All Canadian Team Keeps Mixed Title North of the Border

SUZANNE LANTHIER
FEBRUARY 1, 2011
TORONTO, ON

Paddle, paddle and more paddle. And just when you thought you were done .. even more paddle.

Combined events of the Toronto Open and Mixed Canadian Tournaments (unofficially referred to as The 'Advil' Open Weekend) brought out an overwhelming number of family pairings to the Kingsway Platform Tennis Club this past Saturday and Sunday.

The Men's Open semi's featured the four top seeds of Paul Stulac and Andrew Daw vs. Peter Ryan and Paul Dunning on the top half of the draw with Steve Pike and Miguel Cobbs battling Fritz Odenbach and Huy Nguyen in lower half. While sipping on some of Canada's finest selection of hops and barley, spectators were treated to an unbelievable final match up that, in the end, saw Odenbach/Nguyen overtake Stulac/Daw 7-6, 5-7, 7-6. Complete draws can be seen here.

Not wanting her Dad to take all the glory back to Rochester, Mandy Odenbach teamed with Rita "let's go dancing" Kladstrup to beat local favorites Stephanie Russell and Anna Lis 7-6, 0-6, 6-4 in the women's final (we sense a new Odenbach paddle dynasty in the making!!) Women's Open draw can be seen here.

Bright and early on Sunday morning the paddle diehards headed back to the courts (fully medicated) and played out the Mixed Canadian Draw. Paul Stulac and Suzanne Lanthier managed to figure out the wacky spin coming off Miguel Cobbs' paddle to take that title from Miguel and Sara Lanthier, 6-2, 6-2. Anna Lis ditched her husband and teamed up with her son Adam and fought a tough match against Paul Herlan and Kelly Brown for 3rd place. Full Draws seen here.

But its Canada folks, so the question on everyone's mind was not who won the matches, but who won the party. Jay Roselli takes that title in an uncontested victory as can be seen in images below. A fantastic time was had by all and the tournament organizers wholeheartedly appreciate the incredible support of teams from Niagara, Rochester, Buffalo, NYC and across Toronto.

For those that missed this event, you can get a taste of Canadian hospitality during the weekend of March 26-27, when the Canadian Open Championships will be held. This event is sponsored by PT Pro Balls and Steamwhistle Breweries and will support the wonderful work of Wellspring Cancer Support Centres. Contact Suzanne Lanthier at slanthier@autismspeaks.org for more information.

Photos courtesy of Suzanne Lanthier