juan carloscorona mens b singleswinner holding his Number 5 winners certificate hoping to drive the Harley Davidson into the sunset

Our 29th Annual BTC Clay Court Championships was held last weekend, June 5-7. Once again this was a great tournament with 26 entries in Mens Open ( the most in recent years) and 17 in Mens “B” singles. We fell a bit short in Womens singles with 4 entries and hope to improve upon that next year

The weather was perfect, especially on Saturday, with temps in the low 70’s and no humidity. The courts played great. I thought we were in Palm Springs or San Diego for a moment.  Pizza lovers did a great job finishing our free Pizza courtesy of Dominos and BTC Clay Court shirts were seen in abundance.

Read On…

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Dan Freeman 3rd place

The Section IV Boys High School State Qualifers were held this past  Friday & Saturday at BTC. 8 singles players and 8 doubles teams competed for 3 qualifying spots in the High Scool States held at Flushing Meadow, NY site of the US Open next Friday - Sunday.

This years field was excpetionally strong, with the top 4 singles players ETA ranked and the others with tournament experience.  This was the deepest field of competitiors that I can rcall.

Alex Tsai was the singles winner. Surving match points in his 1st round against Dan Freeman of Elmira, winning 3-6, 7-5,6-3, Alex then defeated Sam Deluccia  of Horseheads 6-4,6-2 in the semis. Alex defeated Riley Lorenz of Oneonta in the finals, 4-6,6-2,6-4. 

Dan Freeman took 3rd place by defeating Sam Deluccia 6-4,6-2. In doubles, the Ithaca tandem of Quintin Schawb & Jacob Evelyn defeated Ryan Warchocki Mitch Cromer of Newark Valley 6-4,6-2. Kudos to the NV team for advancing to states, and to Ryan for a stellar year.  Jake Frederick & Aaron Wida of Horseheads took 3rd, defeating Jeff Shevach & Zach Wallenstein of Binghamton.

Thanks to Mike Burke for running the event as Section IV chair.

Was nice to see some “old timers” from Elmira show up on Saturday, Phil “Lefty” Levhanich and Micky Weaver. Seepdy recovery and best wishes to Mickey.  Congrats to all and good luck at states

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It is time to give out this prestigious and converted annual award. This award has a long standing tradition at BTC dating back to 1986. The plaque on the wall in our lounge listing all honorary members can attest to any who lay claim to have won the award.

Our Female recipient is Paige Patterson. Paige has taken up the game recently, 1 1/2 years ago to be exact. Her hard work ethic combined with her easy going personality and natural talent has led to a rapid ascension among the club ranks.

Our Male recipient is Chuck Shaw. Chuck has been playing for many years, and can be seen up here almost on the clay during summer months. Chuck’s continued hard work on has game has paid off dividends.  Both Paige & Chuck will receive a shared free lesson, a plaque, and get their names permanently engraved on the Most Improved Player Plaque in our lounge. Congratulations!

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On Saturday May 2, 15 of us packed into a deluxe U-Sav van, and ventured into Turning Stone Casino not to gamble, (which we did anyways) but to watch the much hyped exibition match featuring Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin & Anna Kournikova. Venturing first to the new Indoor Sports Complex for the Grand Opening, we attended the meet and greet where  John & Jim, fielded questions on a wide range of subjects. followed by treating the kids to autographs and pictures.

Inside the Event Center, we found the setting intimate, with not a bad seat in the house. John McEnroe & Jim Courier were highly entertaining. Displaying charisma, intellect, showmanship and superb shotmaking skills, they battled to a 3rd set super tiebreak which Jim won 10-6.  

A neat side attraction was Jim Courier texting or twittering to the web site. at every changeover. Billy Mendler (high tech Bill) received the full online report within seconds after Jim’s comments were post on his cell phone. Jim’s insights (Mac is gettign edgy. He might go over the top any second) added an additional sideline to the event.

The singles was followed by a mixed Doubles, match, Jim & Tracy Austin vs Mac & Anna Kournikova. Simply put, the match was great. Unbelievable net exchanges, classic doubles poaching, Tracy serve & volleying every point and McEnroe showing that is probably the most skilled doubles player ever.

Here are some pics we took of the Legendary Event at Turning Stone. You must get a password and userid for Snapfish, but it is free and worth doing to check out the pictures.  There are some videos in here as well. There is a very funny one of an interaction between John, Jim & the umpire, Cam Bundy. I could not link it directly, but if you click on the above Legendary Event link and go to mpv 1831, that is the one. Enjoy

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Our 3rd Annual CVS/Leonard & Cummings Womens Pro-Amtook place Saturday, May 8, in celebration of Mothers Day. 10 females, 9 male pros, and one Libby McGovern took over the indoor courts at BTC for an explosive evening of rock’n'roll tennis. Was a great mix of pros and ladies, with lots of creative shot making. Deb Karst finished 1st among the ladies, with Sue Lokcer taking 2nd. Collin Crawford, in an improbable feat, finished 1st place among the pros in regular competition.

Winners Deb Karst & Jordon Smith on left, finalist Collin Crawford & Sue Locke rt

The likeyhood of this would be the equivalent of a 300 year flood.

A very unique scenario developed for 2nd place among the pros. Jordon Smith & Bill Mendler played against each other in the final round, with Jordon leading Billy by a mere point. Jordon’s partner, Colleeen Hanzes injured herself while leading over Billy & Paige, 4-3. The official ruling gave Bill the win 5-4, thus creating a tie for 2ns place. By virtue of his head to head win over Jordon, Billy would have been declared teh 2nd place winner. The ladies would have none of that and declared the two playa tie-breka to decide.

With no one showin Colleen any concern about her injry, we all watched as Jordon beat Billy 7-5. Jordon & Deb went on to beat Collin & Sue in a super tie break 10-6 for 1st place.

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