Gasoline prices may have hit record highs last summer, but it didn’t stop SoCal’s NTRP players from hitting the tournament trail all around the section. If anything, tennis served as a respite from the economic chaos, which has put a damper into some sports programs and closed several private clubs. Of course, many NTRP players have the advantage of playing at public facilities that are either free or low cost. They are true amateurs who play for the love of the game and that relationship showed through all year long.
NTRP is technically the rating/handicapping system which grades ability levels from 3.0 to 6.0. The NTRP or adult tennis program as presented by the SCTA consists of a yearlong circuit of tournaments highlighted by a summer Sectionals event as well as a winter invitational Masters event. Players are ranked based on their performance in the Sectionals and performances in regular tournaments. The top-ranked players are invited to participate in the NTRP Master each winter.
The 21st edition of the Grand Prix Masters was staged in February at the Seal Beach Tennis Center. The tournament featured the best NTRP players of ‘07 and the event went very much to form with top seeds coming through to most of the finals. Robert Nazy won the 3.5 men’s followed by David Lubnow in the 4.0, David Luong in the 4.5s, Jaroslav Melka in 5.0 and Russell Stuart in the 5.5s. Dana Jenkins upset top seed Denise Self in the semifinals of the women’s 3.5 and beat former IT Player of the Year Elena McCorkle in the final. Joanah Greenspan was victorious in the 4.0 division and Sunny Kim won the 4.5s.
Onto the summer, the NTRP Sectionals were also played at Seal Beach. The tournament is probably the biggest event for NTRP players and can make or break a player’s end-of-the-year ranking.
Most of the finals were competitive, going into Super Tiebreaks. Darcy Daily and Jeremy Sears captured the 3.5 singles titles followed by William Quisto in the men’s 4.0, Michael Moore and Krislea Manuva in the 4.5s and perennial titleist Brian Su in the 5.5s. Su teamed with SBTC manager Eric Stephens to win the 5.5 doubles. Other doubles winners were the father and son team of Paul and Tim McNiff in the 4.0s.
Annette Buck, the SCTA’s director of adult tennis, said there were relatively strong participation levels throughout the year in NTRP. “We saw more seniors get involved this year. Some found more success at the NTRP level than they did in their senior events,” she said.
The diverse and colorful group of players that make up the NTRP make the category that more interesting. Unlike juniors and seniors divisions, NTRP tournaments have less pressure and more sociability elements, yet still maintaining a high level of competition.
Downey’s Efrain Morales is a testament to that. Win or lose, Morales is affable about the competition. In fact, he may ask his opponent to join him on a hit near his Downey home. Morales could be the unofficial comeback player of the year. He was out for a year due to knee surgery and returned to the 5.5s in May, where he promptly began winning matches again. “You gain a unique perspective when you can’t play. You can still learn a lot,” he said.
Morales calls himself the ambassador for NTRP tennis. “I sometimes play Open and there’s a big difference. It’s more dog eat dog. I like 5.5 better.”
The Valley’s Jozsef Feher, this year’s Player of the Year, enjoys the competition factor more: “The NTRP tournaments are lots of fun. Almost every month I can play a tournament somewhere close to my home. Plus, plus there are lots of very good players that I yet have to play.”
Feher is like many SoCal players who have to mix tennis with a job and family life. Plus, he/s working on his MBA. Like others, he played during his younger days and only began competition about a year ago. He’s 41.
Several NTRP players were especially active and successful in 2008. Among them were Gerald del Rosario of Anaheim. He played in a whopping 23 tournaments in ‘08. Moving up from casino online the 3.5s where he was a regular in the winner’s circle has been a challenging road for del Rosario. He didn’t win a tournament in 2007 in his new division. but came through this year capturing the 10th Annual Braemar championships. He also gained the final of the Anaheim Tennis Center tournament, which had one of the biggest draws of the year online casino australia and the Harbor Days event. He was a semifinalist at the big Arcadia NTRP event.
Del Rosario picked up the game in 2002 entering a 3.5 tournament and has been hooked since. “Instead of investing in joining a (private) tennis club, I would rather spend my money in joining NTRP tournaments, which I have been since 2002 at an average of 22 tournaments a year,” he said. “They improve my overall game and gives me bragging rights if I win a tournament.”
His opponents usually don’t like playing del Rosario. He’s a junk baller. One of the hints is that one of his favorite pros is Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro. “I’m described by my competitors as a tricky player because I do a lot of junk ball tennis by slicing and dicing, but I find it effective. I would rather play a power player and wear them down. I get frustrated when I encounter someone who has a similar game than me. My game style though awkward, but it has brought me 16 overall titles in the 3.5 division years.”
Corona’s Darcy Daily should end the year with a high ranking in the 3.5. Aside from winning the Sectionals in June, she captured titles at The San Fernando Valley Championships where she won both the 3.5 and 4.0 titles, the Anaheim Tennis Center’s Winter NTRP, the Lakewood & Seal Beach Winter NTRP, This trial could yield more definitive information about antioxidants and macular degeneration. the Los Angeles B-C-D Tournament 3.5 winner and the Lakewood/Seal Beach Spring NTRP. She also won doubles titles at Seal Beach, the Jackie Tatum, the Huntington Beach Open and the Beverly Hills Open.
Like del Rosario, Daily is fairly new to the game picking up a racquet for the first time in ‘01. She played softball, basketball and was a gymnast in school. A girlfriend got her into the game, but Pam online casino Austin (Tracy’s sister) who is director of the Pacific Palms facility in the city of Industry inspired her to play on, as did coach Ervin Savario of the Burbank Tennis Center. “In NTRP, I get to play against players with all different styles of play. It’s different from leagues, where you play against the same players year end and year out. Playing in the tournaments allows me to improve my over all game because online casino I never know what to expect in NTRP,” she said.
Daily exceeded her expectations for the year. “I told my family my goal for ‘08 was to win the Sectionals and if I were to win 10 trophies, I would splurge on a trophy case. I actually have 27 trophies now. I need another case because it is not big enough. It just shows what hard work and determination can accomplish.”
Look for Daily to play more 4.0 events in ‘09. And if you run into her, she’s always up for a game, keeping a racquet and bottle of Gatorade in her trunk at all times.
Players will never confuse Long Beach’s Michael Moore with the corporate gadfly/filmmaker. This Moore weighs about 100 pounds less and is a serve-and-volleyer. The 4.5 player was expected to end the year ranked in the top 10. He won the Lakewood Open, the West End Championships, the Sectionals and the Huntington Beach Open, all formidable tournaments. He made the semis or better of almost every event he participated in this year.
Moore played tennis for Millikan High in the 80s. Like many, he took a break for 15 years and got back into the game about three years ago. “I like the NTRP tournaments because you always meet new competition and you forge friendships with players you’ve competed against before,” he said.
He can usually be found playing at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, but is fairly active in NTRP and travels around the South Bay and Orange County playing tournaments on the weekends. After conquering the Sectionals, Moore has his sights set on the prestigious Top Gun tournament played each fall in Orange County.
“That’s the top tournament of the year for me. Fortunately George Gajewski, who beat me twice this year, will have to move up after knocking me out and winning in ‘08. I would also like to finish 2009 in the top 5 in the NTRP rankings.”
Moore still was satisfied with his year.
“I beat some guys I didn’t expect to beat, but also lost a couple of matches I shouldn’t have. Overall I think I did well but need to work on my conditioning if I want to improve next year. In those instances where I had to play two matches in one day I usually lost the second.”
His opponents often get frustrated at Moore’s strong net game, a game he modeled after Pete Sampras’ and Stefan Edberg’s. “It catches a lot of people off-guard,” he said.
He can also play from the baseline if needed. His full-time job working for the web department of an education company keeps him busy during the week, but if he every wants to play hooky, he might pull it off since his boss his a former top-ranked junior player.
NTRP Player of the Year
Feher: A Native of Serbia, Of Course
Jozsef Feher did double duty in ‘08. He started the year playing in the 4.0 division, but after winning six events in a row, he moved himself up to the 4.5 divison and continued his winning ways capturing two more titles. He also advanced to two semifinals. Being a force in two separate NTRP divisions won him the nod as Inside Tennis’ NTRP Player of the Year.
Feher won the Northridge Thanksgiving Tournament, the 31st Mid-Winter Classic, the San Fernando Valley Championship, the Northridge Valentines Tournament, the Pasadena Rose Bowl Tournament and the Yonex Championship in 4.0. He won the Northridge Pre-Sectional and the Northridge Fall Classic in 4.5s.
Feher, 41, and a native of Serbia or the former Yugoslavia, came to the U.S. 17 years ago and despite picking up the game as a youngster, he only began playing tournaments about a year ago. He is thankful for the USTA’s NTRP system.
“The competition was a killer (in Serbia). We only had Open division tournaments so only the best of the best would ever have any chance of winning them,” he recalled.
Feher is a serve-and-volleyer, which throws his opponents off in this age of baseliners. He kind of models his game a little bit after his favorite pro and fellow Serb Novak Djokovic. He’s a retail district manager, who is married with kids, so finding court time is difficult. Nevertheless he has high hopes going into ‘09.
“It’s not easy to balance it all, which is why I don’t get to play as much as I would like. I hope to win at least another two or three tournaments in 4.5s and then move on to 5.5s,” he said.
