Mt. Tam, San Francisco TC Go Head-To-Head
It was more stalemate than checkmate. Like watching Bobby Fischer play himself. On April 29, Mt. Tam RC and San Francisco TC played to a draw in an eight-man exo featuring some of the Bay’s best.
Held at SFTC, the match included two 55-minute rounds of doubles between foursomes from each club. Mt. Tam was represented by former NorCal No. 1 Jeff Greenwald, Cal men’s assistant Greg Kennett, Bangladeshi Davis Cup captain Shibu Lal and Mt. Tam tennis director Steve Summer. SFTC’s contingent featured pro Lance Johnson, USF standouts Romain Van Rillas and Fernando Rodriguez, and former Cal standout Nathan Jackmon.
SFTC swept the first round with Van Rillas/Rodriguez ousting Lal/Summer 10-6 and Jackmon/ Johnson besting Kennett/Greenwald 8-5. Mt. Tam returned the favor in the second with Lal/Summer topping Jackmon/Johnson in a nailbiter 9-8 and Greenwald/ ennett thumping Van Rillas/Rodriguez 9-3 to leave the clubs tied at 29-29 after nearly two hours of tennis. Johnson/Jackmon went on to win the individual competition with a combined 16 games won.
The two clubs will duke it out again next month, as Mt. Tam hosts the second half of the home-and-away series.
Scott Valley TC News
The Scott Valley TC added some south-of-the-border flavor to its tennis staff this month, announcing the addition of Fernando Rodriguez, a former junior standout hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico.
Rodriguez, who won a national clay court championship in Guadalajara as an 18-year-old, will assist in running the Scott Valley junior summer program, in addition to offering private lessons at the club. Formerly a pro at SFTC and East Hampton Indoor Tennis in East Hampton, N.Y., Rodriguez was also a scholarship athlete and team captain at USF, where he earned the WCC’s International Student-Athlete Award with a 3.5-plus GPA.
Scott Valley’s director of tennis, Helle Sparre, and ‘93 French Open doubles champ Luke Jensen, will team up on June 8 for a “Dynamite Doubles Duo” clinic for members and guests. Jensen will help lead four clinics throughout the day.
For info, call (415) 381-2710.
Uncorked: Napa Valley Classic July 3-5
Napa Valley Tennis Assoc. President Bob Walsh is cautiously optimistic about the 32nd Annual Napa Valley Tennis Classic, scheduled for July 3-5 and hosted by the NVTA. Same as he was in ‘08, which might not be such a bad casino online thing considering last year’s numbers.
“Last year, we were quite concerned with the economy and we still had one more entry than the year before,” Walsh said. “We’re really hoping that happens again.”
After hitting 310 entries in ‘07 and 311 entries in ‘08, Walsh said he’d be happy to hit 312 in ‘09 – especially considering the nation’s current financial crisis.
“We have a lot of return players. We’ve had four people come more than once from Colorado,” Walsh continued. “Whether or not they’ll be here this year I don’t know.”
Sponsored once again by the Starmont Winery, Napa Valley’s biggest tennis tourney will include singles, doubles, and mixed 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 play. Entries close Monday June 22. For info, visit napatennis.org.
Rolling Hills Club Shines at Mixed Districts
Three Rolling Hills Club USTA mixed teams advanced to the Districts in the final week of April, including RHC’s 7.0A, 7.0B and 8.0A squads. RHC Director of Tennis Jay Potter had his hand in the 8.0A team’s thrilling postseason shutout of La Cantera. Potter and partner Kim Moran turned what was a would-be win at 6-3, 5-4 (30-15) into a barnburner with Potter suddenly serving on one leg. An injured hamstring lead to a La Cantera break to push the second set to 5-5. Both teams traded breaks to set up a tiebreaker with Potter hobbling.
“Kim did a great job covering most of the court for me,” Potter said. “I could hardly move.”
Nonetheless, the pair pulled out the tiebreaker, then online casino sat back as Ken Hoppe/Patty Hanson cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 final and Jakob Mieritz/Hilary Gamache sealed the shutout with a 6-3, 6-2 win. RHC’s 7.0B team advanced with a pair of 2-1 finals over Marin Tennis and Mt. Tam, while the 7.0A team topped Mill Valley.
Chang Joins Esurance Classic Roster
Michael Chang’s name has been added to what’s shaping up to be a star-studded Fifth Annual Esurance Tennis Classic at Harbor Point, Oct. 2-4.
Chang, the ‘89 French Open champ and former World No. 2, will join Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Tracy Austin, Conchita Martinez, Corina Morariu, Brad Gilbert and Luke and Murphy Jensen.
The event will raise money for To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation, Us Too Prostate Cancer Education and Support; and YTA. For more info, visit tennisclassic.org.
Tennis Aplenty at Tiburon Peninsula Club
On the court and off, the first weekend in June will be one chalk full of tennis for the Tiburon Peninsula Club. TPC will host a mixed doubles challenge with Tiburon’s Belvedere Tennis Club on June 6 in a 12-team showdown, including a trio of 3.0 and 4.0 duos, plus six 3.5 pairings.
“It should be a fun challenge,” said TPC’s Scott Potthast. “Hopefully, it continues on a yearly basis.”
TPC will move from the courts to the couches briefly June 7, when it hosts a French Open Social. Members will watch the men’s final, then make their way to the courts for a French Open-inspired round robin.
Marin Senior Championships Returns June 10-14
Five different players took home singles and doubles titles at the ‘08 Marin Senior Championships, just one of them on the men’s side. But Bangladesh Davis Cup captain Shibu Lal was the only one to come within two sets of a Marin Senior three-peat.
Lal swept the men’s 35s singles and doubles, then came close to a triple dip, falling in the mixed under-100 combo championship due to illness.
Lal will look for the elusive triple crown at the 33rd Annual event, co-hosted by Scott Valley, Harbor Point and Mill Valley June 10-14.
In Brief
The second leg of the Marin County Grand Prix was a wet one, as rain forced Harbor Point to wave the caution flag before Sunday’s finale of the three-day event. Over 80 mixed, women’s and men’s 3.0 to 5.0 doubles teams reached the quarters of the event before the tournament was postponed indefinitely. According to tennis director Gordon Smith, Harbor Point will attempt to reschedule soon.
