USTA League
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Team Stories
Issue 5: Spring/Summer, 2002
The Foster City Tennis Club sponsors many teams and we have written many stories to share our team experiences with the club. For prior issues, please check out our archive.
by Ed Weiss, Captain 2002 District Champions Men's 3.0 Senior Team
We marched through the season leaving very little standing in our way; during the regular season we lost only two matches - both of those to the San Mateo Elks. We went to the local playoffs against Highlands and then Peninsula Golf and Country Club. We did not even lose one set - it was a sweep.
The next step was a long weekend at Carmel Valley Ranch. We started Friday morning at 8:00 AM (Lou Roth picked me up at 5 and we got Ken Mentzer about 10 minutes later). Those in attendance were: Wil Dang, Jin Jue, Ray Wong, Kay Lee, Lou, Ken, Wendy Lee, Marie Wong and me (my wife joined us on Sunday), the detail of the entire weekend was published in the last newsletter.
A moment to digress to the beginning of the season: I had a roster of 17 to work with and I needed and used all of them. The duo of Norm Lin & Ken Miskow played 4 and won 4, Norm played 1 with Pete LaVault - two lefties on the court, not nice (too bad). Allan Singer & Bob Cala were just getting started when Bob tore his hamstring in a social game and was out for the rest of the season. Bob Barondess was also injured early in the season and only saw limited action. Oscar Louie mixed business travel with an injury and didn't get much court time, but he did put in an appearance at some of the matches to support the team.
Richard Mar teamed up with David Li to notch a couple of wins, he also chalked one up with Jin. Of course, the captain played a few and got a couple of wins for the team.
Back to the most recent weekend of tennis - a trip to Fresno. Those in attendance were: Ray & Marie Wong, Jin & Carol Jue, Paul & Maggie Ko, Lou & Sally Roth, Ed & Diane Weiss, Kay Lee, Wil Dang and Richard Mar. The competition was: Auburn Hills (Sacramento area), Fremont Hills (Los Altos) and Carmel Valley Ranch (our host from a few weeks earlier).
Our first match was at 8:00 AM, Saturday morning, against Carmel Valley Ranch - the result: 6 sets for Foster City, 0 for Carmel Valley. Our second challenger was Fremont Hills, they did better - they got one set, the result: Foster City 6 sets, Fremont Hills 1 set. Our third competitor, however, was having similar good fortunes - they played a few more tiebreakers, but didn't lose any individual matches.
Our match on Sunday was scheduled for 11:00 AM and we started a little early - Wil & Jin wrapped their match in a hurry at 0 and 1. Lou and Paul took longer and didn't do as well - they lost 7-5, 6-3. That put the ball in Ray & Kay's court and at this point the score was: the first set to Auburn Hills (6-4) and 2-0 for us in the second.
Ray & Kay came storming back and won the second set 6-2, thus forcing a third set tiebreaker (the playoff rules call for a 10 point tiebreaker instead of a full set). The guys from Auburn Hills quickly got ahead 4-0; we leveled the score; Auburn went up 7-4; we came back and went ahead 8-7; back and forth and it was 9-all; unfortunately the next two points went to Auburn Hills and our Cinderella season came to an abrupt end.
Near the end of the regular season my wife asked me why I voted for a four-team playoff, I said that I had never had a team with the goal of going all the way. This team was focused on winning - and win we did.
I would like to thank all of you on the team (and our cheerleaders) for your contributions to a winning cause. I speak for all us in extending our thanks to the club for its support and to Judy Olson for scheduling and re-scheduling and re-scheduling courts for the matches.
Although we will lose seven of our teammates to the 3.5 ranks we still have the nucleus of a strong team for next year. Below are some of the emails I received from members of the team:
Lou Roth: Thanks again to all of you for making this season and the playoff run such a memorable event. Fresno was very special. Could you ask for better support from Diane, Marie, Carol and Maggie! They really helped. (Maybe we should all get bumped back to 3.0 again and then God help our opponents!) A special thanks to our Captain Ed and to the "strategizers" for making a near perfect season. Sally and Louis
Wil Dang: To all my teammates, Thank you all for a memorable season and a great playoff. It was really exiting and our own cardiac kids (Ray & Kay) made it doubly so. Thank you, Ed for being our captain and to Diane, Marie, Carol, Maggie and Wendy for your support during Districts and Sectionals.
It's a shame we couldn't stick together and make another run next year.
Lou, let Ken know we appreciate his efforts in our matches at Districts and I will see you all on the courts.
Kay Lee: Gentlemen, It was indeed my privilege to be a member of your team. I want to thank all of you making it easy for me to fit in. Although the season lasted only a few months, by the time the last ball was struck in Fresno, I felt like I know you guys for years. While the thought of missing the last shot of our season will haunt me for a while, I truly enjoyed the experiences of the being in the playoff. The experience of playing under the pressure of "losing is not an option" will definitely make me a better player when I play just for beers.
So it was a great season. See you guys around. Keep me in mind if you need someone to fill out a doubles match or just do some hitting.
Ray Wong: Yes, I have to agree with all the comments that have already been said. In retrospect, it was a great season. We are the second best 3.0 senior team in Nor Cal and from my stand point, we were only one over head and one lucky lob shot away from going to National. Auburn could put up four very good double teams and will do a good job representing NorCal. And you must admit, they respected our team enough to juggle their line up for the very first time.
It was indeed a pleasure to go to battle with all of you guys. The support from all was phenomenal. Unlike many teams I've been on, there was no bickering; all were ready to do what they could for the team effort.
As for Kay and I, it was an extremely character building and gut checking experience. Those 6 play off matches were all dogfights. So many times, we got off the bench knowing we had to hold serve just to stay in the match. I for one, would like to know if it was us or just the quality of the opponents? But the wear and tear on the body and mind was a bit much, there were times were I just didn't know what the score was. The rest of my 3.0 adult season will be a breeze. I think for most of us, we'll get involved with our new season of USTA and the old season will soon be just a memory.
Thanks to all for their contribution. The Scouting was great; we were able to predict in advance a great deal of information on our opponents. We even hit the teams that would make it to Sectionals before they even played the Districts matches. Jin did a great job finding the rooms for us. The wives that came along to cheer us on. Ed did a great job, and was there supporting all, and getting everyone to the starting line on time, and writing the articles that let everyone in the club know how we are doing.
For some of us, it's not quite over, we (Ed, Ken (Pilot), Richard, Ray, Norm, Pete), will still be in the trenches, battling the likes of Pen GCC and Carlmont trying to extract their revenge from the licking they took in Seniors. For those of you who choose to go on to 3.5, best wishes and for those of you who decide to return to 3.0, we'll hold the fort for you.
Jin Jue: I have placed out on the web, pictures taken from the District and Sectional playoffs.
The URL is: http://www.geocities.com/jin_jue/jjSenMen30.html
It was a great season, and like all great tournament playoff, we couldn't have had it better. The final match on Sunday was between the two undefeated team (Auburn & Leo Ryan) and the final outcome was to be decided by the one remaining pair still left on the court. The other two teams had finished and we had won one and lost one. The final team was in a third set, 10-point tiebreaker. Auburn and Leo Ryan were tied at 9-all. It couldn't have been closer.
I had a great time during the season. We played against old teammates in the playoff and won. We did our best and never gave up.
Always win the first point and keep your opponents guessing. Good luck to everyone on your new teams, and may your new teams be successful.
Thanks again for the memories. It took all of us to win the matches that put the team into the playoff.
by Richard Olson, Captain 8.0 Mixed Doubles Team
On Sunday, May 26, our FCTC MXD 8.0 teams' dreams of a trip to the Nationals came to an excruciating end as a powerful Pleasanton team just barely squeezed out a three-set, third-set tie-breaker victory over the FCTC in the final match at Districts. The win sent Pleasanton to Sectionals and the loss sent us back home to that other (Foster) city by the bay.
Yeah, that loss hurt... there were slumped shoulders, tight lips, and some tears mixed in with stunned looks -but the hurting didn't last long. So maybe there was no trip to Nationals, maybe we didn't take it all and maybe there wasn't a happily-ever-after ending, but hey, what a exciting storyline!
FCTC MXD 8.0. 0-9 in '00, 8-5 in '01, then incredibly 15-2 and Mid-Peninsula League Champions in 2002. 13-2 in our regular season and then two outstanding gut-wrenching playoff victories over Mitchell Park and Pac-A to catapult us deservedly on to Districts.
Congratulations to a team that never buckled under and always did their Tennis Club proud: Hiro & Ryoko Nakata (undefeated in league play), Clarke & Larissa Nelson (team leaders in victories), Barbara Ramo (4-1 league record), Linda Burke (undefeated in Districts), Maddy Reddy (undefeated in Playoffs, 2-1 in Districts) Rob & Anne Wild (3-1 in league play), Ajay John (undefeated in Playoffs), Penny Wilson (2-1 in Districts), Special kudos to: Tony Durfor, John Kainlauri, Richard Chang, Judy Olson, Jane Reynolds, Joe Paredes, and Stephanie Perry -- all supportive teammates and all an important part of our winning combination.
Great players, great people, great season! It was truly my honor and my pleasure to represent you all this year as the "Proud Captain of the FCTC MXD 8.0."
by Lisa Chang, Captain Women's 3.5A Team
The season is almost finished and we stand at an undefeated record of 9-0 as of this writing. However, we have yet to face our two toughest teams in the coming weeks: Westlake and Terra Nova. Wish us luck!!
Our spirits are high and the team is working on staying in the top 4 to make it to playoffs. The team recruited new blood this year and the newcomers are making a huge impact on our team, pulling off crucial wins in their matches. GO TEAM!
Members of our winning team are: Rosemary Bardi, Kerry Carranza, Janet Chan, Catherine Chang, Cheryl Chang, Lisa Chang, Karolyn Cheng, Josephine Chew, Lois Glover, Lisa Hing, Mikiko Izumi, Jackie James, Betty Lam, Wendy Leung, Jessie McElroy, Stella Mutya, Mieko Oiwa, Judy Olson, Jane Reynolds, Mona Simpson, Sheryl Thirlwall, Jennifer Weber, and Penny Wilson.
by Lisa Chang, Captain Women's 4.0A Team
The season began with a group of women from all over the bay area from Dublin to Palo Alto. As a new and developing team, we were very conscientious at practicing two times a week and learning about each other's games. We were on an adventure and took measures to improve our games and play better tennis. Although we ended the season in 5th place, the team spirit is up... As one of our teammates stated... we are just beginning.... I have been very fortunate to have had such a nice and supportive team. Thanks to all of you!!
Members of our team: Ana Akin, Naomi Bigliardi, Jan Buchwald, Cheryl Chang, Lisa Chang, Allison Collins, Nina de Toth, Jennifer Gurevitz, Hiroko Harrison, Lisa Hing, Laura Howells, Mikiko Izumi, Betty Lam, Ryoko Nakata Larissa Nelson, Ashley Nguyen, Mieko Oiwa, Judy Olson, Sue Sen Ping, Jane Reynolds, Jennifer Weber, Debra Weingarten, and Penny Wilson.
Updated 7/1/02
© 2002 Foster City Tennis Club