The Bow Brook Men’s A and Women’s singles and doubles tournaments concluded this past weekend in a big success for the club.
Club president Mike Lewis enlisted the help of Karen Craver to organize the tournament and saw a large turnout of doubles.
It was the first time in club history that the club hosted a women’s tournament on its clay courts. Now it plans to turn it into an annual event and continue to crown the best women’s tennis players in the city.
Craver thanked Lewis for his support and said she hoped this was just the first of many tournaments yet to come for women and girls. The doubles represented women and girls of all levels, from former college players and Concord High athletes to USTA league players and recreational players. Even a middle schooler, Alana Lewis, joined in on the fun,
“Thank you to the club for hosting; it’s so fun to play on clay!” Craver wrote. “Last, but not least, thank you to all of you for participating and for helping to make the tournament such a fun and positive event.”
The women’s singles tournament will begin on Thursday afternoon, with only five contestants vying for the title. They will play a round-robin with one-set matches, first to six games. The winner of the most sets will win the title.
Women’s Doubles
Quarterfinals:
Lynn Cistulli/Erika Ryberg-Hall defeated Marianne Thibodeau and Emily Lion (walkover).
Karen Craver and Jana Ford defeated Alana Lewis and Ahalya Saleem, 6-0, 6-0.
Samantha Potter and Deb Blatsos defeated Nell Mallett and Sarah Pratt, 7-6, 6-1.
Paige Grondin and Olivia Parzick defeated Roshini Arekapudi and Kelley Kugel, 6-4, 6-1.
Semifinals:
Craver/Ford defeated L. Cistulli/Ryberg-Hall, 6-4, 2-6, tiebreaker 12-10.
Grondin/Parzick defeated Potter/Blatsos, 6-0, 7-5.
Final:
Grondin/Parzick defeated Ford/Craver, 6-3, 6-2.
Men’s A Singles
Semifinals: Greg Cistulli defeated Mike Lewis (walkover); Fhaizan Khalid defeated Amir Alic, 7-6, 2-6, 6-4.
Final: Greg Cistulli defeated Faizan Khalid, 6-3, 6-2.
“The quality of play was as high as it’s been in recent memory,” wrote Mike Lewis in a results release. “Faizan fought hard and showed remarkable moxy against Greg’s barrage of spin and power from both sides, including the insane counterpunching from his backhand.”
Men’s A Doubles
Semifinals: Greg Cistulli and Jim Kennedy defeated Alic/Khalid, 6-3, 6-0. Tom and Bob Bondaruk defeated Andrew Day and Mark Blaisdell (walkover).
Final: Cistulli/Kennedy defeated Bondaruk/Bondaruk, 6-2, 6-0.