Canadian Open - A Return to the Hill in 2019

April 10, 2019
Toronto, ON
by Suzanne Lanthier

Women's Final Draw
Men's Final Draw

The 2019 Canadian Open tourney was due for some good karma. Following the ice storm of 2018 that saw cancellations, reduced draw sizes, and an eventual shutdown of the tournament, 2019 (thankfully) did a complete 180° and we got back to an amazing day of fabulous weather. Warm enough for spectacular viewing from ‘The Hill’ and cool enough to make sure the beer was at prime temperature.

 Both men’s and women’s draws saw all-American final matches and four of truly the most kind and supportive teams playing it out for the titles. Kelly Fischer and Sharon Fair-Rogalski (Pittsburgh) lost a tight 6-4, 6-4 final to first-time Canadian Open Champs, Mandy Newell and Amanda Siebert. Mandy joins her dad, Fritz Odenbach, as the first father-daughter pair to hold Canadian Open titles. On the men’s side, under the lights after a long day of matches and a few pints, who would have thought we would get to watch such an amazing display of paddle from our finalists—Brian Heil and Eric Heil (Columbus) versus Chris Chiu and Jordan Keen (DC). The Heil brothers prevailed in a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 thriller (after being down 2-5 in the third set).

Daytime Party Winner Honors (who’s kidding who, that’s what really matters)
Men: Fonthill—who always have the best hill set up.
Women: The Partiers from Pitt—Kelly and Sharon, narrowly edging out Deb Gallagher, who is a perennial front runner.

Nighttime Party Winners:
Women: It’s a double win for Mandy and Amanda, whose rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” at The Sod was…well…
Men: Fu gets the nod for being out and in fine form after a not-so-pretty foot/ankle injury during his last match.

 With teams travelling from Detroit, Pittsburgh, DC, and Rochester, a total of 64 paddlers participated this year in the Canadian Open, where what happens off the court is just as important as what happens on the court.
Our deep thanks to Barry Pletch of Great Lakes Brewing and Mark Harrop of Spirit of York Distilleries for their contributions the refreshments over the weekend. I would like to give a special thanks to my pals Paul Stulac, Brad McIlroy, and Louise Evans, the Snatinksy’s, and all of those who helped out over the weekend. As a club run entirely by volunteers, it takes a combined effort to make sure everyone has a great time, which is our #1 goal always.

 Here’s hoping that the good karma is back to stay. Thanks to everyone for participating. See you in 2020.

RESULTS:

WOMEN
Main Draw: Mandy Newell/Amanda Siebert def. Sharon Fair-Rogalski/Kelly Fischer, 6-4, 6-4
Quarter Reprieve: Tchir/Ziobina def. Waldie/Greenaway
Consolation: Cook/Pocarovsky def. Service/Zecchino
Consolation Reprieve: Adams/Ogilvie def. Calderwood/Erdelryi

MEN
Main Draw: Brian Heil/ Eric Heil def. Chris Chiu/Jordan Keen, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
Quarter Reprieve: Hunter/Low def. Doland/Puyana
Consolation: Carron/Moellering def. Lis/Stitski
Consolation Reprieve: Humphries/Snopek def. Sobiski/Witteveen