Teams
The El Cerrito Tennis Club sponsors approximately ten United States Tennis Association (USTA) women's, men's, and mixed doubles teams and five Bay Area Ladies League (BALL) teams. Captains' names and phone numbers are in the club roster mailed to all members, or you can email Margo Takemiya, who will put you in touch with the right person.
The USTA website has up-to-date results and standings for the Arlington Park teams.
All teams are encouraged to submit their highlights for publication here on the club's website.
Team News, December 2010
Men's 3.5 2010 Season
After a rocky start the season wins began to pick up. By the middle of the season we were in the hunt for the playoffs. We did well in singles matches this year. In doubles several matches were real roller coaster rides. We made the playoffs and came close to winning the first round. We ended the season 8-2 in third place.
Thanks to the players and all the folks who came out to cheer.
Senior Men’s 3.5 2011 Season
Report from the wetlands, aka Arlington rehab center.
It was a dark and stormy night before our fourth match...and our fifth match...and our sixth match...AND our eighth match...4 rainouts so far!
We have a roster of 15 players. Five are injured or unable to play for other reasons. My job as captain is simple: get to six. Six ambulatory guys; if they can play tennis, too, so much the better. Right now we’ve got guys: who can hold a racket but can’t stand on two feet; who can stand on two feet and hold a racket, but can’t run; who can stand on two feet and hold a racket and can run, but can’t see; who can stand on two feet and hold a racket and can run and can see, but just don’t seem to be available. And I don’t like playing in cold weather.
I neglected to mention our record so far: 0-4. But there’s a long way to go yet; just not a lot of time to do it in, and it seems to get late early out there. Nevertheless, we’re still aiming for the playoffs!
We also have a co-captain new to the ranks of captainship (or whatever you call it): John Smiriga. And we are also being assisted in our captaining (or whatever you call it) duties by Jeff Price and Keith Umezawa. With this new pack of players soon-to-be-ready for captaindom (or whatever you call it), we have assured the continuation of Arlington men’s teams well into the future—or at least for our next match. This, I must say, has been the most successful part of our season, and I am thankful that these gentlemen have stepped up (although one often can’t step up due to his knees, another can't see where he's stepping due to eye surgery— and so it goes).
Super Senior Men's 3.5
2010 was my first year as Captain and we faced some very tough competition, compiling a record of 2-8. About three fourths of our team members were moved up by the USTA from 3.0 to 3.5 and in many cases, we were simply over matched by our competition who have large tennis clubs and a large pool of players to draw from.
There were six teams in our league and we played each team twice, once at home and once on the road. Moraga was the best team at 9-1 followed by Walnut Creek Rec at 8-2. Harbor Bay was third at 6-4 (they beat us badly) followed by Clubsport of Walnut Creek, who finished 5-5. We were fifth at 2-8, and Sleepy Hollow, whom we beat twice, was last at 0-10. Despite the record, I was really proud of our players, who battled and gave it their best. We lost three very close games that could have won the match for us but just couldn't close them out.
I missed the last half of the season due to the death of my mother-in-law followed by a preplanned trip to Israel. Co-captain Bill Weiner, who missed the first half, took over during my absence to finish out the schedule. Bill, Steve Davenport, Simon Barros, and I each won two matches.
Women’s Seniors 3.5 2009 – 2010 Season
League Standing #2 Won 11 – Lost 3
Local Playoff 101 vs Berkeley: Won 2-1
Local Playoff 102 vs Lakeridge ELS: Lost 0-3
Team Roster: Mary Blume, Susan Brand, Lillian Carothers. Terry Cort, Ann Derosa, Ellen Hashiguchi, Hiroko Higuchi, Marty Jewett, Lori Magistrado, Marge Meuris, Charlotte Moon, Karen Morioka, Dawn Nakashima, Bonnie Ng, Cathy Roberts, Sandy Shew, Lori Staley, Lynn Tsumoto, Rebecca Woolis
Women’s 3.5 2010 Season
League Standing #2 Won 9 – Lost 2
Local Playoffs 101 vs Mervyn Morris Won 4-1
Local Playoffs 102 vs Berkeley Won 3-2
Local Playoffs 103 vs Claremont CC Won 3-2
District Playoffs: August 13 – 1,5 2010, at Broadstone, Folsom, California:
08/13 Friday vs West Central Pk Won 3-2
08/14 Saturday vs Napa Valley TC Lost 1-4
08/15 Sunday vs Lakeridge TC Lost 1-4
Team roster: Helen Bae, Geeta Bhatt, Mary Blume, Susan Brand, Lillian Carothers, Terry Cort, Kora Cypress, Ann Derosa, Lynn Fogelman, Ellen Hashiguchi, Ellen Heck, Hiroko Higuchi, Corina Hill, Liz Holland, Marty Jewett, Lori Magistrado, Marge Meuris, Charlotte Moon, Karen Morioka, Dawn Nakashima, Bonnie Ng, Sandy Shew, Lynn Tsumoto, Rebecca Woolis
Women's 6.5 Combo
Standing #12 Won 1 – Lost 11
4.0 players: Linda Beacon, Tanya Edgar, Cathy Roberts, Lori Staley, Liz Zapalac
3.5 players: Lillian Carothers. Terry Cort, Ann Derosa, Bonnie Ng, Charlotte Moon, Ellen Hashiguchi, Corina Hill, Liz Holland, Hiroko Higuchi, Marty Jewett, Lori Magistrado, Marge Meuris, Karen Morioka, Dawn Nakashima, Sandy Shew, Lynn Tsumoto, Rebecca Woolis
The BALL B-3 Team
We are almost half-way through our season, and are about in the middle of the pack in our division. We are a team with lots of enthusiasm, good humor, always working on improving our skills, and we have a strong desire to WIN! We have a deep roster this year.
Current players are Alisa Genovese, Amy Roth, Anne Hellman, April Tanalski, Barb Guletz, Barbara Kast, Carol Chihara, Cathy Kenyon, Debra Aurora, Jan Hall, Judi Tannahill, Kathy Helliesen, Lorian Jones, Merle Fajans, Merle Weiner, Norma Shah, Rhoda Shaponik, Susan Murphy and Pat Winter. We are looking forward to the rest of the season, and are hoping to bring home some more wins!
The Club Goes Green
El Cerrito Tennis Club supports our tennis teams in "going green."
We're asking our team captains to reduce the use of bottled water during home matches. ECTC has purchased a big Coleman container for this purpose and is encouraging the team captains to request the visiting teams to bring their own water containers to fill as needed.
ECTC also wants to bring to everyone's attention a tennis ball recycling program called Rebounces. Please visit their website at www.rebounces.com or call them at 888-630-5696 and learn more on how to avoid having old tennis balls end up in our landfills.
Of course there are many other ways to reuse those yellow fuzzy balls we like to chase. Here are a few ideas.
- Donate to schools to use under legs of chairs and tables to decrease the noise.
- Donate to senior centers or an assisted living facility to be used under legs of walkers.
- Check in at health clinics (physical therapy, chiropractic, massage); balls can be used for massages of feet and backs.
- To fluff up laundry, throw a couple of balls in the dryer.
- Cut in half and use to open stubborn jars.
- Stick at the end of a bicycle stand to prevent it from sinking in the mud or grass.
- Cut a slit and hide jewelry or valuables when going to the gym.
- Stick on your car antenna so you can find your car back easily in those big parking lots.
- Stick one on the end of a pole and use to remove cobwebs from the ceiling.
- Make a curved sander by wrapping a ball in sandpaper.
And there are probably many other creative ideas.
Your comments and ideas are always appreciated.
GO TEAMS! GO GREEN!