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the joint was jumpin'!
Team Match and Club Doubles Tourney Had PLTC Rocking
You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark, or tennis club in this case. And that was certainly true during a fun-filled Saturday at PLTC. From 8 AM to 10 PM, the place was rocking (in more ways than one).
ACT-ONE: Morning Glory
Our NJTL A-Team got this hot day off to a blazing start. The squad swept its matchup against Cranford in an impressive clean sweep of one singles and four doubles matches. The team's awesome Week-3 performance can be summed up by the numbers: 5-0 in matches. 10-0 in sets. 61-19 in games. Whoa! Not quite halfway through the 7-week season, the team boasts a 10-5 match record.
The PLTC's B-Team was on the road at Maplewood and is also off to a strong start to the NJTL season with a record of 9 and 6.
ACT-TWO: PLTC CLUB DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
At noon it was time for 17 teams to go for the crown in the club doubles tournament, run by Alan Hughes with his usual aplomb.
The club’s now semi-official rock band set-up on the deck, featuring Paul Ulloa, Joe Luglio, plus Tim Hillman and his musical kids. By the way, as our official club band, they will need a name. So if you have any suggestions, bring them forward. If your suggestion gets adopted, you get a free can of balls.
As the band played on, Alan spent the afternoon setting up matches, sending the competitors out to their courts, and tallying results as the increasingly weary warriors trudged back up to the deck. It was a great day of competition and all pairs played at least three mini-matches, which didn’t feel so mini in the midday heat.
Big props to all the competitors, especially to those players who had a morning match for one of our league teams and then competed in the club tournament. As evening fell, the field had narrowed to the Final Four and an enthusiastic crowd watched the semis that left just two pairs standing.
The night wrapped up with a very entertaining, see-saw final that went the distance including a decisive tiebreaker. Alan handed out the reward for the winners and runners-up which, aptly enough for 2020, was a nice big bottle of hand sanitizer. The tourney was another successful club event and raised some more money for the LED Lights Fund, which continues to grow.
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REMEMBERING CINDY CLARKE
PLTC is thinking of club president Ben Clarke after the passing of his beloved wife, Cindy.
Cindy was a dear friend to many of us, and a great supporter of our club. She helped PLTC to survive by the simple charitable act of loaning us so much of Ben's time and energy over the years.
Rest in peace, Cindy. And Ben-- know that the thoughts of the entire membership are with you and your family.
What follows is the beautiful tribute to Cindy posted on the website of Vander May Funeral Home:
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Cynthia Jane Clarke, nee Lempke, passed away peacefully on June 6, 2020, surrounded by her loved ones. She succumbed to the long-term effects of a rare autoimmune disease (relapsing polychondritis) that she successfully battled from adolescence through grandmotherhood. She packed several lifetimes of joy, fun and love into her 64 years of life.
Born and raised in Packanack Lake, the third of five Lempke children, Cindy was taught by her parents Dick and Betty never to let her physical impairments stand in her way, and boy did the lesson take. Despite having to live with a tracheostomy from age twelve to fifteen, she enjoyed all the normal activities of high school life, and then some. After graduating from William Paterson University in 1977, she became a Montessori pre-school teacher. No one was better with little children than Cindy, or loved them more.
In the summer of 1976, she met her husband-to-be, Benjamin Clarke, during Hurricane Belle, while both were marooned in Buxton, North Carolina. Born, as a couple, in a crossfire hurricane, the two never parted. They married in 1982. Memorably, and to the quiet dismay of her always supportive mother, Cindy allowed Ben to hold a pick-up softball game during their reception, though she declined to play herself. Her bridal radiance was undiminished by the “what’s wrong with this picture” spectacle of having to cut her wedding cake with someone wearing cut-offs.
A few years later, Cindy and Ben were joined by their son Ernest, the true love of Cindy’s life. Due to her narrowed airways, Cindy had to undergo a second tracheostomy prior to childbirth, but it would have taken a lot more than a plastic breathing tube to keep her from fulfilling her life’s dream of being a mother. Her Montessori training was put to good use on Ernie: the highlights of her adult life were seeing Ernie graduate first in his class at Boston University, attending his wedding to beloved daughter-in-law Pamela Bookbinder and (most of all) living to see the birth of her granddaughter Aviva and grandson Noah.
With a close-knit family that extended beyond siblings, in-laws and offspring to nieces, nephews, cousins, grand-nephews and -nieces, and in-laws of in-laws, and a vast network of friends who were more like family, Cindy enjoyed travel, cooking, homemaking, beach life, gift-giving, card-writing, and anything that promised fun. A glint of mischief was always in her eyes, and remains behind in our memories forever. To those who loved her, and there are so many, her uncomplaining perseverance in the face of physical adversity was super-human, but to Cindy life was to be lived, love was to be shared, and time was to be savored, not wasted. As her brother Richard well put it, no one appreciated the gift of a day more than Cindy, and her days with us were all gifts.
Predeceased by her “Irish twin” Susan, she is survived by her husband, Benjamin, son Ernest, daughter-in-law Pamela, two preposterously adorable grandchildren, Aviva and Noah, her sister and brother-in-law Elizabeth and William Cochrane, her niece and sometimes daughter Elizabeth Cochrane and her husband Kiyon Tavakolian, sister Meredith Lempke, brother Richard Lempke, and a bereft fan-club of extended family members and friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Relapsing Polychondritis Foundation, Planned Parenthood, or any green charity of your choosing.
NorTH JERSEY'S TOP CLAY COURTS
Rich Tradition
Since the construction of our tennis courts in 1929, the Packanack Lake Tennis Club has encouraged the love of sport, competition and volunteerism.
Friendly Atmosphere
We offer private and group lessons, 10 and under tennis, Quickstart, junior and youth programs and tournaments. What better way to end your day than a friendly match followed by watching the sun set over Packanack Lake from our clubhouse deck? Tennis in Wayne at its finest.
Premium Courts at Affordable Prices
Enjoy six exclusive red clay courts, plus two newly resurfaced hard courts all fully lighted with open play from 7AM to 10:30PM.