North American Racquets Association
BOSTON
MONTREAL
TUXEDO
Philadelphia
NEW YORK
DETROIT
CHICAGO
Click on the above Logos for current Club News
|
North American Racquets Association
BOSTON
MONTREAL
TUXEDO
Philadelphia
NEW YORK
DETROIT
CHICAGO Click on the above Logos for current Club News
|
|
|
THE TUXEDO CLUB NEW YORK
Guy Devereux, competing in his umpteenth Tuxedo Gold Racquet,
captured his 10th singles title during Presidents' Day Weekend. Guy Dev bested
Boston's fellow, Chris Trigg 3-0 although Guy had to snuff out a late 3rd game
charge by Trigg while at 12 all.
The 105th
Tuxedo Gold Racquets Tournament Reported By: Ace MacLellan 2/22/07
1886
Walter Deane, Court Tennis, Racquets & Squash Chairman walterldeane@post.harvard.edu
Tom Greevy, Head Professional 845-351-7345
The Guy Devereux Racquets Clinic at The Tuxedo Club
2005-2006 Year End at Tuxedo 2001: Overheard in the Tuxedo Club Tennis House: “I’m a new member here, and I can’t figure out what that room is for at the end of this long hall. It’s always dark and very cold. My wife says that it scares her. Is it a meat locker? Storage? Why don’t we petition the Governors to turn it into a doubles squash court!” 2006: Overheard in the Tuxedo Club Tennis Shop: “What do you mean that the racquets court is booked all weekend? What am I supposed to do, play squash? I can’t even go up and play in Montreal as their court is still under repair! Why don’t we petition the Governors to build a second racquets court!” The state of racquets in Tuxedo Park has never been stronger. We now have more than thirty active racquets playing members, with booked court time at it highest level in the club’s history. We have continued to upgrade and improve our 104 year old racquets court, to the point that there is nothing left to do but PLAY better. This season brought with it entirely new lighting for the first time since World War II. Over 600 feet of wires had to be removed, with nine fixtures requiring their own large dumpster for disposal. Our new system is much brighter, makes absolutely no noise, and uses dramatically less energy. We have also added green and gold cushions in the viewing gallery. The entire spectator’s area has also been repainted. Last year’s new heating system has been fine tuned and works even better. Finally, several photographs and prints have been added in the racquets wing, and all of our racquets trophies, some dating from 1902, are finally on display in the Tennis House, having been hidden in a Main Clubhouse basement for many years. Our two new trophy cabinets were unveiled in time for our 104th Gold Racquets Tournaments. A racquets handicapped plaque has also been hung in our hall of fame, making it now four racquets annual club tournaments to be recorded for posterity. Our 2005-2006 season began with an October racquets open house, clinic and lunch, hosted and run by Tuxedo’s number one racquets wizard Guy Devereux. The ever gracious Guy hit with all levels, from several members who have never seen such a small, hard white ball (and will never again, by mutual agreement) to our outstanding Head Racquets Committee Member Greg Gross. The event symbolized best our effort to encourage all members to PLAY, with even one woman, Marina Rodzianko, taking up a bat. This was a first on our court. On January First we held our Third Annual Round Robin and Eggnog. The purpose of this competition is to get players from other sports to try something new. You can’t win or place if you do not participate in all of our offerings. Platform Tennis members signed up, as did golfers, lawn tennis players, squash players, court tennis players and even some ice-skaters (no we are not in Canada and no-one in Tuxedo roots for the Canucks or has even heard of them). Twenty eight Tuxedo Club members battled for impressive pewter prizes, with young Ian Steyer winning the most points. Perhaps he was the only participant not to have been overserved on the previous evening. Paul Rodzianko came in a very strong second. The 2006 Tuxedo Club Singles Racquets Championship was next up on the fixtures list. Claudio Guazzoni and PA Howard signed up for this event for the first time, despite the talented draw. The finals found Peter deSvastich playing feisty Alan McHugh, a very strong competitor. deSvastich won 9-15, 15-12, 18-13. In the 2006 Tuxedo Club Doubles Racquets Championship, Gross and deSvastich defeated McHugh and Nick Sonne, with all three games going into extra points. This will be Greg’s first time to have his name painted on the wall in Tuxedo Gold. Ironically, it will be Peter’s last, as he is moving to North Connecticut, and will be therefore ineligible to play in club tournaments. Peter, a former Winter Sports Chairman, has won twelve Tuxedo singles tournaments and thirteen club doubles titles. He is the only member to win Tuxedo Club championships in all five of our racquet sports and will be missed by all. On January 19th our nineteen year old Racquets Apprentice, Tom Floyd, arrived in Tuxedo Park. Twenty six Tuxedo Club members attended a Saturday dinner to welcome him to our club, although he was still a bit exhausted to enjoy himself, as he had been on court for five hours on his first day. Of course, rather than letting him rest on Sunday, our able secretary Jacki booked him for six more hours, knowing that for the young anything is possible. This was basically his weekend routine for the next four months, with the result being that our program has been transformed into a very busy one. Tom played well with all ages, men and women, from Devereux on down. He showed himself to be quite mature and capable at all times, and was a great influence on our racquets program. David Makey, our UK contact who selected Tom to apprentice in Tuxedo, has our utmost thanks for making such a perfect match. Tom Floyd and the racquets apprentice program of which he was a part of also helped to make our 104th Gold Racquets Tournaments a competitive one. This year the games were all open, as Cartier Gold Racquet Holder Devereux was called to England at the last minute. His on-court nemesis and perennial finalist NARA President Bart Sambrook sat this one out as well, as we were sandwiched between two NARA tournaments in Detroit and Boston. No worries, though, as a group of three UK boys (Charlie Griffiths, James Sheppard and Ollie Stone), all in their uniforms, appeared from the Malvern College, along with their coach and chaperone Roger Tolchard. Roger had seen our weekend “flier” posted on a gym bulletin board. They were supplemented by even more Brits, in the names of two other apprentices, Detroit’s Ollie Howick and Chicago’s Sam Mason. Also from England were Gold Racquet Court Tennis Champion Spike Willcocks along with his friend Rob Walker, who was seeded first. Several other Tuxedo and U.S players finished out the draw. The Malvern Three practiced at New York’s R & T all day Wednesday, having not slept one wink on their Tuesday night BA flight. They came up to Tuxedo on Thursday for yet another eight hours on court. One close match then followed another, with our gallery filled much of the time (marker Bobby Griffith commented that with our new cushions, heating, paint-job, lighting and clock that we had the world’s finest viewing area, having already had the best court). In the semi-finals, Walker beat Griffiths and Howick defeated Mason. The finals were all young Ollie’s, whose youth enabled him to run and jump to get every shot that Walker fired. He was awarded the Gold Racquet by Head Racquets Committee Member Greg Gross and promises to return to Tuxedo next year. In the Racquets Spittoon, there was disbelief as I found myself in the finals with partner Sam Mason. My secret? I stayed out of the way as much as possible and let Sam retrieve all of the shots. My serve worked a bit to our advantage as it was somewhat inconsistent. Greg VanSchaack and partner James Sheppard narrowly defeated us 17-14, 17-14 and were awarded their spittoons and the 1940's Mortimer Trophy in the Pro Shop, as per custom. The end of the season brought with it our 1902 Racquets Handicapped Singles Tournament, now in its second revived year. We had a large draw, with Charlie Neuhauser the expected champion. That was not to be, as after a close three game final versus Ian Steyer I was awarded the trophy by Greg, my first in racquets. Praise to the handicapping system. Our recent success in growing Tuxedo racquets is due to a group effort. There is nothing that I have requested in terms of court improvements or other expenses that has not been granted by Club President Brian Sichol and the Governing Committee. Head Professional Tom Greevy and Assistant Professional Ken Jacobs work endless hours to promote THE GAME. Carlos Maldonado, our Tennis House Maintenance Head, mops the court three times a week, keeping it one of the cleanest in the world. Greg Gross is ever present and will do anything in terms of developing racquets. Tom Floyd, as stated above, made a huge difference. Finally, Tuxedo Club members have been there all along, supporting the improvements, staffing and trophy expenditures without dissent and frequently filling up the galleries, no matter what the ability of the players. We are already planning for the 2006-2007 racquets season, and are hoping to host a dinner in honor of the NARA’s Fiftieth on the Thursday of the 105th Gold Racquets (February 15th , be there). We are also honored to have been selected to hold the Murray Sales during the same weekend. We the members of The Tuxedo Club wish to emphasize that all racquets players continue to be welcome on our court at any time–our club is at your disposal. PLAY!
Well, it’s over. The Tuxedo Club’s Annual Gold Racquets weekend is history. Although the draw was small and maybe not as strong as years gone by, it certainly was an exciting one as 4 or 5 players had a shot at the coveted Cartier Gold Racquet. Perennial winner, Guy Devereux, was called away to England on business and Montreal’s Bart Sambrook, was absent as well.
This
allowed several players the chance to win. There were three young Brits here on
their
The
social part of the weekend was typical Tuxedo Park. On Friday night a
Of
course, as always, there was breakfast and lunch served at the Tennis House
each day. It was a great weekend, as usual, and big thanks go to Eileen,
Margaret, Jackie, Andy and the rest
of the staff and committee members for a fine weekend
Kudos go to Tom Greevy, Kenny Jacobs, Jimmy Burke and Bob Griffiths for their tireless efforts marking the matches in both rackets and tennis.
See you next year!!!!
2004-2005 Season Tuxedo Club NARA Racquets Report We have enjoyed a record season in Tuxedo for the game of racquets, in terms of hours of play, new participants and numbers of tournaments. It is always an uphill battle to get fresh blood on court, with understandable warnings from both professional staff and observers alike in reference to the dangers of the game, but with gimmicks, pressure and bribes it is entirely possible to introduce this wonderful sport to our membership.
Walter L. Deane |
Starting with the Grand Masters Court Tennis Doubles and finishing with the
Cuspidor Tennis Doubles, the weekend flew by and had all the guests and players
busy, busy, busy. Intermixed with the play were two fantastic social events. The
first was Friday night when the Golf House was transformed into “A Night in New
Orleans” complete with baubles and bangles. There were no ‘strutters’ or
bluesmen around, but the food, prepared by the excellent staff, and the
atmosphere were surely Louisiana. A few of the people actually did make it to
see some blues at a local pub in Tuxedo, not far from the Park.
(having his third child), was back to try for
his 9th title. There was competition thanks to the Racquet Fellows’ program.
This year for the first time since the Detroit Racquet Club started this
fantastic program for young rackets’ players in between university (next year)
and their secondary schooling (last year), their ‘gap’ year, every North
American club was represented. Andrew Stout, Nick James and James Rock, all from
Cheltenham, were representing the Boston, Chicago and Montreal clubs
respectively. Will Morse (Winchester) is the “Fellow’ at the Detroit Racquet
Club. Ed Hill (Tonbridge) is in Philadelphia to keep the players active there.
Finally James Rowland-Clark (Eton) will divide his time between Tuxedo and the
New York club on Park Avenue.
The first match Saturday morning had Guy Devereux facing “The Prince of NARA”,
Denis Walsh. Play continued throughout the day with the singles’ draw getting
down to the semis. The Spitoon Doubles (the fun draw) also began late Saturday
afternoon. The final match on Saturday was played at 8:00. 
The stage was now set for the semi-finals of both draws. Nick James played very
well and was able to get by his former classmate and school boy doubles partner,
James Rock. The match was exciting and in the end it was James winning 15/4 and
15/9. Devereux had to come from behind to win the first game against young
Rowland-Clark but then it was again his strength and serving that easily allowed
him to advance to the final. In the Spitoon draw, Wintersteen and Howard needed
three games to advance. Hill and Walsh won the first, 17/14 but the magic ran
out as they lost the next two, 15/8 and 15/9. Howard, in perhaps only his 3rd
year of rackets played extremely well and was the difference in this match.
‘gap’ year, three young lads that were part of a school tour, a court
tennis star and his pal as well as some familiar names vying for the top prize.
This year Detroit, Tuxedo and Chicago all sent their Racquets Fellows to Tuxedo
for the great weekend. Ollie Howick (DRC), Sam Mason (RCC) and Tom Floyd (TUX)
were in the draw as well as three Malvernians, Charlie Griffiths, James Sheppard
and Ollie Sloane, who were in Tuxedo with their coach, Roger Tolchard. Add
Tennis Gold Racquet winner, Spike Wilcocks, Rob Walker (away from the court for
5 years) and we had a very interesting lineup. Peter DeSvastich, Greg Van
Schaack and Kevin McGuire, (all veteran North American club players) rounded out
the field. One of the biggest upsets was Wilcocks taking out Van Schaack in two
straight games. Spike was able to figure out the walls and bounces and managed
to notch his first (not last) rackets’ win.
Rob
Walker, seeded one, advanced to the final by disposing of young Ollie Sloan from
Malvern, in the quarter finals (2-0) and then knocking off another Malvernian,
Charlie Griffith, in the semis (2-0). Howick, an Old Tonbridgian, defeated james
Sheppard (Malvern) in the quarters (2-0) and then barely defeated young Sam
Mason in the semi final (2-1). In the final, both players were hitting the ball
well much to the delight of the full gallery.
Howick squeaked out the game one
victory 16-15. The ball was rocketing up and down the court and caroming off the
walls at fantastic speeds. the crowd was very into the game and it was much
different than in the past few years when the outcome was almost decided before
the match. Game two was Walker’s all the way. he was in control and played very
steady rackets’ keeping his young opponent on his heels throughout the game. The
Oxford grad came out on top 15-8. But, as game two was Walker’s, game three was Howick’s. he played very well using his youth to great advantage. He cracked a
few rockets during the game that broughts some oohs and ahhs from the crowd. The
score was 15-8 in the 3rd game. Midway through the 4th
game, Walker looked tired and finally could not return many of young Howick’s
shots. The youngster used a variety of shots and placed them well. The final
score was 15-6 and the Gold Racquet was Howick’s. Well done, gentlemen, a fine
match enjoyed by all. 
The
Doubles’ draw had one of the 6 young Brits teamed with club players from Tuxedo,
Boston and Philadelphia with one exception. Spike Wilcocks played in his first
Spitoon and was teamed with young Griffiths from malvern College. Greg Van
Schaack and his partner, James Sheepard, advanced to the final by defeating
Howick and RCOP player, Brian Owens in one semi. Sam Mason and partner, Tuxedo
Park Winter Sports Chairman, Walter Deane, made it to the finals, beating Greg
Gross of Tuxedo and Sloan from Malvern in the second semi final. The fianl was
as exciting as a doubles match could be with both games ending up 17-14. The
winners were Van Schaack and Sheppard. Congratulations to them on their victory.
Congratulations to all the players who made the event as fun as it was. 
family Christmases when the kids had their own table beside the
grown-ups!! Well, the kids had their own table at the dance on Saturday night.
The dance floor seldom was empty as the band kept supplying the right stuff for
the happy dancers.
Our Winter Sports Fixtures, which are mailed to everyone at The Tuxedo Club only
when the NARA schedule is complete, insures that no Tuxedo racquets events
compete with any other similar happenings in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit,
Montreal or Philadelphia. The court was improved in the fall with yet more new
lighting and a fresh coat of paint in the gallery. A new racquets hallway was
dedicated by the spectator’s entrance, with photographs and mementos of racquets
exclusively displayed–court tennis, lawn tennis, platform tennis and squash
nick-knacks were banned from the area. Several racquets prints were also put in
the stairs down to the court and by the player’s door, insuring that competitors
would not be distracted by lesser sports on the way to victory. Our circa 1960's
clock was replaced by an exact replica of the original 1902 timepiece which
appears in a picture of the New Year’s opening day, with a round face with Roman
numerals surrounded by a square frame. Eight “loaner” bats were ordered for a
First of September delivery, which promptly were broken, lost, stolen and used
for purposes other than intended. Grays will shortly be sending replacements.
Our
103rd Gold Racquets went quite well, thanks largely to the support of NARA
President Bart Sambrook, who brought along a very large contingent from north of
the border. In addition to our Gold Racquet (AAA players) and Spitoon (Club
level) we were pleased to host The Kendrick Cup (three years or less in THE
GAME). This meant that the court was as busy as it has ever been. In the
flagship event, Devereux won the right to keep his gold racquet for the eighth
year in a row, in a very exciting final match against Sambrook. In the Spitoon a
total of twelve teams competed, with Nick Taylor and Jeremy Kronk, also of
Montreal, defeating veterans deSvastich and Eddie Ulmann. The tournament was
folded into a new concept known as The North American Doubles, which helped with
the terrific turnout. Taylor and Kronk were astounded as to the amount of prizes
received, with both asking “do we get to keep all of this?” Yes, except for what
is nailed down. Another twelve men were entered in the Kendrick, which is an
excellent draw, with Sean Faguy defeating Nick Kaulbach in an all-Canada final.
Several new Tuxedo players were especially well represented in this Cup.
With the renewed interest in racquets this season we decided to hold a
first-ever Tuxedo racquets handicapped tournament–but discovered that this was
in fact a club tradition dating back to 1902. Three separate trophies were
manufactured for a handicapped tournament and a second class handicapped
tournament by Tiffany and Gorham. One has as its only engraved winner Pierre
Lorillard with the other having been awarded to our homegrown doubles champion
Stanley Mortimer. The third cup, engraved in 1904, had no winner indicated, but
will now have Claudio Guazzoni listed first. A plaque has also been ordered for
our “hall of honor” to insure that this tournament stays a regular part of our
fixtures.