This years format for doubles was a round robin instead of the usual format used in Las Vegas tournaments, and it worked out perfectly. Players got to play a lot of pro set tennis in one day and the semifinalists played a 3 set final. This way teams that lose their first match still get a lot of play. 

Winning the 3.0 doubles was Janet Spelman and Shelleye Warner. These two ladies were instrumental in helping VegasTennis.com' s 3.0 team to win mixed doubles sectionals this fall. Click here to read about the Sectional mixed doubles winners. Winning the men's 3.5 was....details coming.

Apart from the 3.5-4.5 event there was an open doubles draw that I put together for David. At first, and for the last couple years, Bally's , like many other tournaments, did not have an open draw. Yet I went to David with the idea and he chose to let me run with it.

 It all began with an e-mail. Bob Thompson e-mailed me a request to see if any tournament Director in town would allow his daughters to play in their men's open draw.

His daughters have the ability to hold their own against men in the open level and have even beaten open men players before, yet in the past year, tournament directors have been more prone to be in the doubt then to see through it. 

I knew immediately it would not be a problem. At the worst one player might have a little pride marred. But as it turned out not one player had a problem. Not one player was unsatisfied with their performance or presence. In fact, the one team they beat in the first round of the main draw had the best attitude of them all....after the match when I asked him if it was a problem he said without effect "I would never let my ego get in the way."

Out of all the players in the draw the girls could have played they went against the perfect team, the one with the perfect attitude. In the first round they won their first set in an extremely close 7-5. In the second set they took the match by winning 6-3. This performance was augmented with a very close second round loss to Adrian Himmelheber and Mike Schultz 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

Adrin and Mike then advanced to the semifinals where they faced the eventual winner of the whole tournament , Tim Blenkiron and Stephane Matheu. Adrin was also part of why I put this event together. When I went to Anthem, where he teaches, I was hanging up Marty Hennessy's Junior Tennis Circuit flyer, and he told me his past, with College tennis at UNLV, then starting a punk Rock band and living the dream, but soon he began to see that the dream was not what it had appeared to be. As you get older you see where there is meaning and where there is none, and although he had no regrets in making his band happen, now he saw it was time to move on, regain the physical shape he once garnered and live right. He explained the many rich experiences of his life and the many advantages he has. Advantages some never accept. And at the end he told me playing tennis is something he has now been doing with a renewed focus. With enthusiasm he described how he was to sign up in the next tournament, playing in the open. His debut. But I knew that the open draw would not exist.

So I called David Pate, who is the Director of Tennis at Bally's and was in the midst of working on his Annual Charity Tournament for Sunrise Hospital. First I told him I could put together an open draw, but I would like to do two things, one have prize money and two , put Christian Thompson and Catrina Thompson in the draw. David was all for it and was the exemplary student of Liaise Faire economics. He had the wisdom and ability to let me make it the best event I could without stifling my creativity. And this is no small feat. As many people are very opinionated, and believe the lie that they know what is the best way for others to do things. Not David. He created the event and let me participate as a full contributor. And it worked out perfectly.

Here is the story..... On Monday, 5 days before tournament weekend, I got the O.K. from David. Immediately it was Tim Blenkiron who was 100% behind not only this tournament, but in creating opportunity's for the Thompson girls to play. He not only supported it but was an intricate part of getting it done. Putting on an open event takes phone calls and phone calls, as these players are fragmented here and there, and some are out of town and don't have a partner, can't play at certain times, etc... Such was the case. But with Tim and Stephane jumping on board right away that set the ball in motion. Then Eoin Collins and Roger Patterrson, then Christian Thompson and Catrina Thompson, then Cameron Parker and Ben Coates, then Misha and Nenad, then Adolf Huttleston and Adrin Himmelheber, then Brian Battistone said he would come in from California, then Robert Sjoholm and Reed Ridonovich, possibly Gordon Hammond and a woman tennis pro who now trains out of UNLV. It looked like we had the eight teams needed to run a draw. This was after a week worth of calling , getting numbers and finding people. But then Thursday it all came tumbling down with Robert Sjoholm and Reed unable to play, then a message from Adrin that Adolf can not play, then Brian Battistone said he was unable to come into town. Soon the six teams became 4 or 5 and those who had said maybe had not called back. 

I was about to call Owen Hambrook at UNLV to see if his players were in, yet I knew I should just drive down there. And when I walked in,.. Owen told me "Sorry I don't think they can play."

I had not heard from Kevin Bradley so I then left UNLV to go to Club Sport and sitting at the red light I noticed these worries trying to take seed in me. Tons of "Thoughts" passing through my head. Much like the kind of doubt that try's to creep into a player on the court after a few missed shots and lousy games. And the question then become, do you believe these "Thoughts" or see them for what they are...a lie.

Once I noticed all the doubts I began to laugh. I knew the doubt was a lie. It was not positive thinking. I don't buy into that. It was insight. Something always try's to get you to quit right when the game it broken wide open.

All the way to ClubSport I laughed. No doubt, just a knowing that putting this event together was right from the beginning. 

I walked into the bubble, and Kevin Bradley, who is a teach professional there, and who played 10 years of professional tennis, was hitting with his student John Fahgyi. Right away they went for it. The tide had been turned with Bradley. This is only the second event he has played in this year. The draw started to look very deep. Then I went back to UNLV and there I signed up Thomas Schneiter and Aviram, both players at UNLV. As I got out of my car at UNLV I saw a player, Alex Sugai,  and asked him if he played open tennis. He said yes and that he and his brother would play.

When I got home Adrin called in with a new partner, Mike Schultz. then Cameron Parker and Ben Coates confirmed. Sean Monk and Jong signed up, then came Chris Wilson and the always willing Dean Stavri.

 Dean from the beginning said he wanted to play. Dean is a junior, who plays 18 and under.  I saw in Dean was a desire to be a part of it. But there was no one for him to play with. Everyone had been taken. I had at this point overcome the doubt as to whether the open draw would be a success. At this point we had ten teams and the most talented draw of the year...  with only one less team then Stacy Darling. It was good enough, right? There was no need to keep trying to find Dean a partner, it seemed not possible,... there were other things to be done, right? Wrong. I knew quitting was not going to be part of any aspect of this event. Dean had the right attitude and wanted to play. So instead of closing the draw Thursday I kept it open until I could find Dean a way in. Then in talking with Tim Blenkiron Chris Wilson's name came up and that he was in town for the weekend.

"Maybe Dean can play with Chris" I said, and Tim carried out the rest. Chris and Dean made the 11th team. And in the first round Dean did not put the added efforts to waste as he played the best tennis I have ever seen him play. Going into it the perception may have been that Chris would carry him, yet Dean not only held his own but was a significant part of their team getting a three set win in the first round against State Champion and UNLV players Sean Margolis and Sean Hubbard. 

It was this win that showed Dean that he can rise to the occasion on any given day. A new open player has been added to the competitive list in Dean Stavri. Chris Wilson, with a big serve has been there for some time and showed this as it was this serve which gave them their only game won in the second round against the number one seed and tournament winner Tim Blenkiron and Stephane Matheu-Cambas. Stephane played professional tennis in Europe for over tens years and still makes a living doing so in the summers. Now he is going to school at UNLV and is their assistant tennis coach.  He has won every singles tournament he has entered in Las Vegas. And his partner Tim Blenkiron won the NCAA championship playing for UNLV. Tim and Stephane took home the $200.00 prize money, winning in the final against Roger Pattersson and Eoin Collins in two sets. Days before the event I went to Trader Joes and asked George if they could provide me with some free fresh juices.

The  BALLY'S annual Charity event had fresh squeezed orange, carrot, mango, strawberry, banana and other 100% fresh and natural drinks. To eat the players were provided with Pizza from Sbarro's chips, nuts, dried fruit, banana's and more. Point is nothing was left out, from the player towels, to bottles waters, ... if you do something do it right.

In this tournament I had a placement draw before the main draw. The winner got a chance to play Stephane and Tim in the second round, the loser would be relegated to playing a lesser seeded team. I knew that the winner should get a chance at the best, as a reward for their win, and although they have a lesser chance of advancing further in the draw they can experience a level of play they may not have ever had. In fact, just now I spoke with Dean Stavri over the phone, and he said the highlight of the tournament was not his first round win, but the opportunity to play Tim and Stephane losing 6-1, 6-0. Specifically he said.."It was an honor to play with those guys, just to play against that level of play and see what I could do and get a sence of where I need to be." And this is the perfect attitude, the very attitude that this draw was built around.

In the draw were the Sugai brothers. Alex is a tennis professional at the Flamingo Hilton tennis club. Jason Sugai played college tennis at Mission college in 1998, he was #16 for junior college. When he was 12 years old he was able to take a match from Bob Bryan. Now he is a realtor in Las Vegas. Yet his interests are in writing, acting, racing cars and making music.

In the first round on the bottom side of the draw I placed Eoin Collins and Roger Pattersson , the number two seeds against the very strong UNLV players Aviram and Thomas Schneiter. Thomas Schneiter made All-American and the round of 16 this year at the NCAA singles championship and has won many national events. Aviram is one of UNLV's top players this year. Roger Pattersson was a college All-American years ago when he played for UNLV and gave Stephane his best match of the season almost forcing three sets at Stacy Darling. Eoin Collins was just recently the finalist at the ClubSport Indoor, and at one time played Davis Cup for Ireland and professional tennis. He played college tennis at Indiana University and played ATP events ranked 400 in singles and 280 in doubles.  He competed in the Olympics in doubles at Barcelona in 1992 and Seoul in 1988. Roger and Eoin are not the type to shy away from good competition. In fact Roger said he prefers a tough draw, as do I.

The draw could not be processed in the traditional random "Draw" as I accommodated many time constraints of the local players, many of which are teaching professionals.  One might say that because I had never done a draw before I was at a disadvantage, but I disagree, as I had the beginners enthusiasm and willingness to make it great. And although it took me a full day to make a 11 team draw, I sat back and witnessed match after match how perfect it all turned out.

In the First round Kevin Bradley who has been in the Club Sport bubble for months without any tournament play, came out into the sun with his student , local standout John Fayghi. It turns out they played one of Kevin's old students Mike Schulz. Perfect. And today Adrin Himmelheber, Mike's partner, had a big serve and Kevin and John got off to a slow start. They lost the first set 6-3, then made a run for it forcing a tie breaker in the second but Adrin and Mike won the tie break 7-5, in turn the match.

Adrin and Mike , who had court side support from parents and friends the whole tournament, played Christian Thompson and Catrina Thompson in the second round. This match, the Thompson's third of the day, was long and hard fought. The Thompson's lost the first set 6-1, then came back to win the second 6-4. In the third they were down 5-2 when the lights went out and the match was almost stopped. But when light came back they clinched another game , until they lost the third set 6-3. Not bad for "girls" in the men's open. Is there any doubt now as to whether these girls can hold their own? I knew it before I had proof. That is why I smile when I see the doubt extinguished with reality.  Now  it is no longer whether or not they have the ability, but whether a future tournament Directors will overcome the worry. 

These girls drew a crowd as well. Many on the mono rail above the courts and walking by stopped to watch and asked me time and time again, "Who are they." Local tennis fans responded to my e-mail newsletter and came out just to see them play.

Anne Rockwell, who has been teaching tennis in this town for many years, had all the kids she was coaching stop and watch the match. The day before she had to have mentioned twice that she wanted to know when they play so she can watch. And Anne sees a lot of tennis. She played college tennis and was nationally ranked. 

Anne is also the backbone behind most of the sponsors of this event, which raises thousands of dollars for the Sunrise Hospital. Many of the sponsors are friends of David's after years of living and playing and coaching in this town. Yet David said the brunt of the banners and raffle  prizes, which are extensive, came from Anne's doing. I spoke with Anne about this and she described it perfectly. She does not do it for the money or to gain praise, she simply does it because she sees it needs to be done and takes joy in doing something right. And I echo that sentiment. This web site, this open draw, I never did it or do anything for the money. I do it because I am led to. There is tremendous satisfaction in knowing what is right to do then overcoming the doubt and doing it. That is what is awesome about a close match, being down in the third set or playing in your first men's open draw as a girl. It offers in it a chance to see the doubts that fly into everyone's head, and instead of believing them, you go forward into play. Forward being aware of what you are doing now, right now, right here, instead of lost in the mental.

"Right here , Right now" was never meant to be the supposed taunt it has been relegated to. It's correct meaning should be to be aware of what you are doing right here, right now, and not lost in the "Thoughts" of "self-analysis", "Self doubt" or even the un now of "Self motivation." 

Right here. Right now.

Anne Rockwell, the teaching professional at Bally's came to town years ago to run the Las Vegas Country Club Tennis shop, then the Hilton tennis shop before she moved her dealings over to Davis Pate's Bally's tennis club. Now the club is filled with her ladies teams, and junior clinics. And with David's son Dakota and Colton getting involved in the game, he has been doing more junior tennis clinics and lessons building an environment for the juniors to play in.

Other then that, Bally's tennis club is filled with tourists who have come to Las Vegas and want an impromptu game. And since Bally's is one of the few pro shops left on the strip they get a lot of the business, sharing it with the flamingo and the Monte Carlo.

This tournament is in it's 6th year and a portion of the proceeds go to charity. The format of the event was changed to a round robin which guaranteed a player hours of play whether they won or not. It seemed all who participated enjoyed the new twist, and many asked if this would be an ongoing thing. The winners of the 4.0/4.5 division was two guys who came in from Boston, Massachusetts. In fact, they told me they found out about it on the internet by looking at my web site. In fact many people signed up for this event as a result of seeing it advertised on my web site and in my e-mail newsletter. BALLY's tennis shop also did something that is not often done these days, which is call the players who played last year. It seems simple but it is rarely done if ever in adult tournaments.

VegasTennis.com

What was the best match of the tournament? Besides seeing Dean Stavri excel and rise to the occasion, besides seeing Christian and Catrina Thompson break down the artificial walls of separation, besides the aware and noble attitude of Alex Sugai and his brother Jason Sugai, besides the accommodating and supportive Davis Pate, besides seeing how this event brought back the fire in Sean Margolis, Adrin Himmelheber, and Eon Collins, and besides the always high level play of Stephane Matheu-Cambas and Tim Blenkiron, it was the 3 set match between Sean Monk and Jong Demonteverde verses Roger Pattersson and Eoin Collins in the semifinals. The quick moving and soft touch of Sean Monk coupled with Jong's total will, gave these dominant players in Eoin and Roger a slight scare. After losing the first set 5-7 Eoin and Roger went on fire taking the second 6-2. And in the end Sean and Jong lost a dignified third set 4-6. They eventually went to take third place. The third place team in this tournament gets $50.00.

More then anything was the opportunity for the players to congregate and be involved. I saw as Bob Thompson and Mr Parker, Cameron's father, were able to touch base. Players that competed together in high school  years later now reunited ,competing. But now as boys becoming men. This same camaraderie took place with Adrin and Mike Schultz parents, fans and friends.

When one person does what they know to be right instead of doubting, a door is open for life's experiences to take place. Mr. Parker summed it up with one phrase he said over and over..."This is great." And it is. It still is.  And always will be.

It was in the semifinals on Saturday that David Pate realized that Sean Monk, who was playing on court two, had a lesson to give. Sean teaches tennis on the weekend at BALLY'S. But he was playing. I said "Cameron could give a lesson" and so he did. Cameron hit with David's client and in return David offered to hit with Cameron. Now Cameron gets the best competition in Vegas, the chance to play with this years over 35 Wimbledon winner. And it is not that long ago that David was winning titles on the men's tour ranked 13 in singles and number 1 in doubles. 

Click here to read an article on David Pate's professional tennis career.

A lot of people try and get a game with David, perhaps then they can say "I beat Davis Pate" or I got x # of games off of David Pate. But only when it is right does that opportunity come about. Not something planned or orchestrated but something that just happens intuitively in the moment. Like with Cameron. Or like with me doing this draw or with Tim Blenkiron putting together his every now and then Open doubles mini tournaments. Each of us has our own knowing of what we are led to do, and if you do it , meaningful things take place and satisfaction is instilled in your life.

Just do it.

Toward the end of the event I was just standing there taking in the whole scene. Have you ever considered just taking it all in. Stopping and looking at all that is going on. That is what I was doing and then I saw the monorail above and the big words..."BALLY'S" painted on the side. Then right next to it, also painted,  was the phrase.."A touch of class."

And that is exactly what this event was. A touch of class.

Below are some of the responses I got from the tournament questionnaire, many of which commented on the amenity's. Available for the players were towels from BALLY'S tennis club, waters, fresh squeezed orange and tangerine juice, strawberry and mango smoothies, carrot juice, fresh pressed apple Juice, almonds, potato and corn chips, bananas and dry fruit. All of this was due to the sponsorship and contributions from TRADER JOES food market on Decatur, and from VegasTennis.com.

If you are interested in playing in an open league or in open events, e-mail me at VegasTenniscom@aol.com. 

 In response to the question  what was right about this event\t...

"The drinks and food of course" ....Jason Sugai

The Atmosphere..-Stephane Matheu-Cambas

"Friendly atmosphere..." Sean Hubbard

"Deep filed, good site, food.."

"Competitive.." ...Adrin Himmelheber

"Scheduling...quality of players, amenities..." - Roger Pattersson

In response to the question if girls should be allowed to play in the open league...

"Good idea"... Eoin Collins

"Sure, it would be good for them"-.....JongDemonteverde

"Yes, if they have game"..."The Thompson girl's have game.".... Adrin Himmelheber

In response to how this event could be better ....

:Scorecards"...Cameron Parker

In response to the question .."What are your suggestions or requests for the next event?......."

...More chairs... Sean Hubbard

Singles and mixed doubles... 

Taking home the most metal was Truki Marasco, the 4.0 player from Red Rock. She won the 7.0 mixed and came in second in the 8.0 mixed final.  Showing her prowess out there also was Sandy Villasenor who plays for Summerlins 3.5 team. I have played with her before and it is no suprise that she reached the finals in this 3.5/4.0 mixture. She is very athletic and has excellent reach.  John Hempel, the runner up at this Summer's Desert Palm summer sizzle took the number two trophy home again losing in two sets to my team mate and doubles partner Rick Holden. Rick once was a 4.5, took some time off, and came back as a 3.5, won many tournaments and went undefeated in league play. Now he plays 4.0 in league and tournament play. And he won his first 4.0 tournament in years. It was Eric Alm who took second in the men's 3.0. Eric has played his last 3.0 tournament as he was on the VegasTennis.com Fall mixed doubles sectional winners team and his spring league team won districts and went to sectionals as well. The winner of the 3.0 was Woody Eisenhart, of whom I have never heard. My guess is that he is one of the many players that come from out of state each year for this Bally's event. The strip tennis clubs are filled with tourists who come from out of town for the Vegas experience along with their racquet. The mixed doubles runner up in the 7.0 was Christine Green and her partner Ivo Plecko. The winner of the 8.0 mixed was Rob Storey and Angela Stevens. The runner up was Truki Maraso and Craig Byers.

  Bruce Merrin, who plays on Bally's men's 4.0 team and Mila Ortiz, who plays 3.0 at Summerlin, both sent me summary's of their tournament experience. I was unable to attend the singles and mixed and welcome all of you to e-mail me the details of what you saw, the matches, insight and anything you deem to be relavent. Here are their summary's in whole.....

 

Ryan,  you do a magnificent job with the VegasTennis.com website. Last night I was so inspired and motivated seeing a 77 year old woman singles player compete on the adjacent court to my match. She is really good. She had great control of her shots. She always sported a winning smile whether she won the point or not. What a competitor she was. She won her singles match. Several times I complimented her on some magnificent shots. I told David Pate today she is a symbol for all of us who have passion about tennis, that we can continue to enjoy this incredible game at all stages of our lives. I think she would be a great subject for a future tennis story. I was so impressed with not only her skills, but her zest for the game and her sportsmanship. I offer Helen a standing ovation. By the way, I had a very competitive match with Steve McCrary who beat me 6-3, 6-4. He is a great guy. Enjoy a marvelous weekend. -Bruce Merrin

 

Hi Ryan: I just wanted to report on the Bally's tourney - Thursday night. I played 3.0 singles on Thursday against Natalie Mckimmey. Natalie was a very strong player. She had a great one handed back hand, whippy forehand with lots of spin and good consistency. We had excellent rally's some going as long as 11-15 shots! The match had a lot of variety with several well-placed lobs by both of us as well as some moon balls and stinging ground strokes. In the end it was Natalie's night - she won the match 6-3, 6-3. I was very pleased with the whole thing and it was a great time. My friend and often opponent Sachyio Kobiashi was playing on the court next to me. I believe the 2.5 and 3.0 singles ladies were combined due to lack of players - so I'm not sure whom she was playing. It looked like a great match with long rallies and lots of running around. I'm pretty sure Sachi won that match.  Anyways, I was watching mixed doubles and missing it - so we'll have to do the next tourney if you're up to it! Speak to you soon, Mila

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