A bit of breakfast at Warm Springs
Tennis
Over 300 entries in Fourth tournament
Dodging raindrops, tennis players enjoyed
last weekend’s 18th annual Warm Springs Open tennis tournament and came out in
large numbers—nearly cracking 300 entries for the four-day tournament.
Ryan Drew (left, background) and partner Mark Scribner en route to a 6-3,
6-1 Open men’s doubles semi-final decision over George Maurtua and Johan
Gedlitschka Sunday at Warm Springs Tennis Club. Express photo by Willy Cook
Tournament director Mark Scribner called
it the biggest local tourney in two decades.
Thankfully for organizers, Saturday’s rain
didn’t raise havoc with the brackets because they were using courts at Warm
Springs, Sun Valley Tennis and Atkinson Park—and because weather cleared for
Sunday and Monday.
Big winners were a pair of out-of-town
players, John Hieb of Twin Falls and Deidre Gedlitschka of Boise.
Hieb carried away the 5.0 and 4.5 men’s
singles titles, and teamed up with Eric MacMillan of Twin Falls for the 4.5
men’s doubles championship.
Gedlitschka, mother of a four-year-old and
an infant, made it a clean sweep by winning the Open women’s singles title in
straight-set fashion, then adding the 4.5/5.0 women’s doubles and Open mixed
doubles championships.
Former Boise State University player
Gedlitschka partnered with Vicky Johnston of Hailey for the women’s doubles
honor. It was the first time they had played together since they were teammates
at BSU, where Johnston played college tennis from 1988-92.
George Maurtua (foreground) and Johan Gedlitschka in Open’s men’s doubles
action. Express photo by Willy Cook
And, in Open mixed doubles, Gedlitschka
and her husband, Meridian tennis pro Johan Gedlitschka, combined for a 7-5, 6-2
victory over Mark Scribner and former Gonzaga University tennis player Katie
Sanders.
On a weekend when a 17-year-old Russian
girl and a 22-year-old Swiss man won the Wimbledon women’s and men’s singles
titles, a lanky Tanzanian from east Africa survived a couple of big tiebreakers
and captured the Open Men’s singles crown.
Ronald Rugimbana, 27, a Boise State
University tennis player from 1998-2000, downed Meridian tennis pro Johan
Gedlitschka 7-6 (3), 6-2 in Monday’s final—after Rugimbana turned back former
Stanford player Robert Devens 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-2 in an exciting semi-final match
Sunday.
A professional for two years, Rugimbana is
hopeful of improving his world rank in singles and doubles.
Successfully defending their Warm Springs
holiday titles were Jodi Peterson of Boise in women’s 4.0 singles, Morgan
Shephard and Pete Peterson of Boise in Men’s Open doubles, Phil Ellis of Jerome
and Dean Rutherford of Hailey in men’s 4.0 doubles, and Jack Alkire and Karen
Heerensperger of Seattle in mixed 4.0 doubles.
Next up at Warm Springs Tennis Club, with
a similar non-sanctioned format, is the 2004 Labor Day tournament Sept. 3-6. All
entries must be received by Monday, Aug. 30.
The four-day holiday tournament is
sponsored by Chandlers and Baci restaurants, Atkinsons’ and Warm Springs Tennis
Club.
Here are top results from last
weekend’s holiday tournament:
Singles
Men’s Open final—Top-seeded
Ronald Rugimbana of Boise 7-6 (3), 6-2 over #2-seeded Johan Gedlitschka of
Boise.
Semi-finals: Rugimbana was a 5-7,
7-6 (6), 6-2 winner over former Stanford University tennis player Robert Devens—in
a match that could have gone either way; and Gedlitschka prevailed 6-4, 6-3 over
David Perry.
Earlier in the draw, Perry knocked off
#4-seeded Pete Peterson 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 and Devens upset #3 Morgan Shephard, last
year’s Men’s Open singles runner-up, by scores of 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round
(14 players).
Men’s 5.0 final—John
Hieb of Twin Falls dethroned last year’s men’s 5.0 singles winner and #2-seeded
Robert Sterk of Boise 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Semi-finals: Hieb advanced 6-2, 7-5
over #1-seeded George Maurtua and Sterk emerged as a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Tyler
Martin (5 players).
Men’s 4.5 final—John
Hieb of Twin Falls won yet another class, 6-3, 6-3 over Eric MacMillan of Twin
Falls.
Semi-finals: Hieb defeated Eric
Thornfeldt 6-1, 6-2, and last year’s Men’s 4.0 singles winner MacMillan got past
Tom Iselin of Ketchum 6-3, 6-4 (17 players).
Men’s 4.0 final—Top-seeded
Phil Ellis of Jerome breezed 6-3, 6-4 over #4-seeded John Perry of Boise.
Semi-finals: Both finalists made
short work of their semi-final opponents—Ellis ousting Brent Bungard 6-3, 7-6
(3) and Perry volleying past #2-seeded David Taylor 6-3, 6-4 (16 players).
Men’s 3.5 final—Unseeded
John Rumasuglia of Los Gatos, Ca. knocked off #1-seeded Ira Shepard of Sun
Valley 6-0, 6-2.
Semi-finals: Rumasuglia was a 6-2,
6-0 winner over Lee Gurney and Shepard advanced in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 over
Karl Fostvedt (11 players).
Women’s Open final—Top-seeded
Deidre Gedlitschka of Boise won three matches in straight sets including her
6-1, 6-0 championship match triumph over Katie Sanders of Ketchum, a former Wood
River High School singles star.
Semi-finals: Gedlitschka beat
Brittney Moore 6-1, 6-2 and Sanders rallied past Ana Cornea by scores of 4-6,
6-3, 6-1 (10 players).
Women’s 4.0 final—Jodi
Peterson of Boise won her third consecutive Independence Day title 6-4, 6-2 over
Hadley DeBree of Hailey.
Semi-finals: Peterson downed Martha
Van Winkle 7-6 (7), 6-4 and DeBree breezed past Lily Fink-Debray 6-2, 6-2 (7
players).
Women’s 3.5 final—Kris
Miller of Ketchum won three matches in straight sets including her 6-2, 6-0
championship cruise over Kira Gardner of Ketchum (12 players).
Semi-finals: Miller won 6-3, 6-2
over Irene Asher and Gardner defeated Karen Strahler 6-3, 5-7 (def).
Women’s 3.0 final—Rhonda
Jaffe of Idaho Falls defeated Sheryl Nelson of Boise 6-1, 6-3 (5 players).
Doubles
Men’s Open final—Morgan
Shephard and Pete Peterson of Boise successfully defended their title 6-1, 7-5
over Mark Scribner and Ryan Drew of Hailey. Drew plays tennis for the University
of Redlands.
Semi-finals: Shephard and Peterson
outlasted David Perry and Tyler Neill 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3 while Scribner and Drew
won their second consecutive match in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 over George Maurtua
and Johan Gedlitschka (7 teams).
Men’s 4.5 final—Eric
MacMillan and John Hieb of Twin Falls needed only two sets to oust Nick Jordan
and Michael Frisbee of Boise 6-2, 7-6 (6).
Semi-finals: Jordan and Frisbee
rallied past Mark Pynn and Josh Charlat of Ketchum 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 (8 teams).
Men’s 4.0 final—Phil
Ellis of Jerome made it three straight Men’s 4.0 doubles championships, teaming
with Dean Rutherford of Hailey for the second year and taking a 6-4, 6-2 victory
over Vince Falco of Ketchum and T.J. Merzlock of Pocatello.
Semi-finals: Ellis and Rutherford
won 6-3, 6-2 over L.R. Williams and Greg Hines, while Falco and Merzlock had a
tougher time but prevailed 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 over the veteran team of King Lambert
and Ed Kauder (9 teams).
Men’s 3.5 final—Lloyd
Gurney of Hailey and Harmon Prine of Lima, Mont. persevered and grabbed the
holiday title 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3 over Ira Shepard of Sun Valley and Dick Geier of
Boise.
Semi-finals: Gurney and Prine 6-3,
6-1 over Zach Broyles and Lee Gurney; Shepard and Geier 6-0, 6-3 over Craig
Watson and Karl Fostvedt (8 teams).
Women’s 4.5/5.0 final—Deidre
Gedlitschka of Boise and Vicky Johnston of Hailey were 6-3, 6-2 winners over
Hadley DeBree of Hailey and Brittney Moore of Boise.
Semi-finals: Gedlitschka and
Johnston 6-0, 6-0 over Anna Erdheim and Michelle Sabina; DeBree and Moore 2-6,
7-6, 7-5 over Sandy Martin and Erin Hart (8 teams).
Women’s 4.0 final—Karen
Heerensperger of Seattle and Jodi Peterson of Boise captured the championship
6-1, 6-4 over Pam Dennis and Joanne Frohman of Boise.
Semi-finals: Heerensperger and
Peterson advanced past Chiyo Parten and Juli Webb 6-4, 7-6 (1), while Dennis and
Frohman emerged as winners 6-1, 6-3 over Dee Rickling and Shari Wiseman (11
teams).
Women’s 3.5 final—Sonya
Wilander and Kris Miller of Ketchum teamed up for a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 triumph over
Dee Rickling of Hailey and Shari Wiseman of Walnut Creek, Ca.
Semi-finals: Wilander and Miller
needed three sets to sideline Gretchen Palmer and Cyndi DuFur 6-1, 0-6, 6-3,
while Rickling and Wiseman were 6-4, 6-2 winners over Vanessa Olmstead and
Michelle Harris (9 teams).
Mixed Open doubles final—Johan
Gedlitschka and Deidre Gedlitschka of Boise posted a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Mark
Scribner of Hailey and Katie Sanders of Ketchum.
Semi-finals: The Gedlitschkas
defeated Tyler Neill and Ana Cornea 6-2, 6-0, while Scribner and Sanders
volleyed past George Maurtua and Erin Hart (7 teams).
Mixed 4.5/5.0 final—Andy
Hunt and Carla Jones of Boise rallied strongly for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 victory over
Nick Jordan of San Francisco and Bea Jordan of Boise.
Semi-finals: Hunt and Jones were
6-4, 7-5 winners over Patrick Brennan and Ashley Lakey; the Jordans advanced
6-4, 3-6, 6-3 over Tyler Martin and Mandy Alexander (4 teams).
Mixed 4.0 final—Two-time
defending champions Jack Alkire and Karen Heerensperger of Seattle kept the 4.0
mixed crown 6-3, 6-2 over Todd Czaplicki and Amanda Howar of Twin Falls.
Semi-finals:: Alkire and
Heerensperger won 6-2, 6-1 over Rex Chandler and Chiyo Parten; while Czaplicki
and Howar ousted Bob Dougin and Hadley DeBree (12 teams).
Mixed 3.5 final—Jamie
Lee and Kim Lee of Twin Falls cruised 6-0, 6-2 over Lloyd and Nancy Gurney of
Hailey.
Semi-finals: the Lees beat Ron
Smith and Pamela Sue Martin 6-4, 6-2; while the Gurneys won three matches in
straight sets including their 7-6, 6-3 semi victory over Bing Gordon and Allegra
Gordon (14 teams).