Packanack Lake Tennis Club in Wayne

On  Saturday, Sept. 28th, the Packanack Lake community came out for the formal dedication ceremony of our two wonderful new hard courts.  

The courts are dedicated to the memory of Sylvia Baker, the wife of Bill Baker, PLTC's beloved member and one of the club's long-time leaders.  Bill's generosity was an essential part of getting the courts rebuilt, and the ceremony included tributes to Bill's decades of dedication to the community as well as heartfelt remembrances of Sylvia and her legendary "Wanderlust". 

A beautiful plaque was  unveiled on the wall between Courts #4 and 5.  It will hang as a testament to all present and future players honoring the value of community service and spirit exemplified by Bill and Sylvia Baker.

The PLTC held its 2019 Fall Open Championships from September 12th-15th, with a couple of dozen competitors taking to the clay courts in both the Singles and Doubles competition.

Mother Nature cooperated, with the only interference being only a persistent drizzle on opening night that postponed just one of the Thursday evening matches. The remainder of the tournament saw plenty of great weather and great tennis. Players included club members as well as others from outside the area who traveled a good distance to do battle on some of North Jersey’s finest clay courts.

Four days of action came to a climactic finish on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 

In the singles final, talented lefty Peter Barrowclough outslugged Lee Rong Wu to capture the trophy with a hard-fought, straight-sets victory.

Meanwhile, on the next court, the very entertaining doubles finale went down to the wire. Packanack club members Jack Jerome and Nathan Fernandes, owners of a perfect 7-0 record as a doubles team in the North Jersey Spring League, continued their winning ways in this tournament as they cruised through the early rounds to reach the championship match. Their hard-hitting opponents, Jeff Silverman and Marijus Kuzavas, powered their way through the early rounds also reaching the final without too much trouble. 

The Silverman/Kuzavas pair were widely seen as the favorites to win the crown. But the Jack & Nate team had other ideas. They raced to a shocking 5-0 lead in the opening set. Then came a furious 5-game rally by the Jeff/Marijus duo to even the set at 5-all, before Jack & Nate rebounded to claim the first set 7-5. Set number two was just as thrilling and even closer. It went to Jeff and Marijus 7-6, after they prevailed in a tense tiebreaker. 

Time for the decisive 3rd set! It too was a real nail-biter. Both teams had their moments and they traded games to reach 4-all before Jeff and Marijus grabbed a late service break and captured the final set 6-4. 

As the trophies and gift-cards were awarded, a crowd of friendly spectators applauded the players for their high-quality, spirited play.

PLTC would like to thank all the players who participated. Thanks also to tournament director Alan Hughes and the many other volunteers who pitched in to make the 2019 Packanack Open Championships a great success.