Morgan Hill Tennis Club

Hello Members and Friends!

I hope you enjoyed the BNP Paribas/Indian Wells tournament, several officers and members were seen in their coolest tennis swag enjoying the weather (mostly) and hopefully no one got stung by a bee!

Our first tournament is in April, the specifics will be sent out in a couple of weeks.

The board would like to thank Abigail Reyes-Pena for her fantastic work as the membership officer!  Sometimes it can be a thankless job but she handled it with grace and aplomb.  Julie Watanabe will be filling those cute little shoes...........welcome Julie!  Remember; all players who play USTA must ALSO be a member of the club.

WANTED!  All men 55 years old or older are welcome to join our inaugural 55+ team!  Please sign up, we're short on players!  Any guys from 3.5 - 4.5 rating are encouraged to join, call me if questions 408-529-2908.

The new windscreens and LED lights are coming......you'd think we'd be the most important item on their agenda!  But, alas, we must be patient......thank you for YOUR patience!

On behalf of the board, happy hitting!    Tony

Ciao members!

A little Italian in honor of Jannik Sinner (oddest Italian name ever!) winning the Australian: "It's raining gatti e cani!"  This rain has been crazy, thanks to Pauli Nguyen for the re-scheduling work.  Gotta love his attitude; "half of the league play has been rained out so at least I'm unbeaten".

Thanks to everone who attended the club banquet!  It was a huge success thanks to the officers who organized it and the members/guests that made it a blast, especially our own dancing star, Nathan "sweet and sweaty" Tran!  This years banquet will be hosted by councilwoman and GTC president Carol Marques, in November in Gilroy.

The 2024 calendar will be announced soon, including several tournaments and Friday Night Mixers.  The tourneys will continue to be held on Sundays, with a tasty lunch afterwards and great new swag for the winners.

The city has increased the court reservation fees a little but your dues will not increase, still only $60 a year and $20 for additional family members.  Everyone who plays on a league team for the MHTC must be a member of the MHTC according to USTA insurance policies.  Don't make me break some legs!  (sorry, got carried away with the Italian theme).  

The club monies will be spent this year on a couple of projects;  new squeegees, shade structures and about half of the courts will get new windscreens.  I'm working on getting a new surface or at least resurfacing on courts 3 - 6, the city said they would do it this summer and will determine the timeframe.  The park is in councilman Gino Borgioli's district so give him a little "parlante" when you see him.

On behalf of the officers Pravin, Rachel, Edward, Pauli, Kenny, Virginia, Abigail and Ben (who is moving on to greener pastures)......thanks and happy hitting!

Anthony Bontempi

Calling all Gilroy and Morgan Hill tennis members and guests!  Join us for our combined end of year celebration, hosted by MHTC this year.  

Date:  Saturday, December 9th

Time:  6:00pm - 11:00pm

Cost:  $50 per person

Member Signup:  Non-Member Signup:

Address:  Community & Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Rd, Morgan Hill

Activities Includes: Open Bar

Bring cash for fun raffle prizes and for the Grand Prize at the end of the night!

Dinner: Tri-Tip, Chicken Marsala, Tortellini Pomodoro (no meat), Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Bread and Butter

Coffee and Dessert

Back by popular demand!  Come dressed in your favorite Halloween costume.  Sign up quickly to secure your spot.  

2023 Halloween Spooktacular Tournament

Tournament Date:  Sunday, Oct 29

Location: Morgan Hill courts

Match Type:  Doubles/Mixed.  Partners will be randomly picked.  No need to sign up with a partner.

Time: 8:00am checkin

Online signup, go to club website. www.mhtennis.com
Costume not required but highly recommended
There will be a costume contest for those that dare to
dress the part! Don’t worry if you don’t want to play,
you can still come to hang out and socialize.
Prizes to be awarded to tournament and costume
winners!

Chili Cook Off

"

It's time again for our fun Chili Cook Off.  See flyer for more details.  Looking for chefs that would like to participate in the fun!

Gilroy Tennis Club Chili Cook-off Fundraiser

Join us for a fun evening under the stars dancing to Sound Decision live band and sampling chili!

When:  Saturday, October 07, 2023

Where: Sarah’s Vineyard

Address: 4005 Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy

Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Entry fee:  $35 for all participants.  Please pay online at gilroytennisclub.com or Venmo me @Rachel-Banse.

Free entry for chefs only

Includes: 2 glasses of wine, appetizers, dessert, music, and yummy chili from our chefs.

To be a chef, please contact Rachel Banse @ vicepres@gilroytennisclub.com or 408-680-9122. 

Open to the public, 21 years and older.  Invite your friends and family.

***No Pets or children please!

Hello members!

Enough with this "raining cats and dogs" business!  Or, since the Australian Open starts today, we'll say it's "raining ballarats and dingos".......those nutty Aussies......hope they're enjoying their sunny 80 degree days!

Please renew your membership for 2023 asap so you're set for league play and club tournaments.  Only $60 for the year and $25 for each additional family member.  The 2023 tourney dates will be announced soon.....we're trying to get the city to set a firm date for the resurfacing project.  Speaking of projects; we're going to install a new covered seating area between courts 4 & 5 as soon as the rain stops. 

Captains please be patient with our court scheduler, Paul Nguyen, when having to reschedule matches.  Also, remember, our courts are public so please be kind when coming out to play as they are frequently packed.

The club will again celebrate MHTC members who travel to the Indian Wells BNP tourney with our annual "Morgan Hill Monday" Drinks on us!  Hope to see you there!

Please welcome and say "ciao!" at the courts to our new board member Dana Padilla!  

On behalf of the board, Happy New Years and thank you for supporting the club! 

Anthony Bontempi

Congrats to Morgan Hill TC Men's 4.0 Daytime 18+ Team - 2022 NorCal Sectional Champions!  MVP Kevin Rausa went undefeated the entire season along with Co-Captain and Club President Tony Bontempi, Captained by Paul Nguyen.  The Club was awarded a plaque and all players recieved a trophy dish!

Hello members! 

I hope you're enjoying the summer!   One month until the US Open!  To those who are going, grab a T-shirt for our website dude, Edward Taylor, who's recovering from his "bionic knee" surgery.  As the "dog days" approach and the kids go back to school, here are a few club announcements:

*Court resurfacing is still going to happen but the city has a couple projects they'd like to accomplish first, so......hopefully soon!  With the ongoing drought, I'm hesitant to wash the courts but I'm planning on washing selected areas.  When I'm emptying the trashcans I notice liquid spills, so please don't put liquids in them.  Thanks!

*Good luck to the mens/womens teams up in Sac. for districts and sectionals next weekend.  For those going, please attend our MHTC Playoffs Party!  The next season of leagues are: A70+, M55+ and combo leagues.  Ask our club pro Kenneth if you need help finding a team.

*Our club founder Pravin is spearheading our next project; a concrete path/gate from court 1 to the shed and towards the new bathrooms.  Thanks Pravin!  Be sure to put your initials in the wet concrete!  We're also adding a shade structure between courts 4-5.

*The Mubadala Womens Pro tourney, formerly the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, starts tomorrow at San Jose State.  7 of the top 10 players are scheduled to play and next year the club is planning on a "MHTC Day" which will be very cool!

*The club membership dues are going to increase for 2023 to $60.....such a deal!  More info to follow regarding additional family, partial year etc.

The summer wind, came blowin in, from across the sea.  It lingered there to touch your hair and walk with me.  All summer long, we sang a song and then we strolled that golden sand.  Two sweethearts and the summer wind.    

On behalf of the board, thank you for supporting the club and have a great summer!

Tony

We had 36 players (plus a few subs!) participate in our Mixed Doubles Tournament on June 26! Congratulations to our prize winners:

6.0 Division

1st - Tomomi A. & Anton A.

2nd - Rose & Phil M.

3rd - Farah H. & Octavio F.

7.0 Division

1st - Alex & Ivy N.

2nd - Theresse & Paul N.

3rd (3 teams tied) - Leo & Irene S, Irel & Lenka Q., Sachin & Aida C.

Also, special thank you to our volunteers who helped with food and setup/tear-down.  We hope to see you at our next event!

Bonjour les members!  

I'm practicing my French in preparation for the red clay tourney, also known as Roland Garros.  Roland-garros as a pronoun means the French Open and the Stade Roland Garros is the tennis centre, constructed in Paris in the 1920s, named after a French fighter pilot.  Another tidbit of French info.; if you watch the movie Casablanca closely you can see Humphrey Bogart in a pair of Lacoste tennis shorts!

Our next tourney is June 26th., a mixed affair, so mark your calendars and find a fun partner.  

Congrats to the teams that made it to the post-season, captained by;  Luann Wiggenhorn, Virginia Depanah, So Ngo and both of Jewel "of the Nile" Knoflers teams. Also, to Paulie Nguyen and Kenneth Marques, whose mixed teams almost made it to nationals.  Happy anniversary to Kenneth's 7.0 mixed team, on their 'Gold Ball' win at nationals 20 years ago in Hawaii!  (he was called Kenny then!)

After my constant smoozing of city council members and the "quasi tangible, no market value, nonmonetary donation" to Chris Ghione, head of Parks/Rec., all 8 courts will be resurfaced in August!  Yea!  Except for our court scheduler Paulie.  Please be patient during this ~10 day project.  I've proposed changing the surface of courts 3-6....we'll see.

The MHTC will again have an entry in the 4th of July parade!  If we can just secure insurance, after last year's incident, for the float driver Rachel "lead foot" Banse!  Love ya V.P.!  There is limited space on the float but all members are encouraged to walk with us and, of course, wave.  More info. to follow regarding theme and attire.

There is a fundraiser for the Gilroy T.C., June 18th., at a private residence.  Help us support our sister club!  Sign ups for GTC members and non-members  on the GTC website. Check the GTC site for more info. or give me a call 408-529-2908.   

On behalf of our wonderful officers, enjoy this beautiful Cali weather and happy hitting!

Anthony Bontempi

Hello Members!

I hope you're enjoying this great tennis playing weather, unfortunately at the expense of needed rain. Seems like spring to me!

First a few high points to note:

•  Our first tournament of the year is April 10th., mens and womens dubs. More info. to follow, from our tourn. guys Ben and Paul!
•  There is a battery powered blower in the tennis shed for captains to prepare for matches.
•  On our website we have our CLUB BY-LAWS as well as our CAPTAIN'S GUIDELINES. Rachel Banse, our womens V.P., will be sending all present and future captains a copy. There are incentives for being a captain, such as a free membership, so check them out!
•  The board is currently working with the parks/rec. commission and the city council regarding where in town to build pickle ball courts. It's a growing sport and you may run across players on the club courts, please be polite! With lessons, private tennis academies, parks/rec., USTA leagues and a growing popularity with the public, PLEASE be patient and respectful on our courts!
•   Our main 2022 project will be to resurface all 8 courts.....we're gonna make the city an offer they can't refuse!

Lastly, on a sad note, one of our most spirited and funny members, Cliff Sayko, suddenly passed away recently. I remember 10 years ago, being asked by the board as mens V.P. to talk with him about some court exploits and with Cliff being, as my wife Eileen as president described, "Clifford the big red dog!" I was hesitant to say the least. But being the true gentleman he was, everything was cool.

The club would also like to send condolences to the family and friends of MHTC members Lee Casey and Barbara Kennedy. Both Barbara and Lee played in the early years of the Gilroy Tennis Club in the 1980's. Rest in peace.

On behalf of the board, thanks!

We had 34 players participate in our Mixed Doubles Tournament.
Congrats to our Division Champions!
6.0 - Abbie Serano & Manoj Kandikar
7.0 - Ivy & Alex Nguyen
8.0 - Elaine Kwok & Ken Marques
Tournament photos can be seen by clicking the photo.

For the second year in a row the club participated in the city's 4th of July parade. Thanks to Ken Marques for organizing this event.

The Club held its first tournament since the Covid lock-down. Pent-Up demand notwithstanding, it was a great success. Thanks to Paul, et al, for organizing this effort and including these pictures. If you missed this one, we look forward to seeing at our next event.
Congrats to our Tournament Champions: Samantha Zhang, Ivy Nguyen, George Panos, Scott Jen, Gilbert Dalit and Nanding Eusebio!

Our very own Abi Pena and Kaddie Feng-Ashley have qualified to compete in the 2021 NTRP 50+ Doubles Nationals in San Diego, CA on April 16-18, 2021. You may see Abi and Kaddie playing tennis often in Morgan Hill with the Monday, Wednesday, Friday Senior group at the Morgan Hill Tennis Center. Congratulations are in order and Good Luck at the Nationals to Abi and Kaddie! Thanks, Marjorie Moniz

The album is: AugustNews

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Not First

Not First

Welcome to the new mhtennis web presence. There were some 2020-like external forces that forced this make over, but It was time for a bit of a change. Be aware that this is a work in progress, so if you see something amiss, don't get annoyed, just send a note to Edward (edward at qyiet dot com) and he will take care of it. Even if you don't bump into a problem, but see something that can be improved upon, again, send Edward a note. Regards to all and stay healthy.

The album is: Washday

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Thanks to MHTC Volunteers(Tony Bontempi, Mike Hansen, Pravin Lathigara, Rachel Banse and Dick Svedeman) for coming out on July 28th(2020) to provide their personal labor to ensure our courts are in pristine playing condition.

The album is: covid

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Here's hoping that you and your families are all safe and sound in the midst of this Corona Virus era. We in the MHTC community are anxious to return to something resembling "normal". In terms of access to the community park courts, the city has now unlocked them. Note that there are USTA "covid guidelines" signs posted that should be used to help keep us safe. MHTC sponsored events are still on hold until late summer. We will be formulating those dates and communicating them in the coming weeks. Regarding Leagues, USTA Norcal has stated the following for restarting play: Adult 18 & over - Registration June 8th - 13th -- Play begins Aug 10th Adult 40 & over - Resume Play Aug 3rd Mixed 55 & over - Resume Play Sept 14th Other leagues dates are TBD, so wait for Norcal Emails or check their website.

The album is: 18-45Wsingles

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The MHTC 18-45 Womens Singles 3.0 team advanced to the NorCal Championships held in West Valley College, February 1-2, 2020. MHTC faced four other teams representing the SF and Lower Peninsula areas. MHTC was led by Lenka Quinanola - she went 2-1 at the Championships and finished the season 7-2 overall. Elaine Kwok also went 2-1 at the Championships and finished the season 3-1. Major contributions also came from Theresse Tan and Lydia Tellgren, both finished 1-2 at the Championships. The Olympic team from SF ended up in 1st place at the Championship, but MHTC is proud to finish in 2nd place overall. Special recognition to Julie Dean, who was undefeated during the regular season and was promoted to 3.5 prior to the Championships. Sharon Winchester and Sireesha Satti were also key contributors during the regular season but were not available for the Championships. Congrats to MHTC and their 3.0 Womens Singles Team!!