San Francisco City Championships Way Tu Much
Men’s Open entries in the money-less San Francisco City Championships soared in a remarkable rebound from the dismal ‘08 turnout as former USF star Tommy Tu wrote a precious footnote by winning the first men’s Open singles event he ever played. Tu, 22, beat No. 5 seeded Greg Lee of El Macero, 7-5, 6-2 on Labor Day. Lee was making his first appearance in the Golden Gate Park tournament since winning it in ‘03 and ‘04.
The draw had 62 entries, up from last year’s all-time low of 29 when the cash-strapped city suspended prize money for the first time in 40 years. The ‘07 draw had 67 entries. Total ‘09 entries with all categories were 130, up from 104 in ‘08, but draws in the NTRP levels were still thin. Referee Phil Sleeper attributed that slide to the Bay Bridge being closed for several days while a mammoth section of it was replaced.
Although the No. 3 seeded Tu showed polish and craft at the baseline, and deftness at the net when he needed it, his results surprised him.
“I didn’t expect to win,” he said afterward. “I haven’t trained for a couple of weeks. And this is the first Open tournament I’ve played. Yes, that I ever played since leaving the juniors.”
His older brother, Hein, also of Alameda, pulled an identical trick. He won by the same 7-5, 6-2 score in the 4.5 singles final — and it, too, was the first men’s tournament he has played. Tommy Tu was one of only two USF players in recent history to be ranked last season among the nation’s top 100 college players. He made the All-WCC First Team in singles. Now having earned a ‘09 BS degree in finance, he contemplates going to graduate school but is undecided where. If it’s back to USF, he’d likely be a practice partner for his younger brother, Thai, a surprise sophomore transfer for the Dons from the Cal varsity where he played No. 4.
USF dominated the Open class. In doubles, Tu and his former teammate Asaf Cohen squeaked past their mentors, the Dons’ varsity coach Peter Bartlett and his assistant coach Pablo de Almeida, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(2). And the Lady Dons’ No. 1 player, Jenni Heinser, zipped through the women’s singles draw, giving up one game. Other winners: M4.0, Geoff Williams; M5.0, Matt Gaarder-Wang; W4.0, Enkhnaran Jargalsaikhan; W4.5, Deborah Lau; M4.0D, Andrew Don/Lee Griffin; M4.5D, Dan Hernandez/Todd Waibe.
Golden Gate Park Courts Continue Tailspin
Rec and Park has received 30 complaints about the deteriorating condition of Golden Gate Park tennis courts this year, according to a department information officer.
“It’s not like daily complaints but more like they come in chunks, like an organized campaign, about online casinos 30 total,” the department’s Lisa Seitz Gruwell told IT.
The count was the first nine months of ‘09. The cracked and dirty courts were a reason the U.S. Gay Open abandoned the park as a tournament site after many years and moved to Stanford three years ago. Captains of park-based league teams say they are increasingly embarrassed to host teams online casino from private clubs and municipalities that keep up their facilities.
The courts were last refurbished eight years ago, but not by the city. A petition with 200 signatures was sent to the department in ‘00 asking that something be done about the sad state of the courts then. The City then, as now, said it had no funds for it. However, the Olympic Club Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the venerable private club, with the Good Tidings nonprofit, sponsored an $85,000 makeover and new youth programs. The resurfacing was done June ‘01. It was superficial, more cosmetic than a deeper and longer lasting job, and the courts soon developed fissures that worsened each year.
Seitz Gruwell said the department has no immediate plans to improve the courts and instead is focusing on a “long range plan” to create an elegant $25 million facility “that the community deserves.” The idea, driven for three years by the San Francisco Tennis Coalition, has raised $25,000.
“Money is extraordinarily tight,” Seitz Gruwell said. “We’re actively pursuing outside donations through our partnerships division.”
Kurdys Leads Repeaters in Cal Club Seniors
The Cal Club Seniors tournament had an unusually high number of repeat winners in singles in ‘09 — four — with Oakland’s Doug Kurdys showing up in the 65s’ finals for the third straight year. Kurdys clipped Chuck Bleckinger of Richmond in the finals 6-2, 6-4 in a nine-man draw in the 65s. Last year, Kurdys lost a three-set final trying to defend his ‘07 title.
San Francisco’s T.E. Lehto was a senior who became a freshman this year, making the leap to the 50s singles. He blanked Garth Holsigner of Palm Springs in the 50s final 6-0, 6-0, losing one game in three matches in an 8-man draw. Last year, Lehto won the 45s singles. S.F.’s Robert van Malder repeated his singles victory in the 55s at the Cal Club’s Pine Street enclave and Chico’s Everett Riggle successfully defended his title in the 75s.
Other winners: M35, Peter Stovell; M40, (47-year-old) John Saviano; M45, Randy Havens; M 60, Charlie Hoeveler; M70, Hal Beno; M80, Jorgen Hildebrandt; W35, Leora Grimshaw; W40, Yvonne Gallup; W50, Yvonne Gallup; M50D, Tim Anderson/William Dagley; M55D, Rich Taylor/K.C. Jackson; M65D, Steve Booth/William Bagley; M70D, Greg Kohles/Henry Lancaster.
In Brief
Judith Griffin Edwards, the wife of the late Gene Edwards, passed away Sept. 1. Her husband was a leading tennis court builder in NorCal and helped raise court-building standards nationally. The Edwards Family Trust, administered by the Edwards’ son, Jeff and his wife Vicki, has donated court re-surfacing at four municipal parks and playgrounds over the last five years. Vintage Contractors, where Jeff is VP, performed the work. Ms. Edwards had a travel business that organized luxury tours worldwide. She was 74.
IT contributing editor Tom Carter of San Francisco has been recognized for his reporting by the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter. The SPJ noted that Carter’s work for the non-profit Central City Extra, a monthly newspaper that centers on the Tenderloin, Civic Center and Sixth Street corridor, shines “a light on an undercovered and overlooked part of the city.” Congrats, Tom.
