News

The Redwood Shores Tennis Club ended our tournament season with Team Tennis with a Twist.  I won’t tell you what the twist was, but none of the players had heard of it before, they LOVED it, and we will be doing it again next year.  Join us next year to learn the secret!

Winners of our first ever TTT Tournament were the Apples, with Ivan Quinones (captain), Steve Hogan, John Hogan, Ruth Waters, Evelyn Sell, and Robin George.  The Oranges came in 3 games behind.  Yes, we compared Apples to Oranges!  Prizes were, coincidentally, apples (cookie), apples (chocolate), and apples (tea).

The evening social was an Iron Chef Competition held in the remodeled kitchen of Irene and Jay Muzio.  Irene won Presentation for her pretty Caramel Apples, Barb Urrutia won Taste for an Apple Chutney Bruschetta, and Doug McCracken won Originality for Apple Burritos.  The secret ingredient was, of course, apples.

Thank you to the RSTC Board, officers, and volunteers for a fantastic year.  Our last remaining event is our holiday party to be held January 30, 2010 at Vivace’s.  We’ll hang up our aprons for a night to enjoy an elegant evening with a fantastic 4-course dinner, followed by a spirited white elephant gift exchange.

During the deluge on Tuesday, I was glumly sure that the Redwood Shores Tennis Club’s October tournament would be rained out, although I took small hope in the fact that the weekend forecast was “mostly cloudy”.  Who would have thought Saturday would be warm and sunny??  It was a perfect day for my favorite sport.

We played Fixed Mixed Doubles Tennis.  Several husband/wife teams played and we paired up unmatched players.  A novel handicapping system made the day fun for all levels of players.  Cynthia Hunton & Dennis Murphy won on Shorebird Courts.  Janice Carter and Sundar Venkateswaran won on Quay Courts.  Prizes included a cactus in a ceramic pumpkin pot, pumpkin bread mix, and chocolate.

Thank you to our volunteers this month: Tournament director Karen Brodersen, Annette Vernon for courtside refreshments, Cynthia Hunton and Dennis Murphy for imaginative prizes, and photographers Karen Brodersen, Bob Brodersen, and RIck Urrutia.

After a hearty day of tennis, we were all too tired to make it over the hill to Half Moon Bay so RSTC held our own Great Pumpkin Festival.  Hostess Janice Carter decorated with carved pumpkins and the spicy scent of pumpkin candles filled the night air.  We had a lovely view of the Bay Area lights as we dined on Caramelized Apple Salad, Bean Pot, a beefy pasta, and a pair of pumpkin infused rices.  Dessert consisted of Pumpkin Pilgrim Cake (tasted like a heavenly combination of pecan pie and pumpkin pie), Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, pumpkin cake decorated with fluffy white frosting and candy pumpkins, and much more.  Many kids-at-heart were noshing on the candy corn.

Thank you to June Walker for setup assistance, clean up crew Barb Urrutia, Laurie and Pat Merrill, and Jeanette Collins, and photographer RIck Urrutia.

The Jamaican Jam Tournament was a mix of happy tunes.  The women played on Shorebird and the men jammed on Quay.  The sun was bright and what mo' you askin' fo'?

One interesting twist was that let serves were played as good.  The intention was to help the game move faster but it was a bit of a brain twist to remember to react to the let serves!

It was great to meet new members Merrilee Gurney and Ling Shee on the courts.  They are good players and nice people.

Karen Brodersen won on the women's side.  Cynthia Hunton and Judy Garb tied for second place.  Ed Lee won on the men's side.  John Jordan won second place.  Coconut rum and white coconut chocolate was a much appreciated prize!

Thank you to Cynthia Hunton for a stellar job as tournament director, Don Smith for tournament refreshments, Judy Garb for the prizes, and Laurie Coleman, Sundar Venkateswaran, John Jordan, and John Hogan for photography.

The evening was warm and balmy, perfect for the social at Barb and Rick Urrutia's Beach Shack.  The "Shack" is located on the water and the reflection of the tiki torches added to the ambiance.  By all accounts, the feast was amazing.

First place was won by the Carolinians, captained by Robin George, ably abetted by John Hogan, Steve Hogan, Rick Urrutia, and Laurie Coleman.  Second place was won by ever affable John Jordan with the help of Joe Hogan, Don Smith, Kathy Miles, Ed Lee, and Sundar Venkateswaran.

Without knowing the other 2 team names, I'm going to guess the theme of the teams was places famous for BBQ'd meats!  Kansas (City) was probably one of the remaining team names.  Was Chicago the final team?

Irene Muzio procured the prizes: Olive oil dipping sauces for the 1st place winners, gourmet olives for 2nd place, and rattan wastebaskets (which the prizes were presented in) for the winning captains.

There was a record turnout for the BBQ social.  I guess this club REALLY likes BBQ!  Ruth and Phil Waters were the hosts: They ordered the meats from Armadillo Willy's and delivered the meats and other items to the courts.  Ruth reported that the "new-fangled" BBQ was well received by the members and there were hardly any leftovers.

Rounding out our volunteers, Barb Urrutia took care of courtside refreshments, and Laurie Coleman photographed both the tournament and the social.  I'm sure everyone pitched in with the cleanup.  Thank you all!

The July Mixed Stir-Fry (aka Mixed Scramble) tournament was a sweet success.  The weather was warm without being sweltering – we all thought it was perfect.  We had a full roster of 24 players again, although the faces and rankings changed a couple of times.  Tournament Director Cynthia Hunton had her hands full working on the draw.  She even had to tweak the matches mid-tournament but her hard work paid off.  Everyone had some good quality matches and everyone had a great time.  Thank you Cynthia!

Barb Urrutia did the refreshments, smuggling in some iced coffees for a treat (not exactly the drink of champions but definitely appreciated by sleepy tennis players.) I think Annette Vernon and John Hogan must have been well caffeinated as they buzzed to first place finishes. Hot on their heels were Irene Muzio and Shane Dickinson. Kristian Nergaard provided the prizes – gift certificates to Hobees where the winners can enjoy a scrambled breakfast. Kathy Miles photographed the tournament.

The social was hosted by Calona and Mike Paiko. We enjoyed a feast of Chinese dishes, including spring rolls, potstickers, and home-made egg rolls for appetizers, lettuce wrapped tofu, Szechuan tofu (I think), chow fun, Chinese BBQ pork, Chinese BBQ duck, and much more. Dessert was a birthday cake in honor of Dennis Murphy’s 50th, plus plenty of fruit. Dennis now gets to play in the “senior” league – hard to believe! Irene and Jay Muzio did the social prep and Ivan Quinones, Karen Brodersen, Michael Garb, Nancy Hogan, and Cynthia Hunton washed up. Janice Carter photographed the social.

It is with great sorrow that I pass on the news of the death of one of our oldest and dearest members. Joe Rust has died at the age of 75, in a mountain biking accident in Idaho.  He was biking with his son and a friend.  He apparently lost control of his bike and went off the side of the mountain.

It is no great surprise that Joe was in Idaho enjoying active sports.  He was an avid fisherman and sportsman and I believe that he vacationed in Idaho frequently.  A member of our club, Joe was a gentleman on and off the courts.  You never had to worry that Joe would hit an opponent with a ball, complain about a partner's play, or get mad.  He was always a voice of encouragement and merely smiled ruefully at errors (his own and yours.)  Joe lived his life with grace.

Joe and Florence hosted an RSTC social every October "Rain or Shine" for more years than I can count.  Joe, a consummate host, always welcomed every guest personally and poured a glass of wine for him/her.  Joe was a wonderful person and a vibrant part of the RSTC community.  We will miss him greatly.

Joe's obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle

The Swedenzerland theme was a celebration of the French Open final between Swiss Roger Federer and Swede Robin Soderling. Fortunately, Paul's musings of Swedish meatballs in Fondue, Raclette with a side of herring, Gravlox on Zopf bread, and chocolate lingonberry souffle did not materialize. Well, actually the souffle sounds good! The real thing was even better though. Kladdkaka (Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake), Swedish Nut Cake, and Swiss Mocha Cake was just the tip of the spoon.

Happy Father's Day to all of our dads and granddads in the Club!  Hope you had a great time enjoying YOUR day with your family!

RSTC's Father's Day Open Play had about 8 players having a great time on the courts at 10am (which is when I arrived.)  I set up snacks and crafts for the children on the picnic table under the trees.  The children had a great time making cards, eating goldfish, and playing.

Zalles Racquet Sports has been a long-time supporter of RSTC.  They have been members and/or buying ads for years, provided a discount to RSTC members (currently discontinued because of the horrible economy), and ran a Tennis Day for our members.  Now, they are an official Redwood Shores Tennis Club sponsor.

This full-service racquet store sells tennis racquets, balls, shoes, clothes, and bags.  They will advise on choosing racquets and shoes and you can take racquets home to try out before buying.  Please help us thank Zalles Racquet Sports for their support by giving them your tennis business!  (And tell them you're from RSTC!)

Zalles also sponsors a Thanksgiving tournament in Foster City (open to everyone) and conducts junior clinics.

Visit the store at 969-C Edgewater Blvd. in Foster City.  www.zallesracquetsports.com

Written by Lauri Floresca:

Viva La France!  The French Open Social on Saturday, May 30 was magnifique!  

Somewhere between 30-35 RSTC’ers were greeted at the home of Renato & Lauri Floresca in San Mateo by the red, white and blue French flag covering the front door and dining tables.  A delayed bee sting reaction had sent Renato to the doctor with 2-year-old Zach Floresca, so Lauri was a little frazzled at the start but the set-up crew arrived promptly at 6:15 and pitched right in.  Dennis was sent out for glace (ice) and Cynthia, June, and Ruth helped make labels for arriving French cuisine and took drink orders as guests arrived.  The Kir Royale, a popular French aperitif made with Champagne and Creme de Cassis, was a big hit, as was the selection of Pouilly-Fume (sauvignon blanc), Chardonnay, and Bordeaux (a cabernet blend).  A variety of Belgian beers were available for the non-wine crowd (because that’s what they drink in France!).

The hors d’oeuvres were quickly gobbled up – a selection of fromage (cheese) with baguettes, two kinds of pate, a bite-size ratatouille, and some sort of puff-pastry twist that everyone was talking about.  The dinner buffet opened, and a line stretched through the kitchen as people filled their plates with coq a vin, trout almondine, boeuf bourguignon, two kinds of ratatouille, and several French salads.  By the end almost every dish was scraped clean.  As the beverages continued to flow, we moved on to dessert:  More wonderful fromage, Madeleine cookies, chocolate éclairs, chocolat truffles chez Muzio, cheesecake, and the pièce de résistance:  a mango-raspberry ice cream bombe.  

Oh yes, there was some tennis tournament showing in the background, but clearly the focus of the evening was la cuisine de France.  And by that measure, it was clearly magnifique!