Kathleen Kalmer wins Tennis Boom Essay Contest
If Kathleen Kalmer were to try to convince her friends to play tennis, she would ask a few simple questions.Winning Essays
Volunteers Needed
Volunteer Opportunity
Saturday, March 2
9:30am to 5:00pm
Hannaford Kidz Expo at the Empire State Plaza in Albany
The Northern Region is looking for volunteers to help out with a 10 and Under tennis demo at the Hannaford Kidz Expo. Friendly, enthusiastic volunteers are needed to welcome kids and encourage them to have some fun playing tennis using mini nets, foam balls and shorter racquets. Volunteers will give out prizes and distribute information about local tennis programs to the kids. No tennis teaching experience necessary.
Shifts are: 9:30 to noon, noon to 2:30, and 2:30 to 5:00. We’re looking for two volunteers for each shift. If interested, please contact Jenny Irwin at:irwin@eastern.usta.com or 518-369-6380. Thanks!
Northern Regional Men’s Open Rankings (November 30, 2012)
As we near the end of the ranking year, let’s look at the Northern Regional Men who have Sectional rankings.
Ryan Schmitz of Scotia tops the list. Ryan is ranked 18th in singles in the Eastern Section. Ryan is currently playing 2nd singles and 1st doubles for the Siena Saints and he was the 2010 Section 2 singles champion, while Siena’s #3 player, Michael Amico, a former Section 2 Doubles Champion from Bethlehem is ranked 247th. Ryan is also ranked 9th in doubles with brother Rob and 10th in doubles with Larbi Lamzouri. Larbi is ranked 13th with Reinaldo Riveros as his partner. Last year’s Section 2 Champion, Stefan Kuhar is 317th in singles, while Chris Frost, the 2011 Champion is 182nd in singles. Another former Section 2 champion – and 2 time New York State High School Champion – Matt Kandath of Gansevoort, is ranked 66th in the Eastern Section – singles. Matt is finishing up his college tennis career at Stanford. Kandath and Kuhar both played #1 for the Albany Academy and both represented Section 2 at states throughout their high school careers. Oneonta’s Emerson Kelby is tied with Matt at 66th. Bethlehem’s current #1 player, Rohine Bose, is ranked 74th in the section in singles. Kelby and Bose also made it to High School States last year. Lars Olson of Doane Stuart is currently ranked 149th. Mitch Burhoe (Glens Falls High School) is 242nd. Connor Doud – Ballston Spa – is 312th. Schenectady High School’s Josh Sagaille is 341st. University of Chicago Freshman Jake Crawford (Clinton, NY) is ranked 174th, while St. Lawrence University Freshman Rob Schmitz (Scotia) is 126th. Stefan Kuhar, Rob Schmitz, Rohine Bose and Mitch Burhoe finished 1,2,3, 4 at Sectionals last year, while Lars Olson made it to the quarter finals. Rohine Bose teams with Karan Narula of Poughkeepsie to form the 13th ranked doubles team. Others playing doubles are: Olson/Bose (30th); and Kelby/Rob Schmitz (41st).
The third highest ranked local singles player is Tri City pro Andy Schechter. Andy’s Eastern singles ranking is 26th. He teams with Michael Amico as the 30th ranked doubles team. Local teaching pro Larbi Lamzouri is 31st in the Eastern Section in singles. Jorge Falla, father of World #61 Alejandro Falla is ranked 44th in singles (Eastern Section). Jorge teaches out of the Utica area in the summertime. Curt Speerschneider, the Skidmore Women’s Head Tennis Coach is ranked 247th, while former Assistant Pro Jerod Huston is 317th. Jerod teaches out of the Saratoga Y. Bill Brahler (Saratoga Springs) and Sam Woods (Cambridge) both teach out of the Saratoga Y too and are both ranked 342nd. Bill is the Director of Tennis at the Y and is the Head Pro at the Saratoga Golf and Polo Club. Bill is ranked 10th in doubles with fellow pro Paul Arciero.
The Van Cotts – Ian (64 in the East in singles) and Alex (101 in the East in singles) – are playing their college tennis at Tulane University. They are ranked 30th in doubles.
Green Island’s Eric O’Hearn (98th in singles) and Argyle’s Tom Reifenheiser (100th in singles) round out the area contingency in the top 100 in the Eastern Section.
The other players with rankings from their wins are: Hachi Vo (Clifton Park – 153); Kenan Hadzic (Sauquoit – 169); Rick Fenner (Clinton – 172); Paul Warren (Schenectady – 185); Emilio Pagan-Yourno (Scotia – 185); Atsuro Inada (Rensselaer – 194); Michael Sitts (Gloversville – 198); David Lenciewicz (Albany – 198); Scott Smith (Clinton – 226); Vishnu Kakuturi (New Hartford – 226); Brian Johnson (Latham – 342). Other doubles teams with points based on their winnings are: Sherwin So/John Lockwood – 13; Peter Dumas/Jonathan Dorin – 13; Phiilip Sykes/Tom Schmitz – 27; Tom Bain/Sherwin So -30; Andy Schecter/Brian Onofry – 30; Gene Cox/Greg Bellcourt – 30; Anthony O’Connell/Peter Campito (41st); Joe Nocera/Paul Warren – 41; Tom Begley/D.H.Chung – 41; Charlie Ellis/Alex Federov – 47; Nolan Carl/Ryan Brady – 47; Joe Holm/Ryan Schmitz – 47; Chris Frost/Ryan Schmitz – 47; Mikchael Donadio – 47; Justin Hsu/Hachi Vo – 47; and Francesco Asano/Reinaldo Riveros – 67
It’s great to see so many players from our region with wins and points.
A few notes on the rankings. Rankings are based on points so it should not be assumed that a player with a higher ranking is a better player or that a player with a lower ranking is worse. If a player only plays one tournament they will not have a lot of points, even if they win it. A player who plays 6 tournaments and wins a few rounds will probably have a higher ranking. Also, in the adult rankings - USTA Eastern - a player who losses in the first round is awarded a point. I did not include players whose rankings are a result of those points.
Remembering Donny Dudley – Revised 9/1
It was the hardest article I ever wrote. One year ago today we lost one of our brightest stars and one the games finest young ambassadors. Whether you were on his team or on the other team, everybody came off the court with a good impression of Donny. We remember Donny here, in the words of some of his friends. If you would like to add your voice please respond in the comment section below. This post will remain on top of the blog for the entire week. Look for newer posts below.
Russell Santos
friend around, he never talked bad about anybody.
Sectionals Played Here
USTA Leagues
USTA Adult Leagues came to town in a big way last week. The 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 Sectionals – Mens and Womens – were all played here. This weekend is the 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 Sectional Championships. Unfortunately, the home court advantage was not enough for the 3.5 Men and Women or for the 4.5 Men and Women, however the 2.5 Women managed to come away with a victory. The team went 4-0 for the tournament. Congratulations to Pam Zentko, Wendy Mapstone, Luisa Go, Shannon Gillson, Wendi Enright, Penny Hill, Paddi McGrinder, Amy Zeglen, Angela Behers and Echi Barhydt. Good luck to all of the Northern Regional teams that are playing this weekend.
For complete results – CLICK HERE
Local players go National – Part 3 (August 2012)
How hot is it? Temperatures soared to 108 degrees in Little Rock this week for Boys 12 and Under Nationals. At times, Max and Ronan were just as hot as the weather. Max came into the event ranked 184th in the country. Max started out with a 7-5, 6-3 loss to the 10th seeded Christian Alshon. Alshon is ranked 11th in the country. He followed that up with wins over 56th ranked Pierce Rollins – one of the 17th seeds – and 92nd ranked Alan Yim. The score of the Rollins match was 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, while the Yim match was 6-1, 6-1. Next up was a 6-1, 6-1 loss to another 17th seed, Nicholas Lorenz – 27th in the country. In doubles, Max teamed with Michael Sun. They drew the 7th seeded team Scott Bout/John Carroll and lost 7-6, 6-2. Bout and Carroll are ranked 43rd and 30th respectively. The top 16 players were seeded by position, the next 16 top players are all considered #17 seeds. That is because there is no difference in where they are placed. All 16 players are randomly drawn for those 16 seed lines in the draw.
Ronan came into the event ranked 133rd in the country. Ronan started out with a 6-1, 6-0 loss to one of the 17th seeds – Trey Hilderbrand. Trey is ranked 45th in the country. In the second match, Ronan beat Prathirath Polepally – 177th in the nation by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Next up was Daniel Pellerito who is 91st in the country. Daniel won 6-0, 6-4. Ronald Hohmann, who is 97th in the country, beat Ronan in the next round 6-3, 7-5. Ronan finished off with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Patrick Sebastian who is 226th in the country. In doubles, Ronan teamed up with Nathan Arimilli of Austin, Texas. They started out with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Joseph Gandolfo (102nd) and Michael Johnson (127th). They lost in the second round of doubles to Bout & Carroll by a score of 7-5, 6-3.
If you followed my blog recently you may recognize Daniel Pellerito and Michael Sun as members of my 12 and Under zonals team.
On to Kalamazoo and the Van Cotts. Alex started off by narrowly defeating Yale Goldberg 6-1, 6-7(3), 7-6(4). You may recall that Yale Goldberg beat Ian earlier this year 6-2, 6-0 so this was a bit a revenge for the Van Cotts. In the second round, Alex beat Blaine Willenborg 6-3, 6-0. Alex lost his third round match to 4th seeded M. Mackenzie McDonald by a score of 6-4, 6-2. In the backdraw, Alex lost to Samuel Shropshire 6-3, 6-2. Goldberg came into the event ranked 63rd in the nation, Willenborg is ranked 134th and McDonald is ranked 4th.
Ian Van Cott started off with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Brian Astrachan (135th) before losing to 35th ranked Trey Stroebel 6-1, 6-4. In the backdraw he beat Andrew Korinek (147th) 6-2, 0-6, 10-7 and lost to Nicholas Naumann (46th) 7-6(4), 7-6(2). Alex had beaten Korinek a few weeks ago in the National Team Championships. You may recognize Willenborg and McDonald as the Van Cotts had beaten each of them, on seperate occasions, in doubles matches that were reported here. They lost to Nicholas Naumann in doubles earlier in the year.
The Van Cotts – Alex and Ian – are ranked 53rd and 257th respectively. In doubles, they lost to Christopher Barrus and Christian Lutschaunig due to an illness.
All in all, it has been an exciting and productive year for Northern Regional junior tennis. Good luck to all and hopefully our area juniors can continue to improve .
Another Year – Another Little Mo Star (Elise Wagle)
Between Max Benson and Ronan Jachuck the Northern Region has more than it’s share of winners at the Little Mo Tournament. This year we have Elise Wagle. Elise managed to win the USTA Eastern Sectional Little Mo tournament in the 9 year old category and went into the Chicago Regional as the top seed. At the Sectionals, she beat Sophia Weiland of Dresden, Germany 7-5, 6-1 then beat Madison Seig in the finals 7-6, 6-1.
In the North Regionals she started off with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Emily Callahan of Lake Forest, Illinois. Next up was Kyra Emmanouilidis of Inverness, Illinois. She beat Kyra 6-0, 6-0. In the semi finals she beat #2 seeded Olivia Almy of Southbough, Mass 6-3, 6-3.
Next up is the National Championships which are being held in Austin, Texas – October 19-22. Follow Elise here at the Adirondack Tennis Blog.
4th of July Doubles Tennis Round Robin – Colonie Golf & Country Club
Colonie Golf & Country Club
4th of July Doubles Round Robin
Wednesday July 4, 10:00am
Entry Fee $20 members ($25 non-members)
Includes beer & wine, prizes, sodas, bottled waters & light hors d’oeuvres
Teams do not have to be mixed, any and all combinations are welcome; Male/Male, Male/Female or Female/Female
Call the Pro-shop at 765-4149 or email Greg at groman977@hotmail.com
TIME CHANGES – Luke Jensen Celebrity Clinics – Saturday June 16 – Colonie Country Club (Albany, NY)
We have changed the Luke Jensen clinic times, so we can have the classes earlier in the day.
New Clinic times: (still 1 ½ hours)
9am, 10:30am, Noon, 1:30.
This is a great opportunity to get some personal tips from a Grand Slam Champion
On Saturday June 16th, 1993 French Open Doubles Champion, Luke Jensen, will appear at our tennis courts for a full day of clinics. Event is open to the public!
Singles and Doubles Drills, Point Play & Strategy
Great for adults, juniors, college players
Just $50.00
Luke has had singles wins over such greats as Peter Sampras, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and Jim Courier. He is currently the Syracuse University Women’s Tennis head coach and an ESPN tennis analyst. Luke can serve 130 mph with either hand.
Open at all levels of play (juniors welcome as long as they can fit in drilling with adults).
Event is open to the public. Tell your friends, teammates, anyone you think would be interested.
Stay for a second clinic and get 50% off your second clinic, third or fourth.
For further information or to sign up, contact Greg Roman at 518-765-4149, cell 703-801-5164 or by email at groman977@hotmail.com.
Luke Jensen Celebrity Clinics – Saturdays June 16 – Colonie Country Club
On Saturday June 16th, 1993 French Open Doubles Champion, Luke Jensen, will appear at our tennis courts for a full day of clinics. Event is open to the public!
Singles and Doubles Drills, Point Play & Strategy
Clinic Sessions: 1 ½ hour sessions
10am-11:30am, 11:45-1:15pm, 2:30pm-4:00pm, 4:15pm-5:45pm
Just $50.00
Luke has had singles wins over such greats as Peter Sampras, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and Jim Courier. He is currently the Syracuse University Women’s Tennis head coach and an ESPN tennis analyst. Luke can serve 130 mph with either hand.
Open at all levels of play (juniors welcome as long as they can fit in drilling with adults).
Event is open to the public. Tell your friends, teammates, anyone you think would be interested.
Stay for a second clinic and get 50% off your second clinic.
For further information or to sign up, contact Greg Roman at 518-765-4149, cell 703-801-5164 or by email at groman977@hotmail.com.
Alzheimer’s Charity Doubles Tournament
Saturday June 9 10am – until you are tired!
Entry Fee: $60 per team
Teams can be Male/Male, Female/Female or Mixed
Multiple flights so ALL levels are encouraged to play.
There will be a Silent Auction during the event with tons of great items, signed books from NYT Best Selling authors, local businesses, gift certificates, etc. Please bid and bid often. It’s for a great cause!
Registration includes:
Subway subs, hor d’ouvres (cheese and crackers, salsa and chips, veggies and dips, and more), beer, wine, bottled water, Gatorades, and sodas.
Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested
http://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAMENTS/TournamentHome_New/Tournament.aspx?T=120930
For further information or to sign up contact Director of Tennis, Greg Roman at 765-4149 or cell, 703-801-5164 or groman977@hotmail.com.
Colonie Country Club Tennis Season Opener
Come to the Season opener at the Tennis Center at Colonie Golf & Country Club on Saturday, May 26th. The event runs from 22:00am-2:00pm and features Complimentary Barbeque and of course, tennis. Greg Roman will reveal the summer tennis programming. Come see all the improvements. Guests are welcome.
For additional information or to sign up you can contact Greg Roman on his cell at 703-801-5164 or office 518-765-4149
