October 24, 2005
Girls State Qualifiers
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Jen Kucko, all smiles as she celebrates gaining a state birth in singles. The Section 1V Girl's High School State Qualifiers was held at here at BTC this past Fri-Sat, October 21-22. Lucy Mehrabyan of Ithaca defeated Jen Kucko of Chenango Forks 6-3,6-3 to win the singles, and Taryn Linquist & Katie Doyle of Elmira Notre Dame of defeated Leigh Oczkowski & Ellie Garbade of Seton Catholic Central to win the doubles title. Of special note, Lucy Merhrabyan is only in 8th grade. It has been a long time since an 8th grader has won this title, and we are sure to see a lot more of her in the future. Congrats to BTC junior Jen Kucko, Leigh Oczkowski & Ellie Garbade in qualifying for the state tournament. Best of luck to all!
Horseheads doubles tandem of Geetha Bhagavatula & Carly Sisson. Special thanks to Carol Bramante, of U-E & Mike Burke of SV for voluntering their time in running this event.
October 13, 2005
Nov 18-20 Junior Tournament
For the first time in years, we will be running a level 11 ETA junior tennis tournament. The competition in a Level 11 event is not as strong as a level 1, with most of the entrants being from our Western Region. This will give our juniors a much needed chance to gain valuable competitive experience without having to travel.
The tournament is situated the week after the 1st session of JCTP ends and the week before Thanksgiving. We ecnourage all of our junior to participate.
To enter online: Click Here or you may pick up entry blanks at the club.
October 09, 2005
Senior Games
Earl Maslin & John Gilbert competing. Who says senios can't gain air!Binghamton Tennis Center hosted the Senior Games Tuesday September 20 on their six outdoor clay courts. The games were a big success, with over 20 combined entries. Both a women's and men's round robin competition was run, with everyone getting to compete against everyone else. It was a picture perfect fall day, one made to be outside on our clay courts playing tennis!
TD Jerry Mattison in actionMost of the success must be attributed to Jerry Mattision. Jerry, along with Linda Schule of the Broome County Senior Games spent much time promoting the event. Both were on hand to run the tournament and make sure things ran smoothly. Also in attendance was Don Giovani of radio, who DJ'd a live broadcast from 8-10am. Don kept things hopping with his in depth questions, interest in the club history and his choice of music.
As part of the games, a free tennis clinic was held August 16, and taught by none other than staff member Bob deVente. Bob is an inspiration to all seniors. A 4.0+ tennis player, Bob at the age of 70 still manages to paly, sail, ski and teach 20 hours a week! Hats off and a big thanks to Bob. Oh yes, the Men's winner was Earl Maslin. Women's winner was Genet Meers . Congratulations to both players. We hope to host this event again next year.
October 07, 2005
Most Improved Player of the Year
In a very belated announcement, I would like to congratulate Pat Clas & Colleen Hanzes for being voted the Most Improved Male & Female Player of the Year for 2004. Both are very deserving canditates. Even though many names were nominated, it was clear to the committee that these two were worthy recepients.
Pat, along with his friend and fellow employee Mike Clark took up the game a scant year ago, in the summer of 2004. In that time period, Pat has not only advanced to the 3.0 level, but captained a 3.0 team this past season. Pat's rapid improvement can be attributed to a good work ethic, great enthusiasm and much time spent on the court practicing. One of Pat's claim to fame is aceing his pro in our winter Sambursky/Gennett pro-am competition.
Colleen Hanzes also recently picked up the game in the past two years. Her rapid ascent on the rating chart has been nothing short of remarkable. She has gone from a 3.0 level to competing toe to toe with 4.0 players in two year's time. Colleen has an incredible passion for the game, and is always looking to learn and improve. She has a great on court disposition ( and off court) and never lets anything get in her way. Congratulations to both Colleen & Pat.
October 06, 2005
The Rebirth of Cts 3 & 4
This past August, we embarked on a major renovation on courts 3 & 4 indoors, giving them a much needed facelift. If you don't remember, the courts better resembled the 18th green at the Masters than a tennis court! The project was an extensive operation that involved a number of steps which I actually found interesting and informative.
big machinery was needed
The first job we performed was to bring a 5 ton vibrating roller onto the courts and double roll both courts. This helped compact the base and begin to top off some of the high spots or "Starke bumps" as my staff affectionately referred to them as. Standing on the court, one could feel the vibration from the roller. Yes, I was a bit concerned about my courts, but I figured I couldn't make them much worse then they already were, so what the heck!
if you ever have to use a grinder, hire this guy, and wear this mask!
Next, we took a floor grinder and meticuosly grinded off the numerous high spots. Due to the amount of dust created, a mask was needed. We then took a floor polisher to the entire surface to sand down and further even the court.
We then spent two days patching the various high and low spots still left. Now, finally the court was ready to be resurfaced.
We chose a plexicushion system, which is a seven layer cushin/coating system. This is one of the finest systems you can purchase, and due to the amount of layers is very time consuming to lay on. The initial layer is an acrylic resurfacer, to help the next coat adhere. The next two layers contain the cushion, and must be laid on with care, and given proper time to cure. The cushion is color coded, so the customer knows what he is getting. The cushion coatings are followed by 3 coats of fortified Plexipave, and then a final paint or cosmetic coating.
The "master" at work laying down a cushion coat
Kris trying her hand at laying out Plexipave. Helps if you keep your eyes open!
The entire project lasted 3 weeks, finishing the night before the first day of contracts. The courts now play completely different. I have yet to sniff a bad bounce. They are considerably slower, with long lasting points. They play more like a clay court but without the sliding and bounces. One can feel the cushion under ones feet. We owe a big thanks to Bob Okienowski of Okie Construction. His expertise, care and effort made this project a huge success. He worked on these courts like they were his own. Enjoy! 
Bob Okienowski in a rare pose for the camera.