united states court tennis association united states court tennis ...

We would like to thank our professionals Mike Gooding
(head), Andrew Fowler, James Stout (newly crowned
World Racquets Singles Champion) and Neil Smith. Our
thanks also go to the committees and other members who
contribute to make our tournaments and programs run efficiently.
Without these hard-working individuals, our tennis
program would not be as vibrant as it is.
R&T Club Champions
Club Singles – Addison West
Jarvis Cromwell (1 st Class Singles) – Addison West
Appleton Cup (1 st Class Doubles) – Addison West & Peter
Pell
2 nd Class Singles – Rahul Vinnakota
2 nd Class Doubles – Gordan Baird & Chris Blundin
3 rd Class Singles – Andy Timmerman
3 rd Class Doubles – Chris Taube & Perry Bartol
4 th Class Singles – Temple Grassi
4 th Class Doubles – Graham Jones & Mike Ziatyk
Washington, DC (1997)
International Tennis Club
By Steve Hufford
Prince’s Court had a fine year. We weathered the market
meltdown in exemplary fashion, enjoying our highest level
of court usage, six players in the top 25 list, continued
growth in membership, a new financing approach completely
independent of infusions of TARP funding, strong
leadership from President John Motz, and continued excellent
work from pros Ivan Ronaldson and Phil Shannon. We
welcomed many new members this year, and our outreach
extended even to the March 2009 issue of Tennis Magazine,
which featured pictures of Prince’s Court and introduced
thousands of lawn tennis players to the real game.
Our new league format featured 70 players participating
in 18 weeks of spirited doubles competition, with food
and beverage responsibilities shared among the three teams:
Fontainebleau, Ballarat, and Manchester. The teams’ respective
captains, Genie Gordon, Rob Carlson, and Temple
Grassi rallied their troops week after week in their long
campaigns. Each Thursday evening, the teams provided
French, Australian, and English fare for their fellow competitors,
adding a great social and caloric aspect to complement
the athletic endeavors on court. Oddly enough, the
2008-2009 Annual Report
only courtside flag to be shredded to bits by errant underarm
twist serves this year was the US stars and stripes.
The tightly contested league championship amazingly
came down to a three-way tie leading into the final night’s
play, with crucial “creativity points” awarded to Manchester
by PhiliptheselfdeclaredbestorganiserofleaguesinthehistoryofmankindShannon
(also known as assistant pro Phil
Shannon). Team member Ryan Carey’s creativity led him to
cater food with a Mancunian theme:
M = M&Ms
A = Aero chocolate bar
N = Newcastle Brown Ale
C = Cake (with “All Hail Manchester” iced on top!)
H = Heineken beer
E = Estancia white wine
S = Spotted Dick pudding
T = Toffee pops
E = English toffee chocolate
R = Robinson’s Barley Water
The bonus points for this festive stunt got his team into
the finals, where they edged ahead, and captured the club’s
league championship for the year. All Hail Manchester!
In early December, Prince’s Court was pleased to host
the US National Open, for all players who either are US
citizens, or are based in the US. Four brave local players
competed. The 16-player field culminated in a spectacular
final, with Steve Virgona overcoming Camden Riviere 6/5,
6/1, 5/6, 5/6, 6/4 before a crowd spellbound by their wizardry.
The next weekend, Prince’s Court reached an important
milestone in men’s amateur doubles play: Washington
played on Sunday for the first time ever in the Whitney
Cup! Having defeated both Philadelphia and New York,
Washington made it to the finals against a determined
team from New England, but could not prevail in spite
of tremendous efforts. Congratulations to captain Rich
Moroscak, and
team members
Eric Pearson, Bill
Barker, John Motz,
Bradley Allen,
Steve Hufford,
Kris Motz, Ryan
Carey, Robin Martin,
and Wesley
Price, and special
thanks to Haven
Pell and Ivan Ron-
National Open. Steve Virgona. Temple Grassi, Camden Riviere and
Ryan Carey. photo by Michael Do
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