Canadian Open Results

APRIL 27, 2009
TORONTO, ONT

Congratulations to Fritz Odenbach and Rusty Wright for their Canadian Open victory over Andrew Daw and Paul Stulac, on April 4, 2009. In the Women's draw, Anna Lis & Steph Russell prevailed over Sandra Odenbach & Karen Later. For details and pictures, please visit the new KPTC web site .

(l-r) Paul Stulac, Rusty Wright (holding Vivianna), Fritz Odenbach, Andrew Daw

Photo by Kingsway Platform Tennis Club

2009 Rochester Championships

FRITZ & SANDRA ODENBACH
APRIL 3, 2009
ROCHESTER, NY

A record 90 teams participated in the annual Rochester District Platform Tennis Championships last Saturday March 28th in Rochester New York. The event was hosted by Shadow Lake Golf and Racquet Club and chaired by Sandra and Fritz Odenbach.

There were 6 separate tournaments all completed in one day, with a Men’s A/B/C division and a Women’s A/B and a new Women’s C Level tournament which was filled at 16 teams. Teams from neighboring Buffalo and Syracuse were invited also and chipped in with 4 teams.

Complete Coverage & Slides

2009 APTA National Championships

MARCH 5-8
CINCINNATI, OH

Read the complete coverage and see the pictures of the 2009 Nationals and President's Cups.

Too much Fun!

 JANUARY 25, 2009
CINCINNATI, OH

The Viking Junior Tour came to Cincinnati on Sunday, January 25. Another successful junior tournament shows how much fun paddle can be at all ages.

Complete Coverage

2009 Midwesterns Results

ANN SHEEDY
JANUARY 17-19, 2009
CINCINNATI, OH

Men's Open

The top two seeds made it to the finals but the semis uncovered a young up and coming player from Chicago – Drew Eberly who just finished his tennis career at Ohio State teamed up with Peter Berka to make it all the way to the semi-finals and took the number 1 seeded team to a tie breaker of a 1 hour 40 minute first set.

Women's Open

52 intrepid women braved temperatures in the low teens to enjoy the great paddle and warm friendship that is the hall mark of the Midwesterns . Players came from Boston, Pittsburgh , Detroit , Minneapolis and Chicago, to compete with the Ohio contingent. 

Complete Coverage & Slides

West Penn Open 2008

ANN SHEEDY
DECEMBER 5, 2008
PITTSBURGH, PA

Women's Results

Yesterday, number eight seeded Kelly Fischer and Jessica Guyaux took the West Penn Women's title, defeating top seeds Chrissy Johnston and Lynn Thompson.

West Penn Open Men's Results

The top 4 seeds advanced to the semis in the Men's West Penn Open held December 6-7, with McFadden-Stulac taking the honors in a 3 set final.

Complete Results & Slides

Buffalo & WNY 2008 Late Fall Invitational

DAVE JENTSCH
DECEMBER 5, 2008
BUFFALO, NY

On Saturday, November 22, the Country Club of Buffalo and Saturn Club hosted the Buffalo & WNY Late Fall Invitational and as expected - cold and snow ruled the day.  With frigid temperatures hovering in the low 20’s, teams from Canada, Rochester, and Buffalo gathered to compete in the 16-team tournament.

In the finals, first seeds Sky Kalkman and Dave Kotalik from Rochester defeated Randy Murphy and Dave Jentsch from Buffalo.  Kalkman and Kotalik got to the finals by dispatching hosts and fourth seeds Chris Ross and Bob Shookus in a grueling and epic semi-final; while Murphy and Jentsch outlasted third seeds Travis Odenbach and Eric Yeakle in the other spirited semi-final.

In other brackets, Canadians Jeff Reuter and Rich Allen from the Loch Ness club in Welland, Ontario won the Consolation round over Rob Drake and Jamie Carbone from Buffalo while JT Jacus and Cary Greenberg (Rochester) won the Reprieve and Robert Butcher and Ted Walsh (Buffalo) won the Last Chance bracket.

The tournament was a terrific success - as was the lunch at CCB - and the fires that were burning both inside and outside by the courts were fantastic!  Buffalo continues to grow as a paddle community with an increasing number of players, more tournaments, more players traveling to other tournaments, and increased investment in the local facilities.  Thank you to both the hosts - Bob Shookus of the Country Club of Buffalo and Chas Maloney of the Saturn Club - as well as all the players who participated. Stay-tuned for another - and larger - tournament in the spring.

Main Draw Winners: Kotalik & Kalkman Finalists: Murphy & Jentsch Consolation Winners: Reuter & Allen Finalists: Drake & Carbone   Reprieve Winers: Jacus & Greenberg Finalists: Anderson & Herlan Last Chance Winners: Butcher & Walsh Finalists: Nagle & Patterson

The finalists Dave Jentsch, Dave Kotalik, Sky Kalkman, and Randy Murphy

Click here for the full draw.

Sky Kalkman goes airborne and hammers a Bob Shookus serve on the newly re-surfaced courts at the Country Club of Buffalo.
Bob Butcher & Ted Walsh looking intensely for the line call.	Travis Odenbach lines up a service return at the Saturn Club.
Snow, fire, beer - and happy paddlers!	Dave Kotalik and Sky Kalkman were dominating in the finals as once again, youth and skill win out over age, experience - and exhaustion.

2008 Women's Fall Fantastic

TERRI GOLLINGER
DECEMBER 1, 2008
SEWICKLEY, PA

The Fall Fantastic Tournament was a great time and for those that didn't win, it was still a delightful day of paddle, food and friendship!

Kathy Kunschner and tournament director extraordinaire, Erica Zappala

Chairperson Erica Zappala would like to especially thank the following 'paddle buddies' from North Park, Shannopin and Lakeview for their terrific assistance in the hut: Wendy Harrington, Tammy DiBonis, Nancie Jaicks, Wanda McGarry, Sandy Balutanski, Kathy Kunschner, Kim Brown and Roxanne Kiliany; and the 'lunch ladies' Margaret Kelman and Jean McCarthy. An extra special thank you goes to Kathy Kunschner for all of the wonderful photographs and to Jyll Lilly for help with prizes and favors!

Erica would also like to thank the participating clubs for allowing us to host the tournament in the Sewickley area: Edgeworth Club, Sewickley YMCA and Allegheny Country Club, which also hosted the ladies luncheon.

Cleveland Masters Results

LISSY HILL & ANDREW SIKOROVSKY
NOVEMBER 18, 2008
CLEVELAND, OH

Despite the rains and winds from mother nature on Saturday, the 34th Annual Cleveland Masters went off without a hitch November 14 - 16, 2008.

On the National Ranking and PCQ Mens side, #1 seed Brian Heil and Denny English of Columbus, OH defeated Brett Englesberg and Jeff McMasters of Pittsburgh, PA. 

For the Women's PCQ, the team of Kathy Allen and Lindy Ward of Cincinnati, OH defeated Vicki Nagy and Beverly Dyminski of Pittsford, NY, 6-1, 6-1. 

In the Mens 90+ Open, John Schloss and Eric "Who want's to be my partner" Miller from Cleveland, OH were the champs defeating last year's champs, Danny McLaughlin (Cleveland, OH) and Billy Sullivan from Columbus. 

Men's Open finalists: Brett Englesberg, Jeff McMasters, Denny English, Brian Heil

Women's Open PCQ - Click for Full Draw

Men's Open NRT & PCQ - Click for Full Draw

Men's 90+ Open - Click for Full Draw

Buffalo & WNY tournament

NOVEMBER 12, 2008
BUFFALO, NY

Leveraging the enthusiasm built from the APTA exhibition and clinic last month, Dave Jentsch, Bob Shookus, Chas Maloney and Chris Ross have put together a special one day tournament. The Buffalo and WNY Late Fall Invititational will be held on Saturday, November 22 at the Country Club of Buffalo, the Saturn Club and maybe East Aurora. Click here for the entry form and details .

Buffalo Clinic & Exhibition 2008

DAVE JENTSCH
OCTOBER 24, 2008
BUFFALO, NY

The Buffalo, NY platform tennis season opened quickly this year when Buffalo hosted an APTA exhibition and clinic on October 3rd and 4th. Inveterate veteran Fritz Odenbach arrived from nearby Rochester, NY with colleagues Sky Kalkman and Andy Thompson and teamed with Bob Considine from Paddlepro for the weekend. Festivities included a Friday night clinic, exhibition, open house, and dinner at the Country Club of Buffalo while Saturday festivities included clinics for kids, women, and men at the Saturn Club. More

Platform Tennis Comes to Buffalo! Mark your calendars!

On October 3rd and 4th, 2008, the American Platform Tennis Association (APTA) is bringing its professionals to Buffalo and putting on a series of exciting exhibitions and not-to-be-missed clinics.

On Friday the 3rd, there will be a late afternoon clinic for 'A' players. At 6:30 p.m., everyone and anyone is invited to an Open House at 6:30 p.m. at the Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville.

On Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and continuing throughout the day, there will be clinics for women, B/C players, and kids at the Saturn Club on Delaware Avenue.

These events are open to the public and everyone is invited -- not just to watch, but to play. Come prepared to participate, with comfortable clothes and sneakers. While an element of the exhibitions is to grow local enthusiasm and improve skill levels, our goal is to introduce new players to platform tennis.

Please invite your friends, neighbors, and kids so they can experience the thrill of this winter sport. Please contact any of us with questions: Dave Jentsch (East Aurora, 888-0297); Chas Maloney (Saturn Club, 362-9899); Bob Shookus (CCB, 830-3388); or Chris Ross (Buffalo Club, 830-1519).

The Midwest Platform Tennis Camp, Cincinnati, Ohio

The four friends and paddle enthusiasts developed the idea for a paddle tennis camp two seasons ago after witnessing the surge of the game in the Cincinnati area. Their love of and devotion to platform tennis were perfect fits for this new endeavor. For one paddle packed week each September, the MPTC holds 3 hour sessions, morning, afternoon and evening. Many participants use the camp as a refresher course on the do’s and don’ts of paddle and as friendly reminders of the differences between paddle and that “other racquet sport”. Newcomers and beginners to the game learn valuable lessons such as how to play a tiebreaker, serve and first volleys, and how to play the screens. Paddle strategies, positioning, and shifting are also essential lessons taught to the beginner as well as the more advanced and seasoned player.

All important snacks, drinks, and new demo equipment courtesy of Wilson Sports greet each camper. Although it is not necessarily paddle weather, the warmer temperatures allow for plenty of time to retrieve balls off the screen and give each camper a well-earned physical workout. What better way to spend a day than with friends and fellow paddle lovers learning the best game in the world? A cool t-shirt as a favor and M&M’s and nuts sure help too.