The Binghamton University Men’s tennis team will be holding a tennis clinic on Saturday, May 8 from 10 am -12 at their West Gym tennis courts. Besides instruction, drills and college style practice, there will be games, prizes and raffles, with a tennis racquet being the top prize. The entire men’s team will be conducting the clinic, under the superivison of Head Coach Michael Starke.

Cost of the clinic is $25. One may fill out an application form located at the club, or mail entry to Binghamton University, West Gym, attn: Michael Starke mens tennis, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000. Checks payable to Binghamton University. Entry deadline is Thursday, May 6. The clinic is open to all levels of play, and is limited to 65 signups. The rain date of Sunday, May 9. This is a fundraiser for the tennis program.

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This past Saturday, 8 pros and 8 club members intermingled in a very enjoyable and action-filled tennis pro-am. Playing in a unique round robin format, (designed by our pros who happen to have PHDs in computer programming), each amatuer played with a different pro, against a different amateur and pro, making for interesting and varied matchups. Names were pulled out of a hat, so who you played with and against was “luck of the draw”. The round robin consisted of 3 one-set rounds. Then, using a plus/minus point differential scoring system, a playoff round ensued, pitting the 1st place amateur and pro against the 2nd place amateur and pro, 3rd place, against 4th, 5th against 6th, and 7th against 8th.

For those who ignored the complicated scoring system and just tried to strike the tennis ball, a great time was had. Amateurs came up with some surprisingly good shots, and the pros, well what can I say, that’s why we call them pros. 1st place went to Kiril Popov (pro) and our beloved sponsor Parker Gennett, who defeated Rodrigo Valle (pro) and Frank Goroleski. The winning pro received $80, and the runner up $50 for their efforts. Yours truly did manage to finish 3rd place, thus securing an invite for next year.

A special thanks to our sponsors, Dr. Parker Gennett of Foot Care Centers, and Dr. Dan Sambursky of Opthalmic Associates , not only their generous sponorship, but their positive support and participation. There was some debate whether a sponsor should be entitled to win his own event, but when I declared Dan Sambursky the front runner to win next year’s event, all protest died down.

Participants:
Pros: Representing Bolivia, Bulgaria, Israel, Florida & Pa
Kiril Popov - Birchwood Racquet Club
Dan Hanegby - Binghamton U Mens Tennis
Steve Spencer - Binghamton U Mens Tennis
Rodrigo Valle - Binghamton U Mens Tennis
Jordy Asher - Cadence
Billy Mendler - Binghamton Tennis Center
Collin Crawfor - Binghamton Tennis Center
Michael Starke - Binghamton Tennis Center

Amateurs: Representing the greater Binghamton Area
Parker Gennett
Dan Sambursky
Joe Fanara
Tim Saunders
Jay Jaen
Frank Goroleski
Jeff Kopolow
Bill Mirch

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If you haven’t been to the new Events Center on BU’s campus, you are missing out. The Event Center is a state of the art facility complete with spacious seating, the Bearcat Cafe and a wonderful atmosphere. An impressive scoreboard, railside viewing and entertainment (of which I include the student section wing) add to the ambiance. The basketball is pretty good too.

If you haven’t been to a Binghamton University tennis match, you are also missing out. Both the men’s and women’s teams have upcoming matches at the Binghamton Tennis Center. The men play Saturday, March 6 at 5pm against Manhattan College while the women compete Sunday, March 21 8am-12 against Seton Hall.

Both teams have colorful marquee international players at the top of their lineup. Dan Hanegby, is a 24 year old freshman from Herliza Israel. Dan was ranked #1 in the country in Israel juniors and just defeated Colgate’s #1 player, who is ranked # 9 in our region. Dan spent 3 years in the special defense force of the Israeli Army, wher he did not get a chance to play tennis.

Melis Altinay is a freshman from Antalya, Turkey. Ranked top 5 in the juniors in Turkey, Zeyneb also recently defeated Colgate’s # 1 player, chalking up a good win and serving notice that she is a force to be reckoned with.

To watch a college match is an exciting and different experience. They play three 8 game doubles matches and six singles matches. The doubles is played first and the team that wins two or three of the doubles matches gets 1 point, referred to as the doubles point. The singles follows. One can and usually does play both singles and doubles. College tennis plays out let serves. One is only allowed 20 seconds in betweeen points. Coaching is allowed. The team atmosphere and spirit is evident the entire match. Our bleachers on court 5 provide intimate up close viewing for cts 3-6, while the lounge provides great viewing for courts 1 & 2. Six matches going on at one time gives the spectator lots of choices, and keeps the coach on his/her toes.

While our matches provide entertainment for anyone interested in watching tennis, I think they are particularly beneficial for juniors. They can witness first hand the intensity, energy and level of play that Division 1 tennis contains. I hope you can make it up to root on our Bearcats. You won’t regret making the effort.

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It is with great enthusiasm we announce the 1st Annual Gennett/Sambursky Men’s Tennis Pro-Am, to be held Sat Feb 28 from 7-10pm. We anticipate this to be our highlight event for the winter, and a prelude to our Discovery Center Pro Am Calcutta coming in in June! There will be qualifying on Saturday, Feb 21 at 7pm, to determine who gets the 6 open amateur spots. The qualifier will consist of four sets of doubles in a round robin format. The top 6 point gainers will advance. The qualifier will be limited to 24 entrants.

The main event format will be pairing 8 pros with 8 amatuers competing in a round robin format. The winning pro will recieve $100 in prize money.

Cost to enter the qualifer is $20. The pro-am cost is $40.

PROS
Billy Mendler - Michael Starke - Collin Crawford - Tim Haus - Dan Hanegby - Jordy Asher - Shawn James - Barry Schoonmaker

Prize Money (pros only)
1st Place - $80 3rd - 8th place $35
2nd Place -$50

To sign up, call 722-3491.

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For those looking for information regarding our upcoming level 1 junor tournament, please go to tennis information.com
Once there, go to juniors and our tournament should pop right up. Here you will find times, directions, and a list of hotels. Draws will be posted on Thursday January 22 and will be updated periodically during the event.

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