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Alex Thomas sets up for a serve on a hot and humid day of tennis play as part of the Comm Classic Tennis Tournament.
Photos/Joan Mead- Matsui
Will Cognetti, shown preparing to hit an overhead shot, is one of 13 who participated in the Comm Classic Tournament held at The Waverly Community House.
Ken Doolittle is shown at the baseline preparing to hit a forehand during Comm Classic Tennis Tournament play at the Waverly Community House.
Journal Photo/ Joan Mead Matsui
WAVERLY – In keeping with a tradition at The Waverly Community House, the 2010 summer tennis season was an ace as the Comm played host to youth tournaments. The Comm Classic Tennis Tournament was held August 9 and 10 and offered 13 boys and 14 girls from local schools ranging in age from 13 to 17-years-old an opportunity to play two days of competitive tennis. Winners and runner-ups were awarded trophies.
According to Maria Wilson, Waverly Comm executive director, “The event met and exceeded everyone’s expectations, including members of the Comm’s tennis committee, Frank Bolock, Jim Vipond and Anders Nelson,” said Wilson.
She added, “It ran smoothly and was lots of fun and the weather cooperated as well. I watched the boys and girls’ finals matches as well as some of the earlier matches and was very impressed by the level of play, the camaraderie among the players and the sportsmanlike conduct on the court. There is a spirit of competition among the players that is very healthy and inspiring. We have some terrific tennis players in this area.”
The tennis court resurfacing project two years ago sparked an interest in resuming tournament play and also caught the eye of a local high school player, Josh Palmer, who took on the tournament as his senior school project.
With the ball in their court this year, Chris Swisher and Courtney Ostrowski also chose to organize and run the 2010 Comm Classic as their senior projects. Swisher and Ostrowski said theyshare a love for tennis and have played on the Abington Heights Tennis Team throughout high school.
Their responsibilities included recruiting players from schools, setting up matches and being sure the two days of tournament play ran smoothly with help from Comm Tennis Program Director, Jeff DeSanto and Wilson.
Participating in this year’s tournament were Ken Doolittle; Steven Shields; Luke Kazmierski; Steve Sack; Mihir Muloth; Eric Onofrey; Tim Fetcher; Will Cognetti; Nate Engh; Ash Sethi; Colin Sarafinko; Robby Azzarelli, and Alex Thomas. The girls’ team included Emily Pocius; Alexandra Rickwood; Caroline Check; Grace Reilly; Brittany Kazmierski; Cierra Beck; Rachel Kennedy; Cara Perrotti; Abriana Nolan; Sheena Syal; Mary Chuff; Annie Tressler; Allie Pussateri, and Elizabeth Hyers.
Abrianna Nolan of Honesdale High School was girls champion and Alli Pusateri of Abington Heights High School was a finalist in a set tiebreaker. The Boys’ Champion was Nathan Engh, Abington Heights High School and Steven Sack of Scranton High School was a finalist.
According to Swisher and Ostrowski, the match consisted of the best of three sets with a 10-point super tiebreaker in the third set. They matched players so there would be “good matches with seeds on opposite sides of the brackets.” The finals consisted of a full third set and the consolation matches were an 8-game pro set.
Wilson said, “We would like to thank Superior Trophy, the Swisher, Ostrowski and Shields families and Birchwood Tennis for offering the use of that facility as a backup.”