The Shoreline Men’s “B” was held on Saturday, January 7th, at the Essex Paddle Tennis Club. The weather was great and the play was just as good. We had 24 teams and many of those from other clubs and states. In the end, the Main Draw was won by a formidable team from Sheltor Harbor, RI, in Steve Heath and Phil Johnson, who beat the Longmeadow MA duo of Mike Shields and Per Nilsson in an exciting 3 set battle 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3). The Consolation bracket was won by the team of Scott Hapgood and Jason Fivek over Rob Durfee and Rick Steele The 1st Reprieve winners were Jonathan Spencer and Mike Freedman over Kevin O’Brien and Tyler Chase. In the Quarterfinal Reprieve it was Roddy Diotalevi and Robert Caserta beating Bryan Rodgers and Nick Mazzarese. Finally, the Last Chance was won by Bill Bodde and Tim Scanlon.
Gould Cup is Saturday, Feb 11th
The Gould Cup will be held on Saturday, Feb 11th. This is a mixed doubles event for club members. Entries and questions should be directed to tournament chairpersons Jen and John Bauman. Other tournament details will be made available soon.
A Big Thank You …
Please pardon a personal note, but I just want to say that we are a truly fortunate organization to have so many people who give so generously of their time and other resources to help make the Essex Platform Tennis Club a first-rate operation. I don’t want to list names, because I know I will overlook many deserving people, but obviously the can-do, hands-on attitude starts with Jamey and our board of directors and includes the people who arrange and run our many Club events and who schedule our weekly matches (thanks, Commish).
But it doesn’t end there. I am continually impressed by all of the people who give up their time on weekends to help out with painting, carpentry, clean up, and other maintenance tasks. And that spirit extends to everyone who helps clean up the cans and other detritus at the end of the day and makes sure the facility is closed up and locked for the night.
Below are some photos of some of the amazing improvements to the Club this year, including the construction of the fourth court, the painting and clean up, the removal of the screens before Hurricane Irene, and a final picture showing how it all came out. And speaking of selfless contributors, thanks to Chad Lyons for the photos and everything else he does around the Club.
The place looks terrific, and the courts are playing great. Think how much more we would be paying — or the quality of the courts — if we didn’t have the contributions of so many people. I just want to say thanks to everyone involved.
Chris K.
The new court (Court One) under construction.
Mid-September Painting volunteers.
More mid-September painting.
The almost finished product.
