Welcome to the December edition of the MCC Glen Iris Valley News. In this edition you will find updates and articles on;

• Update from the Board
• Upcoming Events/Calendar
• Annual Dinner
• Competition Tennis
• Social Tennis
• Facilities Update

From the Chair

I trust this summer edition of the Club newsletter finds you well. Thank you to the Club’s Convenors for their respective contributions keeping us all informed about what is happening around the Club.

This edition coincides with the recent and very successful Annual Dinner & Presentation Night at the MCG where we were able to celebrate the achievements of our Awardees. I thank again our parents of our juniors for supporting them on the evening. I also thank our Premier League players for their support for the evening. One of the highlights of the evening were the presentations by Tennis Victoria to Fran Graham (Life Member) and Chiro Mukerjea (Highly Commended Service Award).

From a membership perspective, I was saddened being advised of the recent passing of Life Member Gwen Ryan aged 101 years. Gwen was part of a group of midweek members who joined the Club in the 1950’s and later was part of that same group that organised the Club’s canteen/kitchen for decades during the Club’s Junior Tournament. I was fortunate to speak to her quite some months ago inviting her, as the Special Guest of Honour, to the Centenary Celebration. Gwen was quite alert but apologised saying she did not get out
much these days. Gwen will be missed but remembered.

As advised under “Facility Report”, there will be extensive disruptions to the Club’ activities in the first half of 2024 with the Monash City Council undertaking a substantial drainage project on the other side of the fence separating the golf from the tennis club. We’re working with the Council to ensure safety and to minimise the Project’s impact on our operations.

Summer is yet to hit. We are requesting players to water the court before, during, and after play and that the court(s) get a good soaking (not a light sprinkle) after play. You will ensure a better playing surface for those coming after you and will protect the Club’s investment in the courts this year. We’ll support your efforts with the sprinkler system.

Further on the earlier news that the MCC Foundation has signed a conditional contract of sale to purchase the High Street Road site, comes the news (just this week) that the Foundation has agreed to pay the Club’s rental under the lease to the Riversdale Golf
Club. The only “condition” is that the Club will allocate the foregone rental (expense) into capital improvements (asset) at High Street Road. This is a “condition” that Directors will gladly turn their minds to in the New Year. It’s a wonderful Christmas gift to the Club and we
are greatly appreciative to the Foundation for that opportunity.

On behalf of the Directors, I wish all members and their families the very best for the upcoming Christmas/New year Festive Season.

Take care and stay safe.

Peter Gillieron
Chair

Upcoming Events

• MCC Glen Iris Open – Tennis Australia Endorsed $3,000 event – Jan 11th to 14th
• Australian Open Social Tennis Evening – Friday the 19th of Jan
• MCC Glen Iris Junior Tournament – Jan 21st to 24th

Annual Dinner

The Club held its Annual Dinner & Presentation Night at the MCG on Saturday 9 December 2023.

Thank you to the Awardees and Members who were able to attend and enjoy a wonderful evening with a special mention to our junior Awardees who were supported by their parents.

We were honored to have Jacqui Pirone, President of Tennis Victoria, in attendance who witnessed the Awards before personally presenting two very special awards on behalf of Tennis Victoria to two of our members.

• Fran Graham – Elevation to Life Membership of Tennis Victoria.
• Chiro Mukerjea – Highly Commended Service Award.

Both awards were richly deserved and we were privileged to witness the presentations. We extend our congratulations to Fran and to Chiro.

Our thanks to Jordana Dymond for organising the evening, and to Sean Munaweera for kindly being the Master of Ceremonies hosting the evening.

List of Award winners:

Waverley Tennis Summer Season 2022/23

• Juniors:
  • Best Performed Junior Rubbers Team – B Special 2
    Diahna Srikanth, Leoni Shapiro, Rosalie Wang and Khushi Talkad
  • Best Performed Junior Triples Team
    C3 – Lucas Turski, Seina McDonald, Arjun Srinivasan and Tom Parks
  • Best Performed Junior Rubbers Player – Maksim Gigovic (B3)
  • Best Performed Junior Triples Player – Imani Klair (C4)
• Seniors:
  • Best Performed Senior Team – B Special 3
    Liz Filonenko, Monica Nguyen, Sophie Rayne and Ophelia Sebek
  • Best Performed Senior Player – Monica Nguyen (B Sp 3, Singles 8-2, Doubles 9-1)

Waverley Tennis Winter Season 2023

• Juniors:
  • Best Performed Junior Rubbers Team – A Res 1
    Julio Machuca and Hugo Enters
  • Best Performed Junior Triples Team – D2
    Yuzhe (Aiden) Huang, David Yu, Zachary Yao and Dante Muto
  • Best Performed Junior Rubbers Player – Charlie Shi (B1)
  • Best Performed Junior Triples Player – David Yu (D2)
• Seniors:
  • Best Performed Senior Team – A Res 2
    Peter Zelezny, Zsofia Bende and Anthony Hart.
  • Best Performed Senior Player No outstanding individual results for the season

Don Cordner Award

• Ladies – Best performed Pennant Player 2023 – Alice Sunnucks (Grade 4, Singles 6-2, Doubles 7-0)

JB Liddelow Award

• Mens – Best performed Pennant Player 2023 – Raphael Savelli (Grade 5, Singles 6-0, Doubles 4-2)

Ian Occleshaw Trophy

• Best Performed Pennant Team – Men’s Grade 6
  Rohan Chalisgaonkar (captain), Will Tripodi, Hridaan Jamwal, Simeon Duffin and Lachlan Carroll

Club Championships

• 2023 Club Championships Mens Doubles R/up – Andrew Carter/David Rowler
• 2023 Club Championships Mens Doubles Winner – Brett Marchant/Robert Foy
• 2023 Club Championships Mens Graded Singles R/up – Thomas Francis
• 2023 Club Championships Mens Graded Singles Winner – Siddarth Sundaram
• 2023 Club Championships Mens Singles R/up – Zac Hamill
• 2023 Club Championships Mens Singles Winner – Michael Turlejski

To view more images of the night, please click on the following link

• https://www.facebook.com/MCCGlenIrisValleyTennisClub/photos

Competition Tennis

Premier League

The 2023 Tennis Victoria Premier League Grand Final took centre stage at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club Stadium on Saturday the 18th, treating the lively crowd to some elite tennis action. We were once again fortunate to have both our men’s and women’s teams playing in the Grand Finals after they both finished top of the table after the home and away season.

The women’s team were looking to go back to back and entered the final as firm favorites. The girls showed why, notching a strong doubles victory despite spirited resistance from Hume Viclander’s Leann Serna and Bianca Compuesto. Zoe Hives and Alana Parnaby getting us off to the perfect start winning 6-1 6-2.

Another blockbuster No.1 singles match-up saw Ace Award winner (best-performing player over the season) Jaimee Fourlis take on Hume’s Kaylah McPhee, also just outside the WTA top 500. Despite losing to Fourlis recently, McPhee looked composed early and snatched the first set 6-3. She had chances to seal it in straights, but Fourlis fought back to level at one set all with a 6-3 second set. The tense match tiebreak went down to the wire, Fourlis finally prevailing 10-8 on her third match point to clinch the premiership for MCC Glen Iris.

Seone Mendez then finished the day taking a clean sweep for our women’s team.

The men’s team were also looking for back to back title and headed into the first doubles runner as firm favourites. The pairing of Aaron Addison and Matthew Romios dominated early for MCC Glen Iris Demons, racing to a 6-1 first set lead. However, Frank Moser and Adam Hubble slowly wrestled control towards Grace Park Aces. After a tight second set, they triumphed 6-4 to force the rubber to a deciding match tiebreak. The experienced Grace Park Hawthorn Club duo then showed their composure to win 10-6 and give their side a 1-0 lead.

An enthralling No.1 singles clash was set up next. Premier League Ace Award winner James Watt aimed to seal the flag for Grace Park Aces, while top 500 ATP player Jake Delaney looked to square things for MCC Glen Iris Demons. But Watt imposed his powerful game from the outset, pounding winners and a barrage of huge serves in a sublime display. He breezed to a 6-0 6-2 win in one of the best Premier League grand final performances seen in years.

Community Engagement Award

The club was extremely proud to receive this award together with the $2,000 prize money. This award is in recognition of the outstanding atmosphere and occasion at our Super Round, our strong social media presence before, during, and after the event, our catering for players, staff and officials and our welcoming atmosphere for spectators with searing outside match courts.

To recognise the club members for their support in making our Super Round a success, the club announced that they will each receive a gift of their choice of a club shirt or jacket as worn by our Premier League teams this season.

Thanks to Lyn Carter, Trish Bird, Sophie Grumley, Sean Munaweera, Geoff Shallue, Rashmi Nagaraj, Pam Rowler, Dennis Rowler and Ben Rowler together with board members, Jordana Dymond, Peter Gillieron, Ross Johnson, Lizzie Kalyvas, Mark Karpinski and David Rowler.

Senior Competition Update

By David Rowler

The summer season is well underway having completed 10 rounds of matches. The season now takes a break, until it reconvenes on 3 rd February, with the final 4 rounds being played before finals commence. We’ve had some challenging weather so far, with at least 2 matches fully washed out by all teams. Let’s hope it’s not too hot after Christmas and we get some good tennis weather.

Our teams are having mixed results with 4 of our 9 Waverley teams in strong positions in their respective sections. Interestingly all of these teams have family connections amongst the team members.

The A1 team of Alex and Raphael Savelli and Hridaan Jamwal are in a good position to challenge for the premiership.

A Res 1 team led by Patrick O’Reilly, his son Max and Raymond Qian are all performing strongly so far.

The A Res 3 team consisting of Peter Zelezny, Kerrie Clarke, Linley Wade, Zsofia Bende, Sean Munaweera and wife Lizzie Kalyvas are playing well and sitting towards the top.

Finally, the A Res 4 team are looking very strong as well captained by Harry Reid, brother Tsutomu, Siddarth Sundaram and Kuberan Rengasamy Kannan.

Winter Season

Please look out for the winter registrations which will be available shortly. We are expecting strong numbers for both Tennis Victoria pennant and Waverley competitions and urge everyone to get their entries in as early as possible. It’s likely we will also be entering pennant teams on Sunday afternoons, so please indicate if this is a preferred option for you.

Night Competition

By David Rowler

Congratulations to our latest Premiership winners in Blackburn District Night Tennis Association (BDNTA).

• Tuesday Open Doubles Section 2 team captained by Calum Kennedy-Moore, Tim Scott-Sandvik, David Rowler, Brad De Franceschi and Tom Pepper Defeated Box Hill 4-24 to 0-11
• Thursday Open Doubles Section 6 team captained by Liz Filonenko, Monica Nguyen, Alice Sunnucks and Sophie Rayne Defeated North Balwyn 4-32 to 2-18

Both teams are looking forward to moving up a section for the Autumn season which commences in late January.

We will once again be fielding 4 teams, including Ladies Doubles on Monday, Open Doubles on Tuesday and Thursday, together with a singles doubles team on Thursday. It’s a great competition that caters for a wide variety of abilities and formats. Play commences at 7pm and is played in a home/away format against teams in the East /SE suburbs.

2 season per year – Autumn (Jan to May) and Spring (Aug to November)

Social Tennis

Wednesday and Thursday Night Social Tennis

By Dennis Rowler

We have continued to enjoy playing both nights without many washouts over the past few months.  The numbers vary a little but usually we have been getting between 12 & 16 players.  Quite a few people play both nights.  We are all experienced players and although we are competitive we enjoy ourselves in a friendly and competitive way.

We welcome new member Jim Cole and returned member Evan Hope-Price to our group.

Wednesday 13th December was a shortened evening of play due to our End of Year Social Pizza Night.  The evening was well attended and it was clear that everyone enjoyed themselves.

The Christmas New Year period is approaching fast but we will as usual continue playing every week.  The numbers and organisers may dictate whether we play both nights.

If any members are considering joining us or are interested in finding out about our great social nights please email either myself or Grant Fry for more information.

Wednesday Night Convenor Dennis Rowler,
Ph 0425 226 463 email: dennis.rowler@gmail.com

Thursday Night Convenor Grant Fry
Ph 0407 247 800 email: garfish457@gmail.com

Finally, Grant & I wish all members a safe and happy Christmas and a great New Year.

Tuesday Night Social

By Marty Beecroft

It was another successful year for Tuesday night social with strong numbers being represented as well as a high level of tennis. Most nights saw 2 full courts of doubles and tennis played in a competitive yet social nature. We welcome any new or existing members down for a trial night and hope the night provides a good challenge for experienced players.

Mid-Week Ladies Report

By Lyn Carter

By Ross Johnson

Monash Council Drainage Upgrades

As previously reported, Monash Council have been upgrading storm water drainage pipes over recent years. They are presently working to upgrade a pipe which comes down the hill, across High Street Road and ends at the creek in the Riversdale Golf Club. While the works are all to the west of our club, we will provide site access for personnel, equipment and supplies. The grassed area just west of our car park will be fenced off and used as a site compound for the duration of works. The project is expected to begin in February and take around 4-5 months to complete. Further details will be provided to members over the coming weeks and during the project as needed.

Watering and Bagging

During summer, all members are strongly encouraged to pay extra attention to how you water and bag the courts. These steps not only improve the court surface making tennis more enjoyable, but significantly reduce maintenance costs (both material and labour).

Some useful tips…

• Your court must be watered before, during and after play in dry weather conditions. It’s usually necessary to apply at least some water during summer, unless it has rained very recently. Use your best judgement.
• Most people (others) don’t apply enough water! Under dry weather conditions, the court should still appear slightly darker (wetter) than the surrounding area throughout play (even towards the end of a set).
• You should never play on a dry and dusty court, as this can damage not only the playing surface but the layers underneath, leading to significant damage.
• Arrive a little early so you have time to give the court a more thorough water prior to the start of play. It’s likely that the courts won’t get as much water between sets, so this is the best time to do it properly.
• There is no harm in watering the court to the point of having puddles form. It’s just a question of how long they take to dry before play can begin/resume.
• If after watering the whole court the first half looks dry again, you probably haven’t watered it enough. Have a second go!
• Don’t spray the hose at such an angle (e.g. at your feet) so as to be dislodging the en-tout-cas. Either direct the spray further away (if not being carried off by the wind) or adjust the tap to reduce the water pressure.
• Water (and bag) is at least a meter beyond the side of the court and several metres behind the baseline.
• When bagging the court is creating a dust storm… give it very light water prior to bagging (then water normally afterward).

Courts

The sprinkler controller, which was over 30 years old, has recently been upgraded for the 21st century. The new unit is capable of being controlled from a mobile phone app or remotely over the Internet. This is of great assistance to personnel making adjustments to the sprinkler heads or managing additional watering cycles as we head into summer.

Each pair of courts now has a rotary line sweeper. Hopefully, members will find they are a good compliment to the traditional brooms (of which there are new ones of those too). After use, please hang the rotary sweepers on the fence to ensure the brush wheel is not left crushed against the ground. The best place to leave the sweeper is on the fence between the courts sharing it.

Members, please note that courts 1 & 5 will be unavailable from 21/12/23 to 8/01/24 to ensure the surface is kept in good condition. Please use other available courts.

Roy Street Courts

Members are reminded that the club operates two en-tout-cas courts in Melbourne/St Kilda (cnr Roy Street and St Kilda Roads). These courts are available to all members as part of your membership. However, a key must first be obtained from the secretary (secretary@mccglenirisvalley.org.au), prior to first use.

Our court builder (E.T. Richards & Sons) has recently completed a rebuild of the southern end of Court 1 to improve drainage. The court is currently closed while additional watering and rolling are done. Thanks go to the regular players at Roy Street who have volunteered to assist with the rolling over the coming weeks.

The trees (hedge) separating the courts from St Kilda Road have recently been pruned back to the fence. This has regained the better part of a meter of court. As is to be expected, they don’t look so great at the moment. A green cover should return over the coming year.

Gardens

Our new gardeners (Mow Bros) have now been working at the club for a few months, making fortnightly visits. They continue to improve the amenities of our club and make inroads into areas of the garden that haven’t seen a lot of attention in recent years.