Author: Adrien Fournier

By Sherry Benz & Ruth Liu for Publication 11/3/2023
 
Villages Tennis Club vs Rossmoor
 
The plaque is back!  The Villages and Rossmoor Tennis Clubs have challenged each other for decades and the prized trophy plaque has changed hands frequently (although the Villages holds an edge!).   In April, we traveled to Rossmoor and lost in a very close battle.  On October 21^st, we hosted Rossmoor with one thing in mind:  bringing the plaque home!

 
The weather was perfect.  Competition was awesome.  If you were in attendance, you witnessed incredible tennis play.  We are proud to report that the “Winner’s Plaque” stays with us.  We won 20-4!  Congratulations to the one married team:  The Fergusons:  Jim & Wendy … still a great team after all these years!


After all the sweat, aches, and joy of winning, we were able to share lunch with everyone in attendance.  Thank you, tennis players, for your athletic contribution and winning spirit.  Thank you, Linda DuMont and your hospitality team, for doing a great job preparing breakfast and lunch.  Thank you to Glenn Seidel and Robert Diaz for manning the BBQ.  Thank you to all the volunteers who made everyone feel welcomed.  Thank you to the cheerleaders for your support.  Thank you, Ruth Liu, for organizing the event.  At the end of the day, no matter what the outcome, friendships were made, competition was fierce, and the tradition of this tournament will continue on to next year.

By Peggy Siedel for Publication 10/27/2023

2024 Slate of Officers

In accordance with the Tennis Club bylaws, the nominating committee appointed by President Randy Shaw would like to present this slate of officers for the year 2024:

President: Ruth Domingo-Liu
Vice President: Gene Mariani
Secretary: Roy Pennington
Treasurer: Tina Parsley

Hospitality Directors: Nancy Domingo and Andrea Alvarez (1 vote by either) Communications Director: Don Clarke
Membership Director: Cheryl Diltz
Court Manager: Marty Funcell

Master Scheduler: Akiko Giordono

Tournament Director: Karen Hillis

These candidates will be voted upon at our Annual Meeting to be held in the VGCC Clubhouse on Sunday evening December 3, 2023.

Previously elected board member is past president Randy Shaw.

To reach a total of 13 voting members on the board, 2 Members-at-Large will be appointed by Ruth as president-elect. They will be selected before the first meeting of the board on the fourth Tuesday of January, 2024.

Nominating Committee: Peggy Seidel, Akiko Giordono, and Brian Dombrowski

Hello Villagers,
I hope this finds you well. Today’s Topic is how to be best prepared for a tennis match.
With the start of our Villages Tennis League and Rossmore approaching, here are some easy suggestions to help you with Better Match Play.

All matches start 24 – 48 hours before game day
1. Hydration with electrolytes to prevent Dehydration and potential cramping
2. Eat healthy – carbohydrates,protiens , and vegetables. I.e. – pasta,chicken,fish and vegetables.
3. Sleep- get lots of rest!

Match Day -Dynamic Stretches to help Prevent Injuries
• Fast Feet over line
• Side Shuffles
• Gental Body Twists – Helicopters
• Arm Circles – Forwards and Backwards
• Leg Lunges
• Jumping Jacks
* Each exercise do 10 – 15 repetitions
To complete your warmup finish with a light jog

On Court
1. Juggle Drill with Partner – toss and catch 10 – 15 times repeat with shuffle go slow!
2. Dribble Ball Down 15 times Repeat with Ups and Alternating
3. Service Box warm up with partner – Two Touch – bump ball and send (important! Both players to count each touch this is to help focus and readiness)
4. Rally short court 10-15 reps
5. Rally – Volley 10-15 times! (1 Up 1 Back Alternate Baseline player to feed some overheads
6. Rally Both back –half court – Cross Court 10 –15 times each
7. Serve and Return (Serve + 1) both players are to practice serve and recover with return 3 shots this will prevent – Serve and Observe!

Ready For Play !!!!
• Here are a few extras for on court Preparedness
• Pack your Bag with towels,grips,sun block
• Ice and Cooling towels Great for those really Hot Days
• Snacks – slices of fruit, apples, oranges and bananas and energy bars
*Remember to pace yourselves to avoid exhaustion and fatigue Drink Water
even when you’re not Thirsty!!!

Finally remember
-GET YOUR FIRST SERVES IN!
-GET YOUR RETURNS BACK!!
-DON’T LET THE NET WIN THE POINT!!!!!

* If you should have any questions call me 408 509-5011

Tennis Talk
By Betty Olsen

September 30 and October 1 completed the club tournament with Men’s and Women’s Doubles. Unfortunately, Saturday greeted us with rain drizzle, so we had a brigade of members squeegee the courts plus using many old towels to dry the courts. However, it only delayed matches about an hour. Many thanks to those making it happen.

Results of Men’s A – 1st place – Amit Seth/Ken Leon, 2nd place – Steve Olson/Roy Pennington, 3rd place – Brett Forman/Brian Dombrowski, consolation winner – Sheng Chen/Venkat Prabhala

Results of Men’s B – 1st place – Tracy Scott/Rajeev Singh, 2nd place – Don Clarke/Marty Funcell, 3rd place – Jay Pinson/Martin Hoek, consolation winner – Bob Semple/Chuck Moss.

Results of Women’s B – 1st place -Tina Parsley/Lolivic Shaw, 2nd place – Nancy Domingo/Vonda Reid, 3rd place – Sharon Bartels/Maureen O’Neill

And to celebrate, the Awards Dinner was held Sunday night, October 1 at Foothill. President Randy Shaw handed out medals to the winners following a delicious BBQ dinner. Many thanks to Tina Parsley for the lovely flower centerpieces and the many who helped clean-up.

Tennis Talk
By Peggy Seidel:

September is the month for our Tennis Club President to select a three person nominating committee to find Tennis Club members willing to take a position on the Board of Directors for the next year. The nominating committee for next year’s directors picked by President Randy Shaw consists of Peggy Seidel, Brian Dombrowski and Akiko Giordono. These three have already met and worked to fill the open positions for 2024. The whole slate of officers, including our Vice President Ruth Domingo-Liu, who will become our President in December at the annual meeting, will be announced later in October or November. If any TC member would like to be considered for a role on the board next year there is a process for self-nomination in our Bylaws (which you can find under the menu “Rules” on our website, I quote Article VIIC here:

“Any regular member may nominate any regular member as a candidate for any elective office by presenting the nomination in writing to the President no less than 35 days prior to the Annual Meeting. This nomination must be accompanied by the candidate’s written acceptance, and must be signed by five regular Tennis Club members declaring their support for the nomination.”

35 days prior to our annual meeting will be October 30.

I hope you all enjoyed the Women’s and Men’s Doubles club tournament and the Sunday night Awards Dinner. Results of the tournament will be in Tennis Talk next week.

Next club activity will be on Saturday, October 21 against Rossmoor here at the Villages. Come on down to the viewing stand and cheer on your team.

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen

It was a beautiful weekend for our mixed doubles tournament September 16 and 17. Thanks to Linda DuMont and her crew for morning refreshments to the delight of the many folks in the viewing stands. Results as follows:

Mixed Doubles A-1st place-Brett Foreman/Betty Olsen. 2nd place-Roy Pennington/Peggy Seidel. 3rd place-Sheng Chen/Lolivic Shaw. Consolation winner-Ken Kline/Karen Hillis.

Mixed Doubles B-1st place-Dari Tarabini/Nancy Domingo. 2nd place-Don Clarke/Cheryl Heusser. 3rd place-Marty Funcell/Sharon Bartels. Consolation winner-Martin Hoek/Suzi Hathaway.

Now on to the Tennis Club’s Men’s and Women’s Doubles tournament tomorrow Saturday and Sunday, September 30 and October 1st starting at 8:30am. Come on down to the viewing stands and cheer on your friends!

And finally. The Awards dinner at Foothill on Sunday, October 1st at 5:30pm for a delicious BBQ. Hope to see you all there. You don’t want to miss the fun.

Our Tennis Club’s 6.5 women’s team plays a home match Monday, October 2. We need lots of cheering from the stands because we are playing Morgan Hill, the 1st place team!

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen and Nancy Domingo

Saturday, July 1, the tennis club held its annual Bocce/BBQ meeting. Nancy Domingo, chairperson, and her committee did an outstanding job organizing this event. Peggy Seidel, Sherry Benz, Judy Falarski, Betty Olsen manned the check-in desk where folks picked up their name tags and raffle tickets a well as their Bocce times.

Approximately 91 members and guests filled the shady spots at the umbrella tables. Don Clarke and Lolivic Shaw entertained us with two songs, “Shallow” and “Don’t Fall in Love with a Dreamer”. Randy held a short meeting with Roy Pennington announcing fall League Tennis.

Volunteer chefs cooked steak, salmon and vegie burgers served with Costco chili, potato salad, green salad, and ice cream bars for dessert. Yum!

Nancy Domingo’s guest, professional jazz singer, Yvonne Flores entertained us with a song on her album Sheer Bliss. She will be performing on August 12 at the San Jose Jazz Festival in the PG&E Hammer Theater Stage at 3:00pm.

And then to finish the day, Nancy handed out the many raffle prizes totaling $400.00, to conclude the day’s festivities. We were happy to see many new members attend as well as some of our older folks no longer playing but still tennis enthusiasts.

Our next event is our “Fun Mixer” Friday, July 21 chaired by Sonia and Harry Soin. Please go to “YourCourts” and on the right side click on “Coming Events” to sign-up. Following tennis, there will be a BBQ at the viewing stand.

Attention all Tennis club members. 2023 Tennis mixer is almost here, so sign up now before all spots are filled. The date of this event is Friday, July 21st starting at 430 PM. There will be two sessions. We promise you an evening filled with interesting tennis games with a twist. Each participant can sign up for only one session. Don’t miss out! The evening will be filled with fun tennis, food, music, and prizes.

We have a great organizing committee of volunteers to ensure you all have a great time. The committee comprises of Linda, Betty, Liz, Nancy, Helen, Brett, Doug, Asra, Sonia and Harry. We can always use the help. so feel free to reach out to Harry or Sonia if you would like to help.

Check your email or sign up on Your Courts.

Schedule of events :

Session 1 – 4:30PM

Session 2 – 5:30 PM

There will be a BBQ following the tennis, so bring your appetites. And don’t forget to bring your own drinks because the event is BYOB.

By Sherry Benz
TT 6/29/23

Some folks imagine that “jump start” is something you need when your car’s engine won’t turn over. Yes, but the Tennis Club’s Jump Start program is different, helping Villagers who are a bit (or more than a bit) “rusty” and even some brave folks who wonder if they could start a new sport as a senior. Dozens of “want-a-be” tennis players have passed though, most of them very successful in upping their game and joining in play. We have just concluded the 2023 Jump Start session (10 weeks in all) and a party followed – just a wee celebration of all we have learned, new friendships, and the fun we had on the courts.

This is the 2nd year for Peter Groot. He showed up with a wooden racquet in 2021 and a healthy resolve to get back into tennis after 42 years! And, wow, he has turned into a very formidable opponent. His advice is “don’t think that you can’t play”! Thanks to the generosity of one of our members, we were able to provide Peter with a free racquet and the sky is the limit! Myra Dykstra is also attending for the 2nd year and really appreciates having input from different coaches, helping her break old habits – don’t we all want that!

Speaking of coaches, we couldn’t offer Jump Start without the generous time and expertise given by Mike & Gail Tuft, Peggy Siedel, and Roy Pennington. Not to mention a few others who dropped in to help: Karen Hillis, Betty Olsen and Barry Stein.

We all know that our skill improves with practice and the more balls we hit and the more players we play against, the better we get. So … everyone, take advantage of Open Play. You are welcome at any level and you can continue to get coaching, if you would like. Open Play is Monday and Friday from 4:30-6:00 PM on courts 5 & 6. Contact Peggy Seidel if you have a question: peggy@theseidels.net or 713-398-7955. We’ll be looking for you!