Dick Hawkins and Nancy Weber smiling after their big wins!
Donna Gillen
January 14 was the start of a new era in tennis socials, with Vikki Constable and Sharon Connors taking over the helm of the competitive and social events. The afternoon round started at 3 p.m., with a rather chilly wind blowing on a very cloudy day. Vikki welcomed everyone with a cheery smile and a well-organized bracket of competitors. The players were eager to hear their assignments and depart to their courts to warm up their skills and bodies through intense, friendly matches with their peers.
Afterward, Sharon Connors and her team provided appetizers and beverages to the players and social members who were eager to go out and mingle with each other after what seemed to be a long pause since our last gathering. The group enjoyed the lovely bite-size delicacies as they mingled with each other.
During our social gathering, awards were presented to the winners in each group.
Winners are as follows: Court 1: Michael Stepien and Doug Stansfield—tie—with Vikki Carter as the female winner. Court 2: John Wood and Dennis Whitley tied, and Susie Malone was the female winner. Court 3: Dick Hawkins for the men and Nancy Weber won the women’s title. Court 4: Keith Martino outlasted the men and Linda Clark was the women’s winner. Court 7: For the males, we have Randy Welsh as the winner and Tammy DeRouin as our female winner. Court 8 belongs to Dan Schimmelphennig (male) and Lorinne Banister (female). Court 9: Dave Frederick beat out his male competitors and Virgene Dorman did likewise to the women. On Court 10, Jay Hayden won in the male category and Barbie Heck outlasted the women competitors. Finally, Steve Farley and Mary Zanella won in the male and female category on court 11. A big congratulations to all our winners and a thank you to those who braved the cold to play at the event.
The club also brought back the 50/50 raffle, with Susie Malone as the lucky winner. John Russel was kind enough to donate some additional prizes, which a few lucky attendees won at the social. Thank you, John!
The club had plans to host a memorial competitive/social event for John Flynn on Feb. 23.