Platform Tennis, are pleased to announce the formation of Advantage Paddle Courts. The new entity was created to market ground level courts in Regions VI and VII. The first official Advantage court was installed this spring in Napa Valley, California.

“We see tremendous growth potential for the sport in the Southeast and West,” says Bullet Brown. “There are tens of thousands of active seniors in these areas who have never heard of platform tennis. We plan to introduce targeted groups to the sport and position our product as a smart recreational amenity for their home or community.”

BulletWorks, Inc. operates out of a 5,000 square foot manufacturing space in Rutland, Vermont. Currently, in response to limited market demand for new courts from the existing platform tennis community, BulletWorks manufactures 10-20 courts a year. “We could easily produce 80-100 Advantage courts a year,” says Brown. “We hope to get to that point within the next few years.”

The Browns are focusing efforts on ground level court construction for a number of reasons – one being that they are a lot less expensive for the buyer than traditional platform tennis courts. An Advantage Paddle Court is basically a standard platform tennis court superstructure installed on a concrete pad. By eliminating the heavy, expensive aluminum deck, the price drops significantly – for the purchaser of one court it can mean a $20,000 savings. That cost differential makes the discretionary purchase more realistic for many potential clients. [enlarge image to read full story]

APTA Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting took place at the Fox Chapel Golf Club, Pittsburgh, PA on May 4-5, 2007.Highlights were:

Financial Report by Sally Cottingham.
• $65,651.00 Income $9,000 over budget
• In 2003, APTA had $85,000 in working capital. $220,000 now.
• Need to put money in marketing.
• No restriction on the amount of reserve for 501 (C)(3)- we are provisional until 2009.

Regional Presidents Reports
Region 1: Mike Cochrane- Events well attended but not from outside the region. Nationals held at NYAC Pelham ran well with a few issues.
Region 2– Won Men’s President’s Cup
Region 3– Fred Gumbinner/Tim McAvoy. Participation up in all tournaments. Big prize money tourney! Well-attended, well-run- 45, 55, 65, 8145s.
Region 4– Martin Sturgess – Healthy region – more courts coming- Cincinnati is booming – new courts and a waiting list for the Midwesterns tournament. Rochester hosting Nationals for 2008. Leagues are APTA members. Nancy Budde – Women are 2007 Presidents Cup Champions, Prop and Schneebeck got to semis of Women’s Nationals. Great showing for Region 4!
Region-5– Bill O’Brien – Chicago area is robust and growing. In past 10 years, men’s league has grown from 64 to 165 teams – a 10% per year compound growth rate. The women’s league has grown from 60 to 110 teams – a 6.5% compound growth rate over that same 10-year period. Smaller areas like Milwaukee, Indianapolis and St. Louis growing more slowly but still healthy. Will move a couple of those tourneys to help boost participation (not to conflict with holidays).
Region 6– Beach Kuhl – Growing slowly in Region 6’s 11 states – new private courts in Montana, Idaho, Sun City, AZ etc….Region 6 ladies traveling to tournaments and playing President’s Cup (combined with Region 7’s team).
Region 7– Peter Lauer- Taylor Bowen’s Blog is a highlight- Chapel Hill new program is growing. 22% increase with participants in tourneys. 20 courts in Region 7 with Atlanta adding two this year. University of North Carolina wants to add three courts. Capitalize on tennis talent- kids paddle emerging. Players from region participated in Nationals. Freddie Uihlein started women’s paddle league. Trying to drive members to APTA- about 130 members in the Atlanta League.

PPTA Report – Todd Ward – Membership -Of 156 pros who have been certified, 84 are current members.

Las Vegas Tennispalooza – Jason Gray. Attended Tennispalooza (The Tennis Channel Open) in Las Vegas with Jean Kempner. Spoke with facilities mgr., Ken Solomon CEO… Objective to organize platform tennis component to the event. There are approximately 10 million Tennis Channel subscribers. David Dodge of Premiere Platform Tennis has offered to bring a court out to Las Vegas. Currently, we have secured an oral commitment from The Tennis Channel to participate in the event David Dodge is planning on going forward for ’08 in Vegas.
Proposal. Showcase match on Saturday, getting one of our teams to play maybe- Max Mirnyi/Jonas Bjorkman Doubles. Jason has a friend who knows Max Mirni and would be willing to play exhibition with $20k on the line. An idea would be to involve Andre Agassi Foundation.

Chapel Hill Progress report – Rich Green “Thank you to APTA and Taylor Bowen drove down 4 or 5 times- eager and a tremendous help” Reilly lease to buy arrangement. The Club didn’t want to commit to long-term so they could remove the courts if they wanted to. Courts were installed late in the season. Enthusiasm among other clubs. Rich agrees to help with emerging programs as a consultant creating a “New Program Assistance Committee.”

Court Funding – Sally Cottingham/ David Kjeldsen
1. Plan must be available to entire membership and well publicized.
2. Delay distribution of further funds until a plan is agreed upon and published.
3. Committee to be chosen to review applicants.
4. Specify whether the facility should be public, semi-private or private. The Board needs to decide on the definitions of what public, semi-private or private are (e.g. is a YMCA Public or Semi-private?).
5. Establish parameters of repayment.
6. Establish APTA contact to collect.
7. Research 501c3 parameters.
8. Need to determine what constitutes a success. What is time table for success?
8. Delay distribution of funds until return on investment on previous distribution (Chapel Hill). To date, APTA has not gotten any new memberships.
9. Use money from fundraising or 501c3 donations only for the Court Funding Program. APTA should not use funds from general operating money.
10. Facilities requesting a loan and/or grant should not be given any funds until they have already committed a certain percentage of their own money. Percentage to be determined.
11. All court manufacturers should be treated equally in the process.
12. Until success is determined as outlined in item 2 above, the facility receiving the loan and/or grant from the APTA should give semi-annual progress reports.

NEW BUSINESS
Philadelphia – 450 plan to join the APTA next season!
Hall of Fame – Voting for Hall of Fame candidates from selection committee. Scott Bondurant is liaison to HOF Committee. The COMMITTEE: Bob Brown, Steve Baird, Chuck Vasoll, Walt Peckinpaugh, Deirdre Redden, Patty Hogan, Tim McAvoy
Seniors – Rich Lombard. Senior tournament locations and events were discussed. Rich Lombard reported the success of the 28-team, one-day 125’s tournament. The Big Daddy cup, a Multi-regional 95s was discussed. Sally Cottingham proposed moving the senior nationals out to Chicago for a year. Bill O’Brien-well run tourneys in Chicago. Mike Cochrane- Seedings were a disaster in the 95s/65s/145s.Rich Lombard 145’s going back to NY to get better participation maybe hold the event on Thursday, then dinner for the legends of paddle
PTM Contract – Sally Cottingham. It has been agreed that Dollard Publishing will relinquish content ownership right of Platform Tennis Magazine to the APTA in
exchange for a four-year rolling contract.
Chair Umpires – Bob Callaway. Chair umpires mission statement was published – to train and certify chair umpires. 10 certified chair umpires as of now. This years National Championships was chaired by Rob LeBuhn.
Rules – Bob Callaway. Rule clarification: approved for APTA use on concrete or other surfaces to conform to dimensions. No motions were made in favor of changing either the let cord rule, or for a lob that bounces out of the court.
Fundraising Committee – Fred Gumbinner. Very slow year, National Platform Tennis Day didn’t work due to already full schedules and previously committed sponsors to other events.
Executive Director Position It was reported that the APTA interviewed 30 candidates for the position. They were optimistic about the quality of the candidates and time frame to transition. It was stated that the Executive Director/Offices of the APTA were not limited geographically.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 1, October, 2007

Ann Sheedy becomes new APTA Executive Director

To say Ann Sheedy is passionate about platform tennis would be an understatement. By her own admission, Sheedy says her love for the sport is an outright addiction.

Exposed to paddle as a child, playing on her uncle’s court in Connecticut, Sheedy’s addiction remained dormant until she was invited to a beginner’s clinic 20 years ago.

“I said ‘yes,’ and it was love at first hit,” Sheedy said. “I’ve played in a league since that first year and I would say that my best friends have all come through paddle.”

In the early summer of this year, Marjorie Hodson exited the role as APTA Executive Director. Her successor, George Douaire of Chicago, was chosen from a pool of resumes. Douaire resigned in September but is helping the APTA on a volunteer level with long-term strategic planning. [enlarge image to read full report]

Senior Nationals round-up

The National Mens 45’s was arguably the strongest ever and players have expressed how exciting all the matches were. In the quarter-finals, Goodspeed/Todd defeated Griffey/Higgins; Mott/Pierce defeated Mangan/Heath; McAvoy/Stefanik defeated Palmer/Harlow; and, Gillespie/Kaufman defeated Hallett/Katz. In the semi-finals, Goodspeed/Todd defeated Mott/Pierce, and McAvoy/Stefanik Defeated Gillespie/Kaufman.

The final was unbelievable. In the first set tie-breaker 9 set points were saved finishing with a 15-13 to Goodspeed/Todd. The final set saw Goodspeed and Todd at their best winning 6-0.

The National Mens 55’s had another powerhouse draw. In the semi’s, Baird/Irvine defeated Nycum/Estes and Adams/Hayes defeated Brooke/Dyminski.

The final saw four greats with many years history between them. Adams/Hayes had to take an injury time-out during the finals 20 years previous leading with a set and 4-1 against Baird/Meyer. On the very same court 20 years later Adams/Hayes battled through a grueling three-setter finishing with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 against Baird/Irvine.

The National Mens 65’s experienced some of the greats battling through some very tough matches. The semis saw Dey/Spears defeat Beech/Marvin and, on the other side, Childs/Lombard defeated Lynch/Lockwood. In the finals, Dey and Spears overcame tough opponents to win the coveted 65’s National Championship.

On January 10, Fox Meadow Tennis Club again hosted the Women’s 50+ and 70+ National Tournament. Seventeen teams entered the 50’s and a record eight teams entered the 70’s.

In the 50+ tournament, Chris Ford from Atlanta and Christi Hays from Pittsburgh made their trip to New York a successful one as they knocked off last year’s champions Louise Cash and Ruth Ann Connors in the semi-final and went on to win 6-3, 6-4 against last year’s finalists, Tricia Bloom and Deirdre Redden, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

In the 70+ tournament, Sharon Hummers successfully defended her title, this year with Anne Mariani. In a very close final, they beat Nancy Libby and Gail Moskow, 7-6, 7-5.

The 2007 Women’s 40+ Championships and 60+ Championships were held at Canoe Brook Country Club on Wednesday and Thursday, February 7th and 8th. The full 32 draw for the 40s continues to get stronger each year.

This year, participants came from as far away as Minnesota, Ohio and Delaware. The weather was very cold but clear and everyone had a fun time, on and off the court. The draw held true and provided two excellent semi-final matches, pitting Andrea Noyes and Sheri Shea against Bobo Delaney and Judy Takach, and Cynthia Dardis and Amy Shay against Cindy Prendergast and Tonia Mangan. Both matches were three-setters and brought great excitement to those watching.

On Thursday morning, Andrea and Sheri were once again victorious in this event with a straight set win over Cynthia and Amy. They also won the gold in 2004 and 2006. The Consolation bracket was won by Acosta/ Mackell. Arden/ Reach won the Reprieve against Day/ Perry; and Mead/ Dowd were the winners of the Consolation Reprieve, beating Brucia/ Mullaney.

The 60+ tournament was short on participants, but long on talent and enthusiasm. Marjorie Hodson, the “draw master,” worked out a way for 10 teams to get in three matches each and still crown a champion. An early upset of Winnie Hatch and Sharon Hummers led the way for new finalists Mary Sturgis and Mary Fenton. Helen Garrett and Sandy Simmers proved too much for the newcomers in the final as they once again received the gold medals of victory.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 8, Issue 5, April 2007

Coverage of Mixed Nationals and Husband/Wife Nationals at Glen View Club, Chicago, IL

The married mix field was a strong draw fielded by 25 Chicago teams and 5 out-of-towner’s who got to witness a typical March Chicago snow storm. With all the weather came phenomenal paddle. In through the snow came a local team of Dan and Sarah Williams to win their first national title taking out the 1st seed in a three-set battle in one semi, and then team Odenbach from Rochester N.Y. in another three-setter.

47 teams competed in the Open Mixed. Bobo Delaney and John Milbank defeated Sally Cottingham and Ed Granger, 6-3, 6-3 in one semi. In the other, Susie Keane and Mike Marino defeated Marina Ohimuller and Mike Rahaley 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. The finals saw Delaney and Milbank win 6-3, 6-3 over Keane and Marino.

President’s Cup: Region IV Women and Region II Men emerge on top

Gray skies and 30-degree weather opened up the Women’s President’s Cup Competition but, by mid-afternoon, the skies had cleared to reveal some much needed sun. The three main courts of the New York Athletic Club were surrounded by plywood sheets to protect player’s feet from the mud created by the melting snow.

What was perhaps most notable, however, was the way the Region 4 Women’s team melted away the competition. Comprised of Heather Prop, Lynne Schneebeck, Jenny Kelly, Sherri Wilson, Nancy Budde, Chris Underwood, Sandra Odenbach, Ann Turner, Karen Henke and Nathalie Lemieux, the team worked hard to win the President’s Cup and enjoyed drinks and dinner at the awards ceremony in the New York Athletic Club’s main dining hall.

As for the other teams present, all played exceptionally against very evenly-matched competition. Louise Cash of Allendale, New Jersey, played on the Region I team, which tied for third place out of six regions. Cash said the team won the President’s Cup three years ago and the competition in this year’s tournament was very even.

“Everybody seems to be very equal. There were many, many tiebreakers,” Cash said. “It was all tough competition, but all equally matched. We’ve done better this year than the past two years.”

Region VII was represented this year, but combined with Region VI.

The Women’s event was followed by Friday’s Men’s President’s Cup Competition, which featured simultaneous matches on the nine courts of the historic Fox Meadow Tennis Club in Scarborough, New York. Six of seven regions were represented this year, and Region 2 came out victorious – a first for New England.

Region II team is comprised of Jerry Albrikes, Lennart Jonason, Bill Power, Leo Power, Jim Greenho, Jeff Morneau, Rob Pierce, Greg Bennett, Geoff Cartier and Mike Fried.

Player Profiles: John Schmitt and Dan Rothschild

Over the course of a season, platform tennis players get an opportunity to eye each other up for strengths and weaknesses and see signs of improvement among their competition.

In 2005, Schmitt and Rothschild ended the season #10 in the country. In 2006, they ended #6 in the country. This year they were seeded 2nd going into the National Championships, but ended the season as #4.

Some teams just keep getting better and it forces the question, “Why?” That’s the case with John Schmitt and Dan Rothschild, both of Garden City, New York.

Schmitt said the reason for the team’s break-out success this season was their ability to analyze their strengths and weaknesses objectively. [enlarge image to read full profiles]