To Fellow Hills Team Tennis Enthusiasts:
First, congratulations to Team 3, led by their captain Jim Calcutta, for winning the 2007 Hills
Team Tennis 2007 playoffs. The finals culminated an exciting season with their win over Louise
Vivona-Miller's strong Team 6. The finals turned into a wonderful local event. Unfortunately, I
didn't get to see much of the finals but I did witness an amazing exhibition by Jeffrey Jaye who,
on one occasion, ran back and forth along the baseline many times to ultimately prevail in
winning the point, to the delight of the cheering fans.
The playoffs were highlighted by the major upset of captain Lisa Carroccia's Team 10 coming
through to beat Anna Turchenich's Team 8. However, congratulations to Anna and her
teammates for successfully winning the regular season with the league's best record (8 wins, 1
loss). Congratulations also to Louise's Team 6 for being runner-up in both the regular season as
well as the playoffs.
And, of course, there wouldn't be Team Tennis without the participants, so kudos to you all --
for signing up, showing up and playing great tennis! Your passion tempered with good
sportsmanship exemplifies what the sport we love is all about. We all benefit from
our friendships and on a personal note most of my friends in The Hills can be traced to Hills
Tennis.
As in any successful endeavor, there are many contributors. So, before talking about the future or
present, I'd first like to recognize Andrew Lloyd Williams who, for many years, single-handedly
organized and ran The Hills Team Tennis League. Andrew designed and implemented a website
and, along with Kathy Miller, worked endlessly to ensure the success of Team Tennis. Andrew
and Kathy collected dues, set up teams, rules and formats, and ran many super tennis parties.
Two years ago when I took the lead, Jacki Melchior volunteered her services to work with me.
Jacki worked tirelessly for many weeks in helping to get the league up and running again. She
researched and implemented our website (www.hillstennis.com), designed the sign-up sheet,
arranged and conducted meetings and did numerous other things necessary for the success of
Team Tennis -- not the least of which is managing the advertising on the website (which helps
defray some of the Web costs). Jacki continues, as we all know, to be an invaluable asset to our
league.
As members of the board, Jacki, Casey Thampoe, Daniel Ang, Ellen Heffes, James Stives,
Joanne Korte, Joy Rocklin, Ross Rocklin, Lisa Carroccia and Marty Cohen were instrumental in
getting the league up and running. I appreciate all of their guidance and support.
Tapped for their professional writing, publicity and marketing skills, Ellen and Joy were
instrumental in getting publicity and flyers out that inspired more than 40 new friends and
neighbors to join Team Tennis these past two years. Their efforts have effectively doubled the
size of our league!
Lisa and the rating committee spent many hours arranging and running rating sessions in order to
get the 30 plus new players placed on teams. Their efforts and expertise resulted in balanced and
competitive teams.
Thanks to Casey and Marty for reviewing and revising our rules. Daniel, Marty, Casey, David
Chan and Ellen also deserve our appreciation for their ongoing efforts in keeping the website a
viable and informative communication tool. Marty and Mike Rau each week checked our scores
and made sure the standings were updated in a timely manner. Joanne, Fran Weiss, Judy Green
and Patty Anderson collected dues, distributed shirts and ran our brunch. Thanks also to Peg
Kavanaugh and James, who every week selected subs in the most equitable manner possible.
Their efforts resulted in the streamlined and equitable distribution of available subs.
Finally I want to acknowledge our captains -- who led us with their spirit and encouragement.
Thanks to Deb Wilson, Tony Cavalieri, Jim Calcutta, Hope Sferra, Scott Keele, Louise Vivona-
Miller, Doug Hill, Anna Turchenich, Hugh Thomas and Lisa Carroccia. Your leadership, spirit and
encouragement helped achieve another terrific season of tennis at The Hills.
Looking forward, I hope we all get to play in the upcoming fall league for which Tommy Horanoff
and Scott Keele have been hard at work organizing a new and exciting format. Watch your email
and the website for news on this soon.
Also don't forget ladder matches, which have become very popular. The ladder format
Casey instituted has quickly become very popular. It makes it easy and fun to test our singles
skills.
Hope to see you all back in the fall league and next spring! As always, we appreciate your
feedback. Visit the website (www.hillstennis.com) for the latest information year-round.
Best regards,
Stu