Vintage STC

Multiple Club Championship holders bumped into each other recently at the Stratford tennis club.It made for a great photo opportunity and a chance to share some great tennis tales. Title holders are left to right.

Max Besworth, Bob Tamblyn, Bill Sibold, Bill White and Ray Cornish

Adult Tournament and PARTY Sept. 19

Do not miss the best event of the year. The adult over 30 men's and ladies doubles tournament is Sept. 19th at the club. The party of the year to follow. The emphasis is on fun and social! If you don't have a partner no problem. Leave your name on the sign up sheet and the club will assist with finding you one.

Start time is 2pm going until everyone is partied out.

See club house for more details.

Besworth Secures Spot on UWO Tennis Team

Max Besworth Club Pro has just secured the number 6 position of 12 on the University of Western Tennis team in his freshman year. The Club wishes Max the best of luck in his first season with the team.

Club Championship Results!!

The Stratford Tennis Club has been holding its 2009 Club Championship tournament over the last 2 weeks. Wednesday night was the singles finals in 4 categories and what a night it was. Over 50 spectators were treated to the finest men's and ladies 'A' finals in the history of the club. Both the men and ladies championship matches went the distance, ending in tie-breakers in the third set. The calibre of play started at a high level and never diminished. It was an amazing finish to a great two week tournament.
The Men's 'A' final was a match up of the club's top two players over the season. 6 time champion Bob Tamblyn faced 2 time defending champion Max Besworth. Tamblyn took the first set 6-3, Besworth took the second set 6-4 leading to the drama of the third and deciding set. Besworth faced 2 match points when trailing 4 games to 5 but held them off to continue the match. Tamblyn held off a match point of his own when down 6 games to 5. Eventually the set went to a tie-breaker where again Tamblyn faced a match point. A big serve had the match continue. Finally Tamblyn converted his third match point opportunity to win the tie-breaker 8-6, taking the match and the championship. The 2 hour 45 minute final was the longest in club history and the highest calibre of play. The best men's final in club history!
The Ladies 'A' final was also a long and dramatic affair. Victoria Garcia, a three time champion, faced Krista Plociennik, the two time defending champion. Garcia fell behind 4-1 in the first set but rallied to send the set to a tie-breaker where she prevailed 7 points to 1. Plociennik dug in and took the second set 6-3. On to the third set for the ladies. Garcia trailed 5-4 but won her service game to stay in the match. Plociennik won her serve to take a 6-5 lead, putting the pressure on Garcia's serve again. Another service win lead to the third set tie-breaker. Many great rallies and great shots throughout the match continued in the tie-breaker. Back and forth it went. Garcia finally got her opportunity and took the championship by winning the tie-breaker 7 points to 5. The woman had matched the men in providing the best singles final in the history of the club.
The Ladies 'B' singles final was a battle between 2 first time singles finalists. Nikki Bowman faced Edda Lang. After a long and dramatic first set (that went to a tie-breaker) Bowman was able to prevail. The final score was 7-6 (7 points to 5), 6-0 as Bowman took the Ladies 'B' championship.
The Men's 'B' singles final saw the tradition of an up and coming junior winning the title continue. Under 16 champion Nathan Walsh added the Men's 'B' singles title to his seasons accomplishments. Walsh downed Paul Menary 6-1 , 7-5 in the final.
It was an amazing night at the Stratford Tennis Club. The 2009 club championship tournaments, which had the largest number of entries in memory, had finished with the best finals in history. A truly memorable night of tennis in Stratford.

Picture 1 - Nathan Walsh (Men's 'B' Champion)

Picture 2 - Nikki Bowman (Ladies 'B' Champion)
Picture 3 - (L to R) Bob Tamblyn (Men's 'A' Champion) + Victoria Garcia (Ladies 'A' Champion)

JR Club Championship Wrap Up

This weekend the Stratford Tennis Club completed its annual club championship tournaments by crowning its junior champions. Krista Plociennk was the big winner for the girls, winning 6 titles. The boy with the most championships is Nathan Walsh who took 5 titles.
The Girls Under 18 event was dominated by Plociennik. Krista won the Under 18 singles title, for the second straight year, downing Claire Scott 6-1, 6-2 in the final. Plociennik teamed with Danielle Chisholm to take the doubles crown 6-4, 7-5 over Scott and Olivia Kramer. The mixed doubles final saw Plociennik and Walsh defeat Scott and Mike Rheaume 6-1, 6-2. Rheaume took the Boys Under 18 singles championship with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Walsh. Rheaume and Walsh teamed to take the boys doubles over Travis Hiller and Jeremy Chisholm 6-1, 6-4.
Plociennik also swept the Under 16 triple crown. She won the singles event for the 4th year in a row when she edged Scott 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Plociennik and Chisholm again faced Scott and Kramer in the doubles final and again held on to win 7-5, 6-4. The mixed doubles final had Plociennik and Walsh winning their second age group as they beat Scott and Hiller 6-2, 6-3. Walsh took the boys single title (for the 3rd time) 6-3, 7-5 over Cael Wishart. Walsh completed his sweep of the Under 16 events when he and Wishart took the boys doubles over Tyler Kocher and John Fischer 6-1, 6-3.
Travis Hiller was the big winner in the Under 14 division. Hiller repeated as the boys singles champion, 6-3, 6-4 over John Fischer. The boys doubles final was the best final of the junior events. Hiller and Josh Johnson held on the edge Fischer and Andrew Hancock 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7 points to 4 in the tie-breaker). Hiller completed his sweep teaming with his sister Marley Hiller to win the mixed doubles event with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Fischer and Vanessa Kramer. Sonja Andrekovic won the girls Under 14 singles title 6-0, 6-0 over Hiller. Andrekovic and Caitriona Buckley defeated Siobhan McCarroll and Alex Baker 7-6 (7 to 1 in tie-breaker), 6-3 to win the girls doubles.
Alexandra Andrekovic and John Fischer were the big winners in the Under 12 events. Alexandra won the girls singles 6-4, 6-4 over Caitriona Buckley. Alexandra and Caitriona took the girls doubles 6-0, 6-1 over Clodagh Weber and Amy Kocher. John Fischer took on his brother Luke in the boys singles final. The 3 set affair eventually went to older brother John with scores of 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. This is the second year in a row that John has won the boys Under 12 singles. John and Andrew Hancock won their second straight Under 12 doubles crown by downing Aidan Buckley and Luke Fischer 6-1, 6-3. Alexandra and John completed their triple crown by teaming together to win the mixed doubles. Alexandra and John downed Caitriona and Luke 6-1, 6-0 in the final.
The 2009 Club Championships at the Stratford Tennis Club had the highest participation in many years. Each age group had many great matches. The juniors next event is the final leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Grand Slam. The 'US Open' will take place on Saturday , September 12.


Picture - (L to R) Front Row - Alexandra Andrekovic (Girls Under 12 singles, doubles and mixed champion)
Second Row - Andrew Hancock (Boys Under 12 doubles champion)
John Fischer (Boys Under 12 singles , doubles and mixed champion

Third Row - Caitriona Buckley (Girls Under 14 doubles and Girls Under 12 doubles champion) Sonja Andrekovic (Girls Under 14 singles and doubles champion) Marley Hiller (Under 14 mixed doubles champion)

Fourth Row - Josh Johnson (Boys Under 14 doubles champion) Travis Hiller (Boys Under 14 singles, doubles and mixed champion)

Fifth Row - Nathan Walsh (Boys Under 16 singles, doubles, and mixed champion; Boys Under 18 doubles mixed champion) Krista Plociennik (Girls Under 16 singles, doubles and mixed champion; Girls Under 18 singles, doubles and mixed champion) Mike Rheaume (Boys Under 18 singles and doubles champion)

ABSENT - Danielle Chisholm (Girls Under 18 and Under 16 doubles champion)
Cael Wishart (Boys Under 16 doubles champion)

Super Set Singles a Smash

The Stratford Tennis Club completed its annual Super Set Tournament this past Saturday. The singles event that was rained out last weekend was held on Saturday. Despite a slight rain delay and the less than seasonal weather a record number of entries participated.
The men's 'A' final was a very high calibre match with Bob Tamblyn emerging as champion with an 8-5 victory over defending champion Max Besworth. The men's 'A' consolation final saw wily veteran Tom Warnock outsmart teenager Mike Rheaume taking the match 8-1. Nathan Duh staged the comeback of the day in the men's 'B' final against Greg Vivian. Recovering from a 7-2 deficit Duh won 5 straight games to send the match to a tie-breaker where he prevailed 7-5 to take the title. Ric Oliver is the men's 'B' consolation champion after downing Trent Eickmeyer 8-1 in the final.
Marta Andrekovic is the ladies 'A' champion after an impressive 8-1 win over Johanna Billings in the final. The ladies 'A' consolation final saw Victoria Garcia edge Claire Scott 8-6. Nikki Brydges took the ladies 'B' championship by an 8-1 score over Monica Eickmeyer in the final. The youngest winner of the weekend was Monika Andrekovic who won the ladies 'B' consolation final 8-2 over Liz Yundt.

Picture 1 : (L to R) Greg Vivian (men's 'B' runner up), Nathan Duh (men's 'B' champion) , Trent Eickmeyer (Men's 'B' consolation runner up) , Ric Oliver (men's 'B" consolation champion), Max Beworth (men's 'A' runner up) , Bob Tamblyn (men's 'A' champion) , Mike Rheaume (men's 'A' consolation runner up) , Tom Warnock (men's 'A' consolation champion)

Picture 2 : (L to R) Monika Andrekovic (ladies 'B' consolation champion) , Liz Yundt (ladies 'B' consolation runner up) , Nikki Brydges (ladies 'B' champion) , Monica Eickmeyer (ladies 'B' runner up) , Marta Andrekovic (ladies 'A' champion) , Johanna Billlings (ladies 'A' runner up) , Victoria Garcia (ladies 'A' consolation champion) , Claire Scott (ladies 'A' consolation runner up).

Optimist JR Tennis Day June 27

The Optimist Junior Tennis Day is just around the corner. This is one of the biggest days of the year for the kids. It is open to everyone members and non members. The Optimist Club of Stratford puts on a great day of fun food and prizes at the Tennis Club with the theme around fun! Don't miss it!

Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior "French Open" in rain delay

The Junior "French Open" scheduled for today has been canceled by rain. The event has been rescheduled to the weekend of June 27 & 28. Please contact the club for specific start times.

Practice Wall To Come Down

As of late last week the practice wall has been deemed unsafe and has been roped off. It is off limits to all. This has been done to protect the safety of everyone. The wall will be taken down this week and we are in the process of sourcing out a replacement.

Babolat Day enjoyed by all

Despite the absence of the Babolat Rep. the day opened off the seasons social events with a bang. Courts Plus was on hand with the latest gear to test and purchase. Everyone worked up an appetite at Max's clinic and enjoyed a pizza lunch provided by the club. Once the pizza boxes were empty a social doubles round robin was played under the sunshine and comfortable temperatures.

Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Aussie Open Results

The Stratford Tennis Club held its first junior tournament of the season this past weekend. The 'Australian Open' was the opening event in the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam. Over 40 juniors took part in the singles and doubles events.
Saturday was the day for singles play. In the Girls Under 12 category, Caitriona Buckley took the title with a 8-1 victory over Alexandra Andrekovic. Sonja Andrekovic downed Anna Feore 8-5 to take the Girls Under 14 event. The Under 14 consolation winner is Marley Hiller who defeated Taylor Sharp 8-1. The Girls Under 18 gold medalist is Claire Scott after her 8-3 victory over Monika Andrekovic. The Boys Under 12 final saw Jared Nash score an 8-4 win over Aidan Buckley. Tim Clay took the Under 12 consolation title 8-6 over Jarrett Bogdan. Travis Hiller took down Jeremy Chisholm 8-3 in the final to take the Boys Under 14 gold medal. The consolation final saw Craig Rice defeat Cael Wishart 6-4. Ciaran Buckley took the Boys Under 18 title with an 8-3 win over Cole Murphy-Hart. The consolation final saw Brandon Gray comeback to down Andrew O'Malley 8-6.
The tournament continued on Sunday with the doubles events. Alexandra Andrekovic and Caitriona Buckley teamed to take the Girls Under 12 championship 8-1 over Clodagh Weber and Amy Kocher. The Girls Under 14 champions are Anna Feore and Sonja Andrekovic who downed Emma Drake and Marley Hiller 8-0 in the final. Sonja Andrekovic took her second doubles title, teaming with sister Monika to take the Girls Under 16 event 8-0 over Claire Scott and Gen Ramadani. The Boys Under 12 final saw Aidan Buckley and Austin Dale score an 8-2 victory over Aidan Baker and Luke Fischer for the title. The Boys Under 14 final was the best final of the weekend. Andrew Hancock and John Fischer edged Ciaran Buckley and Tyler Kocher 8-7 (7 to 3 in the tie-breaker) to earn the gold medal. Matt Parkinson and John Yundt took the consolation title, winning 8-4 over Connor Arms and Tye Lease. The Boys Under 16 champions are Niall Weber and Luke Fischer who edged Andrew O'Malley and Brandon Gray 8-5 in the final.
The Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam continues on June 20-21 with the 'French Open' event.

New Reinvented Mens Night

The Stratford Tennis Club is excited to announce that Men's night will be moved Starting This week to 8pm. It will still be on Thursday night.This is an effort to get more participation and better organization. All levels of play are welcome and a more organized and more social atmosphere will be the objective.

This is a great way to connect with other members and play some great tennis.

Club Members Compete at WOSSA

Central's Besworth headed to OFSAA tennis fourth time

Max Besworth is headed to his fourth straight Ontario high school tennis championships after winning a silver at the WOSSAA tournament Tuesday at the Stratford Tennis Club.

The 19-year-old Stratford Central student was defeated 5-7, 1-6 by Iain Sneddon Jr. of London Oakridge in the boys singles final at WOSSAA, but both advance to OFSAA June 1-2 at the Rexall Centre in Toronto.

Sneddon Jr. is the 34th-ranked male singles player in the province. In the Under-16 category he's ranked fourth in the province and 11th in Canada. He has competed internationally.

This will be Besworth's first trip to OFSAA as a ranked player. He won three medals in the unranked category, including a gold in boys singles last year. He shared silver in boys doubles in 2006 and a gold in boys doubles in 2007.

Besworth was one of seven Central athletes competing at WOSSAA and one of four Huron-Perth players who qualified for OFSAA.

Steph Kreuter and Greg Vivian of Stratford St. Michael qualified in the unranked division of mixed doubles, while Josie McCann of Exeter South Huron earned an OFSAA berth in the unranked division of girls singles.

Other Central athletes competing included Monika Andrekovic, eliminated in the first round in girls' singles; Morgan Davis, defeated in the first round in boys' singles; Rae Schulman Dupuis and Rebecca Johnson, who fell in the opener in girls' doubles; and Anne Sewell and Cameron Kramer, who lost in the opener in mixed doubles.

In the unranked division of boys singles, Zach Costa of London Banting and Kristian Johnston St. Thomas Arthur Voaden qualified for OFSAA.

In girls singles, Nikki Budai of London Mother Theresa defeated Katie Spivak of London St. Thomas Aquinas 6-0, 6-1 in the ranked division. Emia Coto of St. Thomas St. Joe's and McCann advanced in the unranked division.

In boys doubles, Dylan Crimmins and Nadar Fadel of London Lucas defeated Ben Malt and Hunter Doubt of London Saunders in the final 6-4, 7-6. Both move on to OFSAA.

In girls doubles, Monica Jordan and Georgia Robinson of Aquinas and Natalie Goldberg and Karishma Taneja of Lucas will represent WOSSAA in the unranked division, while Elise Dann and Suzanne Tillman of Mother Theresa will represent WOSSAA in the ranked division.

Babolat Day June 6th

Don't miss this event. Courts Plus will be on hand with clothing and gear for sale and the latest racquet's to demo.

Max will be holding clinics for all ages as well. The Day really gets rolling with a pizza lunch and an adult round robin for all skill levels. This is a mixed event with a very social theme. Partners will be drawn so you do not need a partner to participate. Lets kick the seasons events off with a bang!!!!

Lessons Start May 11th

Check the website for group lesson times. They get underway May 11th and remember they are free with your membership.

Group Lessons Begin May 11th

Free group lessons instructed by Club Pro Max begin May 11th. Check the website for the groups and times. If you are not sure what group would be best for you Max would be happy to assist.

Photo Section Updated

Click on the Photo Gallery Section and see the updated pics!!

Clubhouse break in

The clubhouse was broken into last night (April 27th) sometime between 10pm and 6am. Nothing appears to be missing with damage being restricted to the pro shop area. If anyone has any information regarding this matter please contact myself, the club or the local police. You can remain anonymous by using crime stoppers.

STC Survives Storm

With high winds and heavy rains the newly prepared clay courts were in jeopardy. Fortunately they survived mother natures punch with just a few scratches. "Everything seemed to hold up well, we lost a bit of har-tru but the courts held up well" said club manager Bill White.

All but one court was back in play by 3pm Sunday.

Pack Your Tennis Bag It's Opening Day Saturday

1 Day Until Opening Day!!!!

LET THE FUR FLY AND THE FUN BEGIN!!!!!!!!

THE 2009 SEASON STARS SATURDAY :)

3 Days Until Opening Day!

4 Days Until Opening Day

WORK PARTY April 18th 10am

Our annual work party is planned for April 18th 2009 starting at 10am. Anyone with some time to spare to help spiff up the clubhouse and help get things ready for the April 25th opening is welcome. Your help is always appreciated.

Work is underway

Hello Everyone! Tennis is in the air and with the sun shinning Bill and his crew are hard at work preparing the clay courts for the upcoming season.

If the weather holds everything appears on schedule for Opening day April 25th!!!