Village tennis team made districts
The Village at Castle Pines Men’s 55 & Over, 7.0 doubles tennis team made it to district playoffs in July. Pictured here are the “hundred-degree heroes” who played in triple digit heat: Jim Shalvoy, Michael Shorts, Mike Vernon, Alex Tibar, Bill Aplin and Dave Markowski.
Tennis is a true passion in The Village at Castle Pines, and when a team makes it to districts, it is cause for celebration. “Go, Village People!” shared captain Michael Shorts with his tennis team.
In July, the Village at Castle Pines Men’s 55 & Over, 7.0 doubles tennis team closed out the season with a United States Tennis Association district playoff run.
The team plays three lines of doubles. Each line has two players with individual ratings that combined equal 7.0 or less. The National Tennis Rating Program classifies players from 1.5 (beginners) to 7.0 (touring tennis professionals) – with half point increments in between. This Village team is generally 3.0 to 3.5 level players.
Twelve men make up this Village squad: Alex Tibar, Bill Aplin, Dave Markowski, Gregory Moseley, James Shalvoy, Lon Stuebinger, Mark Rousseau, Mike Hance, Michael Shorts, Mike Vernon, Ron West and Victor Pluto.
According to Michael, after losing the first match of the season, he thought the chances of making the playoffs were remote. However, going into the last match of the season, the Village team was one win on top of the pack. A victory during their final match against Club Greenwood Tennis would send them to the playoffs, and a loss would send them packing. They won!
On the morning of July 12, the Village team lost two lines in third set tiebreaks against the Longmont Tennis Association. That afternoon, three players, who had already played in the morning, were called up to play again with fresh partners. Playing in scorching heat, the Villagers prevailed against Ken Caryl Community Center, dubbing themselves the “hundred-degree heroes.”
On Saturday morning, July 13, the team faced undefeated Colorado State University. “During warm-ups, Alex started having back spasms and was unable to start, so I had to quickly jump into tennis clothes and compete with Ron West,” shared Michael. The two found rhythm in the second and won 2-6, 6-2, 1-0.
Bill Aplin and Mark Rousseau also won in a tight match with a 7-5, 6-4 victory. The team finished 2-1 overall and tied for first place. Longmont ultimately moved on to the state finals based on better individual match records, but it was an exceptional run for the Village team.
“I think the reason we were successful is that each and every player played to their maximum ability in every match. We seldom dominated matches, but we won the important points when we needed to,” concluded Michael.
By Elean Gersack; photo courtesy of Michael Shorts
