Steve was introduced to platform tennis in 2003 by four friends in New Canaan, Connecticut and learned to play on the town’s public courts in Waveny Park. Once beyond the frustration of getting only one serve, he learned to embrace the many unique characteristics of the game, most of all the wonderful camaraderie. That first winter, he became truly obsessed with the game and collected email addresses and telephone numbers of anyone with whom he could arrange a friendly game. This core group eventually grew into what is now the New Canaan Men Paddle League, Inc., a league he formed with a couple of friends in 2004 and today numbers over 250 current players.

Steve was fortunate to have benefited from early tutelage and inspiration from Dave and Marina Ohlmuller, David Kjeldsen, Marjorie Hodson, and especially Mike Gillespie, from whom he learned the joy of teaching this wonderful game. He was given the opportunity to expand his knowledge of the game working with Darlene Finnegan at the Beacon Hill Club in Summit, New Jersey, and Mark Parsons at Manursing Island Club in Rye, New York.

He was a Co-Director of the 2008 APTA Mixed Nationals and was the Tournament Director of the 2010 APTA Junior Nationals, both held in New Canaan. He currently serves as a Director of the Fairfield County Platform Tennis League.

Steve lives in Darien, Connecticut with his incredibly supportive wife, Ann, and three children, Emily, Blair, and Paige, all of whom enjoy playing on the town’s public courts at Weed Beach.

Rob Coster was introduced to the game of platform tennis as a high school student in his hometown of Wilton, Connecticut. After a long hiatus from the sport, Rob picked up a paddle again after settling in Madison, Connecticut.

As Region II President for the past four years, Rob has taken a proactive role encouraging the growth of the game, as well as keeping APTA members informed. He publishes an email newsletter and created a Region 2 Facebook group that has helped tournament directors increase participation in all events. He currently runs an 110+ men’s platform tennis group at the Essex Platform Tennis Club and previously served on the APTA Board. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Madison, and have three children who all enjoy playing.

Hendy Dayton was introduced to paddle as a young girl in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her grandfather, Clifford Couch, won the Men’s National Championships three times, including the first men’s title in 1935. He was a finalist in four other men’s championships and was inducted into the APTA Hall of Fame in 1965. The love of the sport was passed on through the generations and Hendy competed as a young girl in Greenwich and at the Junior Nationals in Pittsburgh. She also played at Williams College and in New York on the wonderful skyline courts on 28th Street. Moving to California 20 years ago limited her paddle fun until she discovered the wonderful paddle community at the Lagunitas Club in Ross. Hendy has competed on numerous President Cup teams at the Nationals as well as in various other national tournaments. Hendy joined the APTA Board in 2009 as President of Region VI and has been chairman of the Branding Committee. When she is not playing paddle, Hendy is a Leadership and Executive Coach with the Boda Group. have three children who all enjoy playing.

Aila has been an avid player for over 10 years now and regularly plays both women’s and mixed events. Like so many in the game, she made the transition from the tennis court to the paddle court, and became hooked. She and Kerri Delmonico won the Women’s Nationals in 2005, as well as several other tournament titles over the years. Aila is currently the National Women’s Ranking Chair and head of the Women’s Player’s Committee.

She is thrilled to be involved in the paddle community, and looks forward to many more years on the court. Aila lives in Manhattan with her daughter, Sophie, and dog, Samantha.

Shorts and T-shirts were what they were wearing on the courts for the 2012 Junior Nationals. That’s because unseasonable warm weather shot the mercury into the mid-50s by midday, but that warmth was short lived, giving way to the cold breezes whipping in from the waves of Franklin Lake. And by nightfall, the gas lamp’s ignitions were crackling the flames into life for the spectators who preferred to watch outside of the Indian Trail Club.

What they were watching was the culmination of a long, hard-fought day of paddle through several age brackets. The younger ones finished up earlier in the day, leaving the Boys 18s finals to continue long into the evening.

The participants were Tyler Kratky and CJ Purse of Greenwich, CT, against William Brosnan of Garden City, NJ, and Scott Safford of Malvern, PA.

The match was about endurance, and height, as Brosnan/Safford towered over Kratky/Purse, working shots at the net that the smaller team had to meet with speed.

Kratky/Purse said that in the end, they felt that their average size actually helped them win the match, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. “I think in paddle, it actually helps to be average height: Purse said. “If you’re taller, there are some advantages as well as disadvantages. We were pretty fast today. I thought we tracked down a lot of balls, especially a lot of drop shots and won a lot of points at the net, so I actually think it was an advantage that we had.”

Kratky agreed. “When they hit lobs and whatnot, it’s tougher throughout to receive when you’re not as tall, but at the same time, we provided speed to get everything back,” he said.

Kratky/Purse had played Brosnan/Safford in the past as individual players on separate teams. This was the first time they encountered Brosnan and Safford working together. “They both had separate partners when we played them,” Kratky said. “We had an idea of what we were going to do, but the way that they played in the second set, they played too well and they took it from us, so we had to make some changes. The whole match, we were shifting it around, seeing what their weaknesses were based on how they were playing.” “Every point we were talking,” said Purse. “We were communicating, deciding what we were going to do for the next point, so our game plan actually changed halfway through the match and we started doing other stuff. We were definitely changing stuff up throughout the match.”

In the Boys 14s, Connor Daley and Alex Slobin of Fairfield, CT, took home another championship this year, defeating finalists Bobby Clarke and Robbie Gavigan of Garden City, NJ, 6-2, 6-2.

Jake Freedman and Peter Horne oflArumetka, IL, defeated Riggs Johnson of Locust Valley, NY, and his partner Teddy McLanahan of Glen Cove, NY, 6-1, 6-3, in the Boys 12s.

Jack Ramsay and Jack Uhlman of Darien, CT, defeated Chase Connolly and Peter Denious of4Vilton, CT, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Boys 10s.

The Girls 18s was every bit as dramatic as the Boys 18s, with Corey Delaney and Nicki Ross of Chatham, NJ, defeating Hannah Kratky, of Greenwich, CT, and Meghan Foster of White Plains, NY, 6-3, 6-4, locking in Delaney and Ross’s sixth national championship win.

“I did recognize their strength early on in the tournament,” Ross said. “I figured that if we made it to the finals, we would be up against them: “I did not know they were last year’s winners of the younger bracket, but I knew they were good,” Delaney said. “I was not familiar with them before the tournament started but I knew there would be new younger competition that Nicki and I would have to be ready for this year. After having seen them play in the round robin part of the tournament, I knew they were good and that they were potential competition for us in the semis or finals. I was actually pretty nervous when I saw them play because they were a new team we hadn’t seen that could really play.”

“They both had great drives and were both solid players in every aspect of the game,” Delaney said. “We just played our game, with Nicki providing offense with her great drive and me providing the defense with lobs and wire play. We started blitzing more in the second set which was very effective. Nicki and I knew that if we kept the point alive long enough they would hopefully make a mistake. As for our vulnerabilities, I felt pressure when we were serving because their drives were hard and placed well, which gave us, or at least me, trouble for holding serve.”

Delaney/Ross, like many of the other 18s who finish up their Junior Nationals careers, face the challenges of being separated by college. While Ross already is in college, she said that Delaney’s studies shouldn’t be too much burden for the team to continue on.

“I am in college already, which didn’t pose a problem for us this year,” Ross said. “I played in tournaments over breaks and made sure I could come home for the Nationals. Corey practiced a lot while I was at school, and I tried to stay in shape while I was off the court! I’m sure Corey and I will play in more tournaments together in the future. Hopefully being 10 hours apart next year won’t end our platform tennis career together!”

“Hopefully, Nicki and I will find time to play some tournaments next year when we are both back from college on our breaks;’ Delaney said. “We both want to continue playing and start adjusting to the women’s game as soon as possible. I’m sure we will find a way to work something out next year so we can still be a team that competesf

Despite being a six-time Junior Nationals champion, Delaney said she’s nervous about future competitions.

“To win my final title in the junior Nationals was a great way to go out;’ she said. As for playing in Nationals next year, lam a little nervous about the change in level from juniors to women. It’s a big step, and I hope I can adjust and find success there like I have had in the juniors. I will miss the Junior Nationals because of all the new girls you get to meet and the fun you have at the tournaments.”

In the other age brackets, Ryan Freeman and Kaitlin Schroeder of Summit, NJ, defeated Alexandra Shay of Wilton, CT, and her partner, Emily Dardis, of Stamford, CT, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, in the Girls 14s at Knickerbocker. Shay-Dardis were last year’s Girls 12s champions.

In the Girls 12s, local Wayne, NJ, team Callie and Catie Burkhart defeated Eliza Denious ofWilton, CT, and Emily Tregellas of New Canaan, CT, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Libby Gardner and Hannah Amendola of Fairfield, CT, defeated Mary Margaret Schroeder and Louisa Randazzo of Summit, NJ, S-7, 6-1, 7-6, in the Girls 10s.

Source: Mark Berton, Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 13, Issue 4, March, 2012

Amy Halstead Residence: Lake Bluff, IL
Date Elected to APTA Board of Directors: May 2009
Family: Single
Years Playing: 7 years
Largest Competitive Achievement: Back Draw Winner in Chicago Charities 2009; Last Chance Winner in Chicago Charities 2011

What do you feel your contribution to the board is?

I am a Growth Committee Member and help interested parties learn how to start public facilities, which includes learning how to deal with government bodies for zoning and construction permits; where and how to purchase new or used courts, and how to create a paddle program to generate membership and league play.

As far as Platform Tennis Magazine, I am in charge of overseeing the production schedule and that it is synchronized with the strategy and mission of the APTA— governing the sport and growing the sport.

[enlarge image to read full profile]

Tim was the 34th President of the American Platform Tennis Association (APTA) and served in that capacity from May 2009 through April 2012.

From an organizational perspective, Tim formally created a Committee structure for the Board to operate within, where a Committee Chair led every key APTA initiative and that Chairperson (and team of Board members/volunteers) was the champion of that initiative. This structure allowed every Board member to be an active member of the Board, lead an area of the sport in which they were interested and stay focused and organized on all projects in our sport. Committees ranged from ‘Grow the Game’, Rules, Platform Tennis Magazine, Branding, Seniors and more.

Tim focused his Presidency on ‘Growing the Game’ and the three primary Committee’s committed to this cause were:

Grow the Game Committee: Chaired by Peter Lauer, the Board provided over $150,000 in grants over those three years to help facilities get new courts/improve existing ones.

Clinic and Exhibition Committee: This initiative allowed the APTA to provide free clinics and exhibitions in areas where the Board felt they would most help grow local programs. Each of the three years, the APTA provided over 10 free events to locations that ranged from Arapahoe, CO, to Kansas City, MO, Toronto, Ontario, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and many places in between. Thousands of local players over the three years were treated to PPTA pros giving free instruction and displaying amazing talent in the exhibitions all with the sole purpose of trying to help local facilities grow the game in their area.

APTA Junior Tour Committee: Tim transitioned the Viking Junior Tour into the APTA Junior Tour effective September 2009. The APTA Jr. Tour provided over 14 different junior tournaments culminating in the Jr. National Championships held each January. Exposing children to a fun platform tennis experience increases the odds they may come back to our sport after college and hundreds of kids participated in these events each year with the Jr. Nationals having over 200 participants alone! This was a strategic way to grow the game for generations to come.

The final commitment made by the APTA Board under Tim’s leadership was a commitment to a computer based APTA interclub league system that will allow APTA member leagues to schedule, track results and share information free of charge, compliments of the APTA. This interclub interface system was committed to in the Spring of 2012.

Source: Personal communications from Tim McAvoy, 2012

Zink and Prendergast Win Their Third Women’s Open Team Title

Last year, Lauren Zink and Cindy Prendergast plowed through the APTA National Championships, in Chicago, without dropping a set. Concluding her victory speech in 2011,
Prendergast said, “Lauren and I look forward to next year and trying to repeat.” And repeat they did.

On March 15th, 80 women’s teams, from coast to coast, came out to compete in the 2012 APTA National Championships on Long Island. For the seventh time in the past eight seasons, Zink and Prendergast found themselves battling in the finals for the National Championship.

All of the 16 women’s seeded teams reached the round-of-16. Seven of those top eight reached the quarterfinals; newcomers Ana Brzova and Viktoria Stoklasova took out the veteran eighth-seeds Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan. The ladies were playing with emotion as Bobo’s mother (and Tonia’s mother-in-law), paddle legend Nancy Mangan, passed away the day before.

The women’s quarterfinals featured the 8th-seeded Zink and Prendergast knocking off 3rd-seeded Kerrith Flynn and Susan Tarzian. Although they were reigning National Champions, Zink and Prendergast were seeded eighth because Women’s finalists Liz Jaffe and Lisa Rudloff scramble against the National Champions they didn’t compete together in any other tournaments this season.

Three of the four semifinalists were repeats from 2011: Lauren Zink and Cindy Prendergast, Liz Jaffe and Lisa Rudloff, and Mary Doten and Chelsea Nusslock. The fourth team to round off the semis was the top-seeded pairing of Amy Shay and Cynthia Dardis who set the season on fire.

The semifinal between the top-seeded team and the defending National Champions proved to be the match of the weekend. Dardis and Shay showed why they deserved the right to be first seeds, while Zink and Prendergast showed how they earned three Open National Championships (two together and one as Prendergast-Hogan in 1999).

Zink and Prendergast were up on Dardis 6-3, 5-3, but the top seeds fought back to take the second set 7-5. It was the only set Zink and Prendergast were to lose, as they rebounded and took the third set 6-1. After the match, Prendergsat said, “Our toughest match was against Dardis and Shay. They just never stop fighting. They’re a team that you never feel comfortable being ahead against”

The second semifinal witnessed last year’s National finalists and Long Island favorites Liz Jaffe and Lisa Rudloff defeat Chicago’s Mary Doten and Chelsea Nusslock, 6-1, 6-4.

The repeat finals from 2011 was played on Sunday at the Huntington Country Club. In platform tennis, sometimes it’s about match-ups. It appears that this one points in favor of Zink and Prendergast. At 6-1, 6-3, the score of the final match was similar to last year’s final (6-2, 6-1). While Zink and Prendergast may never be ranked number one, they sure play like they are number one.

Perfect Season for Broderick-Gambino Ends in National Championship Victory


The 22-and-0 season was the first time in nearly a decade that a team achieved the feat.

The perfect season began October 14th, 2012 at the Scotio Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Playing together for the first time, Drew Broderick and Chris Gambino went 5-and-0 against the top teams in the country, winning the Premier Cup and $2,800 cash. They repeated their success at the Atlantic Classic (4-0), the Chicago Charities (6-0) and then the National Championships (7-0). The 22-and-0 season was the first time in nearly a decade that a team achieved the feat (Gambino did so with David Ohlmuller in the 2001-02 season).

The men’s Nationals began at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 16. Broderick and Gambino, although entering with a perfect season in hand, were seeded third behind the 2011 Nationals Champions Mike Stulac and Mark Parsons (2nd seeds) and finalists Johan du Randt and Matt Porter (1st seeds).

The draw went smoothly with the top eight seeds advancing to the quarter-finals. (See page 25 for full draw.) Showing the depth of new faces in the men’s draw, 7 of the 16 men reaching the APTA Nationals quarterfinals did not do so in 2011.

In their quarter-final, Broderick/Gambino came up against 6th-seeds Steve Derose and Jon Lubow. It was another match where the undefeated teamstayed steady and pounced only when the time was right. They won at 6-2, 6-2, another match that didn’t go into a third set. Good thing for the undefeated team, because the Sunday semifinals was another story.

On a warm, beachy kind of day, on Court 2, du Randt and Porter defeated Arraya and Bancila 6-4, 6-3. On the neighboring semi-final court, Broderick and Gambino had their hands full with the defending National Champions. Parsons and Stulac took the first set 6-3 but Gambino and Broderick dug deep. They lengthened the points and played a more traditional paddle match punctuated with winners just when they needed them. After three-and-a-half hours Broderick and Gambino prevailed by 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Due to the length of that semifinal, the Men’s Nationals final was pushed back about an hour. Everyone guessed that Broderick and Gambino would be gassed. But they showed their mettle as they defeated du Randt and Porter 7-6 (4), 6-3. In the end, Broderick and Gambino dominated the entire 2011-12 season and showed everyone in the sport why they deserve to be called National Champions.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 13, Issue 5, April, 2012