Sunday: Toronto Ladies League and Toronto Men’s League
For about an hour they almost appeared to be human. Perennial powerhouse, Toronto Lawn TC ladies from the TLTL Premier Division were actually 10 points away from possibly losing the Miele League Challenge. With nothing to lose against a team that had completely dominated the regular season, a relaxed team from Banbury TC had actually done what was previously thought impossible…taken 2 lines from the strong favorites. It all came down to the line 4 match, with the team from Banbury battling back from a first set 6-1 loss to win the second set in a strongly played tiebreak. The effort of winning that close second set seemed to be all the team from Banbury had in the tank, as they succumbed 10-3 to the Toronto Lawn in the third set super breaker. A relieved Toronto Lawn team congratulated the efforts of the Banbury team and proclaimed their Rogers Cup experience at the Miele League Challenge “a very classy morning”.The men from the A2 division of the TMTL knew they could play on a court against each other any time. “The really active Toronto tennis community is pretty small” said Steve Rumazza, captain of the Trinity College team. “Today the guys are thrilled to be playing on courts where the ATP men played their matches earlier in the week”. Trinity teammates Dan DeAngelis, Harris Rosen and Bill Yeates had actively recruited fans and family to come out and watch the Miele League Challenge matches and “totally loved having the umpires and scoreboards”. Next year they’d like to have more people watching and “a couple of ball kids would be nice”. Trinity played against Kew Gardens TC and split their matches 2-2. Another nail biter, with the super breaker in the third set won in a close contest by the crew from Kew! One of the best parts for Kew? “Seeing the team names and winning scores on the same scoreboards at centre court as the scores from the ATP men’s doubles finals”.
A big supporter all summer long of the Miele League Challenge, Kew Gardens had won two entries into the men’s matches. Competing at the A1 level against the Granite Club, the top players from each club were Webcast live on the Miele League Challenge website and covered on Topspin radio. Ben Woo and Richard Mainella from Kew played Allan Pintaric and Greg Tranquada from Granite and provided fans with a high quality, fast paced match. Yet another close match on the grounds, as the team from Kew managed to come back and tie the score at 8-8 in the third set super breaker before losing the final two points. Game, set, match – Granite Club!
“Did you want to do this again next year?” asked Jan Heck to huge cheers from the crowd gathered at the Stage of Champions. As the sponsor of a very successful week of Miele League Challenge events, Heck went on to ask the participants if they wanted to take the Miele League Challenge up to the next level. “Bring it on”, retorted a voice in the crowd. Heck, himself a participant for his team on Saturday, thanked the Toronto Ladies and Men’s league executives for their support and participation in the Miele League Challenge. Heck then presented both the winners and finalists with awards and Miele gift bags, declaring the week a “huge success for grassroots tennis in Canada.”
Miele Feature of the week: Steam Oven DG 4080
Miele steam oven is the ideal choice for those who enjoy eating healthy and value speed, convenience and great tasting results. Whether you are cooking individual side dishes or a complete menu, there is virtually no limit to what can be cooked in a steam oven as its moist heat is the gentlest and the healthiest way to cook that best preserves the nutritional value of your food. A fully automatic cooking process with precise temperature control and automatic switch-off allows users to achieve excellent results every time. With no special plumbing required, the steam oven can be built-in virtually anywhere in your kitchen, thereby reducing countertop clutter and adding a unique look to your environment. Visit www.miele.ca for more details.Don’t forget to sign up for the Miele League Challenge contest. The draw will be held on September 6th during the ICTA playoffs at the Rexall Center.
BACK TO ARCHIVE
As part of the Miele League Challenge sponsorship package for the TLTL, six teams were chosen at random to have a full day at the Rogers Cup that included a one hour on court coaching clinic. On Wednesday morning the ladies from York Racquets TC got about 25 minutes of court time before the rain began. Gary Caron, Tennis Director for the Granite Club and his on court instructor and part-time comedian John Migliaccio continued to instruct as the ladies huddled under their umbrellas. Taking questions from the team about the challenges they have in matches, Gary offered a few great tips, such as “playing aggressively does not mean hitting the ball harder”.
The weather continued to play havoc with the coaching clinics as the teams from Kew Gardens and Heron Park had to deal with the disappointment of being rained out. The sun did shine on the remaining three clinics and it really shone for Marissa De Francesco. Marissa plays on two of the teams that were chosen, Central TC and Lambton TC. Thus, Simon Bartram, Tennis Director for the Toronto Lawn TC and Tennis Canada National Coach, worked Marissa hard on Friday. After all, she’d had 24 hours to incorporate everything he’d taught her on Thursday! Marissa was so impressed with the coaching, and with Simon, that she got Simon to autograph the Miele League Challenge courtside sign and carried it proudly around the grounds for the remainder of the day.
“Be the team that is known, even feared, for owning the middle of the court”, instructed Simon. “Position yourself in the middle of the service box. When you stand that far in the alley you are actually covering balls that are going out”. The North York B2 team called it “a great finale for our season” as they went from watching the ball go by their heads to cutting off floaters with authority by the end of their hour on the court. Simon encouraged them to support their partner when they cut off a ball, even if they miss the shot. These and other fabulous tips were eaten up by the participants throughout the week. A delighted Debbie Wybrew from the Lambton team sighed when it was over, and commented “it’s hard when you’ve been in Paris to head back to the farm.” Merci, Simon, Gary and John, merci.
Unionville got down early when they quickly lost the ladies doubles. The potent combination of youth in Monica Lyskawa and experience in Pam Olley from the Credit Valley ladies proved to be too much for captain Amy Yee and her partner. Things were looking even more disappointing for the defending champions as two of the Unionville men’s lines were struggling early on. Amy and her team had practiced for this event since early May and you could see the stress of being the team captain was beginning to take its toll. Amy brightened up considerably when her line 1 mixed team beat ex ATP tour player and Canada’s highest ranked male player in history, Andrew Sznajder and his partner Heidi Bottschen.
Attention then returned to the men, with the line 2 going to Credit Valley in straight sets and the line 1 Unionville men prevailing in a very tight third set super breaker. The team score was now tied 2-2! Both captains walked back and forth from the men’s line 3 to the mixed line 2 anxiously checking the scoreboards. Another super breaker went to Unionville for the line 3 men. It was down to the mixed line 2 over on court 2. By now, people who had arrived early for the Rogers Cup semi-finals had wandered over to find out what all the excitement was about. The Unionville team had made “go UTC” signs and both teams’ supporters gasped with each missed shot and cheered on every scintillating point.
At 4-4 in the second set, with Unionville up a set, the team of Jennifer Liepa and Deon Sauer broke the serve of their male opponent with some outstanding net play and solid strokes under pressure from Jen. Deon then served it out efficiently and won both the match and the team championship for Unionville. Deon humbly accepted the praise for winning but declared “Jen was the rock in the first set. She’s what got us here.” Now that is how to support your doubles partner!
At the Stage of Champions for the inaugural Miele League Challenge awards presentation the captain for Credit Valley, Jerry Hobbs, accepted the finalist plaque from Miele Limited President, Jan Heck. Jerry vowed that his team would return for a rematch at the wrap up tournament for the ICTA, which is also a component of the Miele League Challenge. That tournament will see all ICTA leagues play at the Rexall Centre on Saturday, September 6th. Amy Yee and her 2008 Miele League Challenge Championship team can’t wait!
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: Ladies Doubles Clinics
Imagine that your league team is on court during the Rogers Cup receiving doubles strategy from a top teaching professional while people wander by and wonder how they can get out there. For the six lucky TLTL teams who got to have that experience it was “a dream”, “fabulous” and “I’m so excited I can’t even hit the ball!”As part of the Miele League Challenge sponsorship package for the TLTL, six teams were chosen at random to have a full day at the Rogers Cup that included a one hour on court coaching clinic. On Wednesday morning the ladies from York Racquets TC got about 25 minutes of court time before the rain began. Gary Caron, Tennis Director for the Granite Club and his on court instructor and part-time comedian John Migliaccio continued to instruct as the ladies huddled under their umbrellas. Taking questions from the team about the challenges they have in matches, Gary offered a few great tips, such as “playing aggressively does not mean hitting the ball harder”.
The weather continued to play havoc with the coaching clinics as the teams from Kew Gardens and Heron Park had to deal with the disappointment of being rained out. The sun did shine on the remaining three clinics and it really shone for Marissa De Francesco. Marissa plays on two of the teams that were chosen, Central TC and Lambton TC. Thus, Simon Bartram, Tennis Director for the Toronto Lawn TC and Tennis Canada National Coach, worked Marissa hard on Friday. After all, she’d had 24 hours to incorporate everything he’d taught her on Thursday! Marissa was so impressed with the coaching, and with Simon, that she got Simon to autograph the Miele League Challenge courtside sign and carried it proudly around the grounds for the remainder of the day.
“Be the team that is known, even feared, for owning the middle of the court”, instructed Simon. “Position yourself in the middle of the service box. When you stand that far in the alley you are actually covering balls that are going out”. The North York B2 team called it “a great finale for our season” as they went from watching the ball go by their heads to cutting off floaters with authority by the end of their hour on the court. Simon encouraged them to support their partner when they cut off a ball, even if they miss the shot. These and other fabulous tips were eaten up by the participants throughout the week. A delighted Debbie Wybrew from the Lambton team sighed when it was over, and commented “it’s hard when you’ve been in Paris to head back to the farm.” Merci, Simon, Gary and John, merci.
Saturday: ICTA Mixed Majors
It drizzled occasionally on the outside courts at the Rogers Cup where the first Miele League Challenge matches were being played, but it never rained enough for the umpires to stop play. By the end of the morning the teams representing the ICTA Mixed Majors were wiping away perspiration as the sun finally came out in force. Six doubles matches were played prior to the ATP Men’s semi-finals and teams from Unionville TC and Credit Valley TC brought legions of fans to cheer them on. Three lines of men’s doubles, one line of ladies doubles and two lines of mixed doubles were the format for the hotly contested title of 2008 Miele League Challenge Champion.Unionville got down early when they quickly lost the ladies doubles. The potent combination of youth in Monica Lyskawa and experience in Pam Olley from the Credit Valley ladies proved to be too much for captain Amy Yee and her partner. Things were looking even more disappointing for the defending champions as two of the Unionville men’s lines were struggling early on. Amy and her team had practiced for this event since early May and you could see the stress of being the team captain was beginning to take its toll. Amy brightened up considerably when her line 1 mixed team beat ex ATP tour player and Canada’s highest ranked male player in history, Andrew Sznajder and his partner Heidi Bottschen.
Attention then returned to the men, with the line 2 going to Credit Valley in straight sets and the line 1 Unionville men prevailing in a very tight third set super breaker. The team score was now tied 2-2! Both captains walked back and forth from the men’s line 3 to the mixed line 2 anxiously checking the scoreboards. Another super breaker went to Unionville for the line 3 men. It was down to the mixed line 2 over on court 2. By now, people who had arrived early for the Rogers Cup semi-finals had wandered over to find out what all the excitement was about. The Unionville team had made “go UTC” signs and both teams’ supporters gasped with each missed shot and cheered on every scintillating point.
At 4-4 in the second set, with Unionville up a set, the team of Jennifer Liepa and Deon Sauer broke the serve of their male opponent with some outstanding net play and solid strokes under pressure from Jen. Deon then served it out efficiently and won both the match and the team championship for Unionville. Deon humbly accepted the praise for winning but declared “Jen was the rock in the first set. She’s what got us here.” Now that is how to support your doubles partner!
At the Stage of Champions for the inaugural Miele League Challenge awards presentation the captain for Credit Valley, Jerry Hobbs, accepted the finalist plaque from Miele Limited President, Jan Heck. Jerry vowed that his team would return for a rematch at the wrap up tournament for the ICTA, which is also a component of the Miele League Challenge. That tournament will see all ICTA leagues play at the Rexall Centre on Saturday, September 6th. Amy Yee and her 2008 Miele League Challenge Championship team can’t wait!
