Tournament Report

Below is a synopsis of past 119TA tennis tournaments for your enjoyment…

2006 TOURNAMENT REPORT

Men's Open
The Men’s Open had a full field of 32 and had some extremely competitive and exciting matches. Newcomer Ron Grimsby proved to be a very tough opponent. After outlasting Gabriel Topor in the quarterfinals in a three set thriller (7-5 in a last set tie-break), Ron faced Shlomi Yedid (last year’s champion) in the semi finals. Ron pushed Shlomi to the limit in a dramatic three set match. Shlomi eventually triumphed. In the other section of the draw Will McCord advanced through the rounds to face another former champion, Carl Wennerlind (2003), in their semi final showdown. Will played beautifully but eventually lost to Carl in two tightly played sets. The final was set between Carl, trying to regain his championship title from 2003, and Shlomi, our current champion. Carl began with a strong start but Shlomi eventually broke serve and won a very tough first set. In the second set, it looked as if Carl would split sets, as he was ahead 5-1. Shlomi, however, never gave an inch and proceeded to mount a stunning comeback; he won the next six games to take the second set (7-5) and the 2006 Men’s Open Championship. (Shlomi Yedid defeated Carl Wennerlind 6-3, 7-5)

The Women's Open
The Women's Open featured two newcomers who happen to also be tennis teammates at Stonybrook College, Vicki Vovsha and Monica Myers. Unfortunately, our three-time defending champion Lydia Diaz was unable to participate this year. Before I get too far, I am thrilled to report on one of the all time epic matches played in an early round between first time participants, Anne-Marie Jannuzzo and Joanie Schroeder. The match started at 5:00 p.m.. They split the first two sets, each winning a tiebreaker. The two sets lasted close to three incredible hours. The conclusion of the match had to be postponed due to darkness. The third set was played the following evening. Anne-Marie built up a large lead, needing one more game to win the match. Then, Joanie came roaring back and won the next six games, taking the set and the match. The two exhausted players fell into one another’s arms in a show of congratulatory relief. Great match ladies!

The two college competitors, Vicki and Monica, made their way through each section of their respective draws to face each other in a much anticipated final. Vicki won the first set easily and it looked as if the match would be over rather quickly. “Not so fast” said Monica, who proceeded to fight back from a deficit in the second set which she eventually won. This set up a nail biter of a third set in which Monica made her comeback complete to take the 2006 Women’s Open Championship. Congratulations to Monica and Vicki. (Monica Myers defeated Vicki Vovsha 1-6, 6-1, 6-3)

Men’s 45+
Our third tournament was the Men’s 45+. Our reigning champion, Leopoldo “the Maestro” Mucci, was unable to defend due to injury. Although we missed the presence of Leopoldo, we had a solid field of competitors. The finals pitted last year’s winner, Andy Rubien against newcomer Cranston (watch out for his forehand!) Darris. Andy won the first set easily and then Cranston got that forehand workin’ and forced a tiebreaker. The wily Andy finally won. Congratulations to both. (Andy Rubien defeated Cranston Darris 6-1, 7-6)

I just want to say that it was a pleasure running the tournaments on our newly resurfaced courts this year. Hopefully next year we will include some doubles as well. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Amy Ayres, my new tournament assistant, who did a superb job overseeing the 45+ matches.

I also want to thank all our participants for making it such a successful season. Do come to our Member’s Reception at Symposium in October to congratulate our winners.

Martin Appel, Tournament Director

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.