LATA

Hello LATA Members!

Despite some tense moments caused by a grim Saturday forecast and a morning of rain, the club tournament came off this weekend, thanks to everyone’s patience, the accommodating staff at the Burbank Tennis Center, and the tireless efforts of our Tournament Director Steve Sax. There were seven divisions this year, A through G; the results with pictures and interviews are after the jump (with apologies that I couldn’t get to talk to everyone):

A Singles

Jeff Sheng (right) def. Michael Sanchez (left) 6-4, 6-6 retired

It was a tough road to the trophy for #3 seed and LATA Social Director Jeff Sheng. After defeating former Score editor Sal Veas in a straight-set victory that was tougher than the score indicated, he ran into current Score editor John Ramos, yours truly. From 5-1 down in the first set, I reeled off seven straight games, but Jeff righted the ship and played some great tennis for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Jeff then pulled off another escape in the semifinals, coming back from 4-1 down in the third set to beat top-seeded Chris Tomlin, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, before outlasting Michael Sanchez in the final, 6-4, 6-6 (retired).

Jeff, an LATA member for four years, tested as a C player, but quickly moved up and won the A division two years ago before trying his hand in the Open division last year. Said Jeff, “This year was a really good A field. I was down in the quarters and semis and really had to play one point at a time to be able to come back. As for the final, I’ve played Michael before and knew he’d be really tough — he gets almost everything back, so I tried to move him around and not to miss myself.” Originally from Thousand Oaks, Jeff played as a junior, but took ten years off the game before joining LATA. He’s been on the LATA board for the last two years, and says about his involvement, “I love meeting people through LATA, and the organization is really good about encouraging people to volunteer.” With this win, Jeff could be the one to beat in the Tuesday Night Singles League that starts tonight!

B Singles

Alec Gomez (right) def. Todd Amoroso (left) 6-7, 6-3, 6-0

As in the A Division, the #3 seed prevailed. After a bye and a relatively easy quarterfinal, Alec had to dig deep for a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 semifinal win over unseeded Paolo Jimenez, who had upset the top seed William Pitharn in the quarters. In the final, he once again found himself stuck a set, but relied on his powerful two-handed forehand to turn things around. Says Alec about that shot, “When I was sixteen and started playing with my brother, I was a cross-country runner and weighed 117 pounds. My brother hit so hard, I needed two hands on the racquet to be able to cope.”

Alec, originally from Stockton, CA — “home of asparagus and marijuana, in that order” — is a high-school math teacher who joined LATA ten years ago as a C player. Last year, he lost in the first round of the B division, but he credits playing PAC Cup and the coaching he got there from Steve Sax and Travis Siems for improving his game. Ever outspoken, Alec looks forward to playing PAC Cup again this year, where he hopes that teammate Dennis Nakata won’t come down with pinkeye this time. Whatever happens, he’ll be implementing the strategy of hitting hard and running the other person around. Or, as he puts it in his inimitable way, “Get in, unload, and get out.”

C Singles

Larry Lawrence (right) def. Eric Dodson (right) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2

Unseeded Larry Lawrence pulled off an impressive feat, defeating all three seeds to win the C division. His wins over #3 seed Zeke Zeidler and #1 seed Carl Carlberg were straight-set affairs, but after winning the first set from former LATA Ranking Director Eric Dodson, he found himself a bit flummoxed in the second set. “Eric is a very consistent player, so I had to make sure to continue to attack in a smart way and keep him moving. I also served well, which I think was the difference.”

Larry, a labor and employment lawyer, joined LATA four years ago as a D player, but actually was moved down to E after league play. Last year, he won the E Club Tournament, and since then has taken lessons and clinics at Whitsett with Chris Crabbe, whom he credits with his big improvement over the past year. He’s looking forward to playing Sunday and Wednesday league this winter: “I prefer LATA to USTA league — it’s a closer community and the board takes steps to deal with problem players.” We’ll leave the methods of discipline to everyone’s imagination.

D Singles

Dan Fritz (left) def. Mark Biberstine (right) 6-1, 6-1

Dan Fritz lost a total of five games in four matches on his way to the D title, proving that the nickname his friend Glen Chester gave him, “Demolition Dan,” is fitting. A radio news reporter and producer for KPFK radio 90.7 FM, Dan played casually in high school and joined LATA three years ago as a D player, just playing doubles to start. He says, “I’ve met a lot of people in league, and random guys from Wednesday night have ended up becoming good friends.” He definitely is going to play the club tournament next year and thanks Steve Sax for doing such a good job with the weather challenges. As do we all!

E Singles

John Huang (right) def. Chris Norlin 6-1, 6-0

While not conceding quite as few games as Demolition Dan, John Huang blew through the E field, losing only seven games in four matches. Get out of the way!

F Singles

Florian Gador def. Shane Que Hee 6-0, 6-7, 6-0

After top seed Shane Que Hee made an impressive comeback in the second set, Florian Gador closed the door and claimed the F trophy.

G Singles

John Vida def. Jong Yuk 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

After John edged Jong in the round-robin portion, 7-5, 7-5, he had to go the distance in the final. Well deserved!

Consolation Draw Winners

A Singles

Loc Nguyen (def. Jose Cardenas)

B Singles

Will Pitharn (def. Mike Shinkai)

C Division

Jason Loualhati (def. Mike Kalvoda)

E Singles

Dan Gannon (def. William Mungall)

Due to a round-robin format in the D, F, and G divisions, no consolation draw was played. Full scores and draws are available here. I’ll wind this entry up with a note from Steve Sax:

Hi everyone, I’d just like to thank everyone for playing this weekend and being patient with the weather. Despite the delay on Saturday, we were able to complete the entire tournament on time. A special thanks to the following people for helping throughout the weekend: Carl Carlberg, Alec Gomez, Brent Hall, Indiana, Paolo Jimenez, Larry Lawrence, Jason Loualhati, Richard Podolsky, John Ramos, Jeff Sheng, Mike Witt, and anyone else I may have forgotten. Your help is much appreciated!

On another note, the LA Open is the next tournament that we have to look forward to. The dates are April 6-8 and will be held at the Burbank Tennis Center, Burroughs High School (Burbank), and Cal St. LA. This tournament is one of our two GLTA tournaments with players from all over the world. I’ll send out an email to everyone within the next day or so with more information and an application. Thanks again for playing and I look forward to seeing all of you again soon.

— Steve Sax, LATA Tournament Chairman

Tags: Alec Gomez, Carl Carlberg, Chris Norlin, Chris Tomlin, Dan Fritz, Dan Gannon, Dennis Nakata, Eric Dodson, Florian Gador, Glen Chester, Jason Loualhati, Jeff Sheng, John Huang, John Ramos, John Vida, Jong Yuk, Jose Cardenas, Larry Lawrence, LATA, Loc Nguyen, Los Angeles Tennis Association, Michael Sanchez, Mike Kalvoda, Mike Shinkai, Mike Witt, Paolo Jimenez, Sal Veas, Shane Que Hee, Steve Sax, Todd Amoroso, Travis Siems, William Mungall, William Pitharn, Zeke Zeidler

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Tournaments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.