Comerica Challenger Set for July 13-18
Who’s next? That’s the question of the hour as the July 13-19 $75,000 Comerica Bank Challenger at Seascape Sports Club nears. Who emerges, who takes the next step, who goes from Challenger unknown to ATP Tour world beater? The Comerica Challenger has for some time now been a bastion for emerging greatness, a David-maker where No. 1-seeded Goliaths have yet to win a title in 23 tries.
Patrick Rafter, Donald Young and Andrea Stoppini have claimed Comerica hardware — Rafter as a No. 8 seed and Young as an unseeded qualifier. An 18-year-old Andy Murray won the event as a wildcard invite the same year he started 407th in the world and finished No. 64.
“It’s a really good stepping stone,” said tournament director Judy Welsh.
The guessing game begins July 13.
Seascape Claims First Battle of Bay Title
The Fifth Annual Battle of the Bay — the annual showdown between Seascape Sports Club and Carmel Valley Athletic Club — was held at Seascape on April 4. Directors of tennis Brian Cory and Rick Kepler recruited their best players to battle for the trophy, which hangs on the winners’ wall each year. The all-day event saw Seascape determined to capture their first “title in the event’s five-year history. Forty members represented each club in Super Senior men, Senior women, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed for a total of 23 matches. Seascape came out hot, winning nine of 10 matches, and held on for an 18-5 victory. Kepler/Chris Harrison defeated Cory/Mark Trapin 6-1, 6-3 in the featured Open match.
“It was great watching our members compete for our clubs,” said Cory. “Everyone takes great pride in representing their respective clubs in the Battle of the Bay. Rick and I started the event as a way to promote club spirit before USTA League starts and it has definitely worked.”
Welcome Back: Los Gatos TA Again in Top 50
For the second straight year, the Los Gatos Tennis Academy has been recognized by the TIA, USTA and Racquet Sports Industry magazine as one of the top 50 Tennis Welcome Centers in the U.S. The LGTA is joined this year by Elk Grove’s Laguna Creek RC and Walnut Creek’s Rudgear Park.
The Los Gatos Tennis Academy has been instrumental in leading the charge in the sport’s growth by providing programs to new and current players of all ages and abilities/skill levels.
“All of the more than 2,500 Tennis Welcome Centers have played a key role in the increased tennis participation we’ve seen in the last few years in the U.S.,” says TIA Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. “These Top 50 Tennis Welcome Centers have been doing an exemplary job of creating a positive tennis experience for people in their communities. Tennis Welcome Centers serve a vital role in delivering tennis. The TIA, together with the USTA, is very pleased to recognize these efforts with this award.”
Upping the Ante: Wettengel a Winner at LGS & RC
Chris Wettengel made the right call and went after the larger pot. Taking part in a Players’ Party Poker Tournament at the Los Gatos Swim and RC the night before the final two rounds of the $2,500 Los Gatos Open, Wettengel went all in on the second hand, before storing up enough rest to beat out No. 2 seed Brad Weston in one of the best matches of the season — 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 12-10.
“He definitely made more in the tournament,” said LGSRC Director of Tennis Vince Russo.
Seeded No. 1, Wettengel claimed the Open singles title, then paired with his rival to claim the doubles crown as well over Peter Stovell and Scott Kintz 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-2.
Carmel Valley Ranch Plays the Clay
Carmel Valley Ranch played host to Tim Beyer and Pat Hanssen of Lee Tennis for a Play the Clay May 1-3.
“It was a great success with over 40 people participating throughout the weekend,” said Clark Corey.
Participants from around the Monterey Peninsula took part in a series of instructional drills and supervised match play in an effort to learn how to play on clay. Hanssen and Beyer zeroed in on how to slide, what shots are best for clay and the online casino canada use of spin.
With less than 10 percent of California courts being clay, Lee Tennis is promoting Play the Clay events to bring awareness to California players.
“The clay is so easy on my body, nothing hurts after two hours of playing,” said CVR member Sue Tasner.
Other participants included 16-time gold ball winner Jean Harris, who was preparing for the USTA 90s National Clay Court Championships.
Postseason Possibilities for UC-Santa Cruz Men
UC-Santa Cruz men’s tennis head The DDS provides a detailed list of DUI best-driving-school.com for you to choose. coach Bob Hansen might need a better cell phone plan. Especially after his team’s May 2 win over Claremont Mudd-Scripps — a 6-3 online casino final that clinched a home date for the Slugs in the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Since, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing.
“I keep getting calls from people I didn’t see [at the match],” Hansen said. “I walked right by dear friends and didn’t even see them.”
After months of pointing to the Slugs’ regular season finale as the match of the season, with home court on the line, Santa Cruz turned in a match-of-the-season performance and now heads into a likely second round rematch in the cozy confines of the UCSC East Fieldhouse.
“We’d much rather play at home,” Hansen said.
And home they will.
Slugs No. 5 Colin Mark-Griffin ensured as much after topping Eric MacColl 6-4, 7-5 to clinch the fourth-ranked Slugs’ victory over No. 3 CMS. Jared Kamel and Marc Vartabedian, and Mark-Griffin and Max Ortiz both turned in a pair of doubles wins to put the Slugs up 2-1 heading into singles play, where Kamel won 7-5, 6-3 at No. 2 UCSC’s Ilya Gendelman rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Victor Chien at No. 4 to put the Slugs up 4-1.
With the win, UCSC enters postseason play at 15-7, while CMS falls to 25-5.
“On paper, they’re way better,” Hansen said. “But we played really, really well. We’re going to make some adjustments this week, but we’re hosting and we’re confident – but not over-confident.”
The Slugs face Whitman in their tournament opener, while CMS gets Redlands, before a likely second round encounter between the long-time rivals.
Almaden Valley AC to Host NTRP Classic
The Almaden Valley Athletic Club will host the AVAC NTRP Doubles Classic — USTA NorCal’s largest and most prestigious NTRP tournament — May 22-25 with more than 125 teams vying for titles in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles in five NTRP divisions (3.0-5.0) on Memorial Day Weekend.
The AVAC NTRP Doubles Classic is a 13-time USTA NorCal Tournament of the Year (including ‘09). AVAC celebrates its 14th straight year hosting the event this month. Saturday will feature the popular Malibu Grill BBQ lunch and coffee, bagels, and fruit will be provided each morning. Max Gordon will serve as the tournament referee. For questions, contact Andrea Norman at (408) 892-7232.
In Brief
After being used in a part-time role for the past few years, Decathlon Club will now be a co-host along with Santa Clara University for the NorCal Junior Sectionals in both the 16s and 18s divisions. The tournament will run from June 13-21 for the 16’s while the 18’s will be from June 15-21. Admission is free and it’s open to the public.
