The Rules and Equipment Committee had been working on an update of the booklet on “How to Conduct a Tournament Draw”, and had reached the point of a final draft.
However, before going to press, Bob Brown had become aware of a difference of opinion among some Directors and members of Players Committees regarding the procedure for placing the seeds in the draw.
Ultimately the extant procedure was maintained
On November 17, 2001, the Viking Cup was hosted by the Montclair Golf Club and utilized the courts of Montclair, Essex Fells Country Club, Fellsbrook Club, and Essex County Country Club. On a beautiful Sunday morning, 37 adult/junior teams, representing the best in Canada and the US, assembled at Montclair. Well over 100 teams competed in the various play down-sites, which is a testament to the current health of junior paddle. All preliminary matches were run in a flighted round robin tournament with the top two finishers going on to the semis. The level of play among all of the teams was impressive to watch and made many of us feel we were watching the future stars of our sport display their precociously high level of proficiency.
18 & Under Finals
Anthony Nunziata and Bob Considine def. Diego Rodriguez and Doug White 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
15 & Under Finals
Ari and Rayni Borinsky def. Darren Schwandt and Scott Falatek 6-3, 6-1
12 & Under Finals
Eric and John D’Elia def. Jay and Henry Schwab 6-0, 6-4
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 3 Issue 4, February, 2002
Women’s Charities:
Rain was forecast all week long. Somehow, on November 2nd, the weather broke and nothing but 65 degree warmth and sunshine was in the forecast. Women’s Tournament Director, Liz Hayward, kicked off the show on Friday morning with a full 32-team draw, featuring all but a few of the top-ranked players. Among ‘the few’ not playing included Sarah Krieger, the other half of last season’s Charities Champs. The other winner, Robin Fulton, paired up with Cindy Prendergast.
Patty Hogan was absent due to family illness. Therefore, everyone felt that with teams switching around and two of the game’s top players absent, the women’s draw was up for grabs. Everyone, that is, except the top seeded team of Sue Aery and Gerri Viant. Coming off another National Charities takeover.
Director Hayward only seeded three teams; however, five other teams were placed. As expected, the road traveling up to the quarterfinals was without upset. The road to the semifinals was a slightly different story. At 3:00 p.m. the quarters began. On court one, Sue Aery and Gerri Viant defeated Mary Doten and Julie Sierks in a 6-3, 7-5 battle.
Defending champion Robin Fulton played with Cindy Prendergast and defeated Jane McNitt and Leslie Hough 6- 1, 6-1 on court two. On court four, Kerri Delmonico and Shelly Morse quickly routed the well-respected team of Linda Hoch and Susan Williams by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
By the time the first three quarterfinal matches were over, the third-seeded team of Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan were just beginning their second set against Chicago hopefuls Chris Sheldon and Sally Cottingham. After dropping the first set 7-5, Delaney and Mangan stormed back in the second to win it 6-2. There were fifty spectators who witnessed the locals defeat Mangan and Delaney 7-6 in a hard-fought third set tie-breaker.
The semis proved to be more one-sided than anyone imagined. Within one hour, top seeded Aery-Viant defeated Delmonico-Morse and second seeded Fulton-Prendergast defeated Cottingham-Sheldon. The 2001 finals was to be a rematch of the 2000 finals, minus Sarah Krieger.
Approximately 100 spectators crammed in to watch this much-anticipated match. With one break each set, Aery and Viant triumphed by a score of 6-4,6-4. Fatigue and conditioning seemed to play a major role in the match, with Aery and Viant the less-affected.
Next year’s event is anticipating the return of Patty Hogan, Sarah Krieger, and new first-time mother Lauren Zink. One thing for sure is that with so much returning and developing talent, anything can happen at the Charities.
Men’s Charities
As was the case in the Women’s Charities, the 64- team Men’s Charities, directed by Gene Kempner, was packed with action and a few upsets to boot. The first two rounds saw the relative ease of advancement for all eight seeded teams except for George Zink and Bill Fiedler who hammered out a 6-4 third set victory over Wayne Dollard and Scott Pecor. Jokingly, Dollard recalled, “I think that we were two or three points away from putting George into permanent retirement.”
Zink and Fiedler went on to advance in straight sets over Eric Toth-Tim Foster and then Mike Marino-Chris Williams in the quarterfinals.
The top seeded team of Chris Gambino and David Ohlmuller cruised through the quarters against Mike Gillespie and Bob Conklin, 6-3,6-2. Also in the quarters, the number two-seeded team of Flip Goodspeed and Scott Mansager defeated Cincinnati’s Joe Leytze and Andy Todd, 6-1,6-1.
In the last quarterfinal match, the top-ranked Chicago team of John Hough and Brian Uihlein defeated Scott Bondurant and Greg Stipa in a tight 6-2,7-6 match.
As was the case in 1999 and 2000, Gambino-Ohlmuller eased through the semis, where as Goodspeed-Mansager had to give it their all. In the end, it was to be a repeat final of the past two years in which Gambino-Ohlmuller prevailed.
In the final match, Ohlmuller and Gambino stretched their domination of the major men’s events by defeating the former 5-time National Champions in a decisive 6- 2, 6-3 victory.
The men’s field is rapidly evolving with more and more tennis and athletic talent. Next season will certainly live up to the hype that the Charities can respectably boast about.
From the APTA column by John Horine:
As we look forward to a new season, I can’t help but look back on these last few months. On September 11, a horrified nation looked on as thousands of lives were destroyed and many more changed forever. In the days that followed, we all took some time to reflect on our own lives and what is important to us. Family members and friends are at the top of our list. I spoke to a dear friend of mine (and former APTA Board member) who lost her sister-in-law on September 11th. She told me of the outpouring of support she had received from paddle players from all over the country. She was very thankful for their cards and e-mails. Platform tennis at its core is a competitive recreation with like-minded people who enjoy the game. On a larger scale, platform tennis is a sport made up of a close community of people around the country – all enjoying each other and the sport they love. Platform tennis players share a camaraderie unlike many of our sister sports. Friendships that are formed on and off the paddle court seem to transcend levels made in most other sports. As we go into this new season, celebrate our great sport and the wonderful people we meet playing across this great country.
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 2, November, 2001
Wayne Dollard’s Letter from the Editor column had the details:
Recently, we at PTM have been receiving numerous calls regarding our future goals and plans with Platform Tennis Magazine. During the 2000-2001 season, the APTA operated at a deficit. Although the APTA has a comfortable financial cushion, steps needed to be taken to prevent any future losses.
During the 2001 APTA Board Meeting in May, many suggestions were offered to reduce future expenses and generate additional revenue. As the leading annual APTA investment, the PTM was heavily emphasized in this discussion. Cost-cutting ideas, such as decreasing the number of PTM issues per year (five down to four) and printing the magazine in half-color / half-black and white, were discussed. When all was said and done, the APTA decided that it did not want to reduce the size or quality of the PTM. We then agreed on a two-year PTM extension at a reduced rate. Additional advertisement development incentives have also been agreed upon between the APTA and PTM. These new conditions could potentially help the APTA to recognize a significant annual revenue increase, as well as expense decrease.
The decision was also made to increase APTA dues a few more dollars per year. The basic concept is simple and should provide the APTA with the added financial support it needs to maintain the PTM. A few years ago, APTA members were receiving a black and white “Platform Tennis News” newsletter. Today you are receiving this full-color magazine publication. Hopefully, the few extra dollars is worth it in your mind.
As you have probably already noticed, we have also upgraded the PTM with a gloss cover and several graphic design changes. We hope that you enjoy the new layout. Additional art changes will roll out during the course of the season.
Thanks to the financial support of the APTA and its members, our future goals and plans are clear. We will continue to publish this full-color Platform Tennis Magazine for years to come, with improvements being made from issue to issue. Feel free to contact our office with any ideas relating from design & layout to advertiser development.
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 1, September, 2001
Anthony and Steve began playing platform tennis at New Jersey’s Brookside Racquet Club in 1993. Neither played much tennis; however, both were eager to learn platform tennis. Shortly after they met, Anthony’s father suggested the idea of the two forming into a tournament team.Who would have guessed that joining a former wrestler with a former football player would give us one of the top platform tennis teams in the country?
Anthony Cosimano
Born: Ramsey, New Jersey
Current: Hoboken, New Jersey
Age: 31
Profession: Sales
Marital Status: Single
Summer Hobby: Weight Training
Steve Haller
Born: Allendale, New Jersey
Current: Mahwah, New Jersey
Age: 34
Profession: Sales
Marital Status: Newlywed
Summer Hobby: Golf
Anthony and Steve began playing platform tennis at New Jersey’s Brookside Racquet Club in 1993. Neither played much tennis; however, both were eager to learn platform tennis. Shortly after they met, Anthony’s father suggested the idea of the two forming into a tournament team.
Who would have guessed that joining a former wrestler with a former football player would give us one of the top platform tennis teams in the country?
These two scrappers have earned a reputation for always being in the match, regardless of score. Last season, Cosimano and Haller lost first sets by scores of 6-0 and 6-1 but still managed to come back to win matches. Completing another record season, they finished fourth in the APTA 2001 men’s rankings.
Each and every year since they began playing tournaments, Cosimano and Haller have outdone their previous season. This past season’s number four was well deserved, as evidenced by their record at the top “Grand Slam” events.
“Our goal is to improve our ranking each year,” said Haller. He added, “We know that we have a legitimate shot at each major tournament we enter. We look forward to playing Rochester in October and we plan to take some of the major titles this season.”
Men’s Senior Nationals
Men’s National Senior 45+
Baird-Sturgess
Men’s National Senior 50+
Adams-Baird
Men’s National Senior 55+
Irvine-Russell
Men’s National Senior 60+
Hempleman-O’Donnell
Men’s National Senior 65+
Childs-Childs
Men’s National Senior 70+
Bascome-Leroy
Men’s National Senior 145+
Mahmarian-Thompson
Women’s Senior Nationals
Women’s National Senior 40+
Delaney-Mangan
Women’s National Senior 50+
Hatch-Hummers
Women’s National Senior 60+
Garrett-Parks
Mixed Senior Nationals
Mixed National Senior 50+:
Hackenberg-Hackenberg
Mixed National Senior 60+
Childs-Garrett
Husband-Wife National 50+
Hackenberg-Hackenberg
The 2001 Mixed Nationals was held in Pittsburgh at the Fox Chapel Golf Club from March 10th to 11th. Last season’s Mixed champ Gerri Viant had to ‘dig up’ a body when told that her partner, Chris Gambino, was resting his tendonitis-plagued knees. Gerri and her fill-in, Mike Gillespie, teamed up in years past to win one Mixed National title. Gerri and Mike entered the event unseeded.
The 1999 champions, Scott Mansager and Sue Aery, felt good about their odds since they both won the previous season’s Open titles. Sue and Scott were the #1 seeds.
With Gambino out, John Milbank and Bobo Delaney, wouldn’t get their 2000 finals rematch; however, a title would work any way they could get it. John and Bobo were seeded #2.
George Zink returned to action after a one-season hiatus, teaming up with Cindy Prendergast. George and Cindy won the 96′ and 98′ titles and were placed as the #3 seed.
David Ohlmuller and Patty Hogan, seeded #4. They made it to the Mixed ’98 and ’99 finals and won it all in ’95.
The event began as planned at 8:30am and proceeded straight through to the semi-finals without upset or incident.
The semis were set: Delaney/Milbank vs. Hogan/Ohlmuller and Aery/Mansager vs. Prendergast/Zink. Everything was going as planned, that is, until the snow began to fall. At 2-2 in the first set, Zink was the first to request a snow-delay. With the ball skidding everywhere, all agreed and both courts were cleared. Speaking in the third person, Zink stated how “snow is like kryptonite to Superman.”
Thirty minutes later, the snow cleared and the courts were dry. Zink used his fast-as-a-speeding-bullet quickness to oust the #1 seeds. On the other side of the draw, Milbank and Delaney defeated Ohlmuller and Hogan to earn another shot at the Mixed title.
In the finals, Milbank and Delaney couldn’t find their kryptonite in their 6-2, 6-4 loss to Zink and Prendergast. With a healthy off-season rehabilitation for Chris Gambino, next season promises to offer another exciting National Mixed Championship.
Of all the National events, none seems to be more friendly and social than the Husband/Wife…at least in the early rounds. Players were in agreement that the goal of the tournament was not necessarily to win, but to remain married. Camaraderie and sportsmanship were on display in Pittsburgh.
Unlike the Mixed, the Husband/Wife Nationals started out with a bang. In the first round, local Pittsburgh favorites Guy and Jane Herrmann defeated #1 seeded Robin and Bob Fulton. The remaining three out-of-town favorites proceeded on to the semi-finals as planned.
George and paddle newcomer Lauren Zink defeated Guy and Jane in a tight two-setter. Lauren, fresh back from the maternity ward, showed why she had not yet lost a match in her first six tournaments. Although still new to the wires, Lauren demonstrated that with solid ground-strokes, screen-play is just a technicality. Superman must have married Wonder Woman.
Tim and Tonia Mangan defeated John “Lee” and Leslie Hough in a tight three-set semi-final match.
The stage was set for Lauren to get her proper introduction into the paddle community. Six weeks after giving birth to their first child, Zachary Tyler, Lauren and George earned their first Husband-Wife title with their win over Tim and Tonia.
We can guarantee that these names will be repeated all over the Husband/Wife marquis for years to come.
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