Pair of Las Animas-based teams win league titles
GILROY – The pair of men’s teams from the Gilroy Tennis Club competing at this weekend’s district tournament in Sunnyvale are a little different from most of their competitors.
For starters, the two squads – one in the 3.5 division, the other in the slightly tougher 4.0 division – are part of a public club. A great many of the teams it faces are from private groups.
“It’s kind of satisfying coming from a community club,” said Del Jamora, a doubles’ player on the 3.5 team. “That really says a lot for us. We’re a bunch of local players.”
And that’s difference No. 2.
Mike Hansen, captain of the 3.5 team, said many clubs are ultra-competitive about who gets to play, even “drafting” players from far-away areas.
With these two teams, all 38 players are from either Gilroy or Morgan Hill. According to 4.0 captain Bob Schuman, the core group of his team has been playing together for the last decade.
“It’s really an anomoly to have all local players,” Hansen said.
It can also be a hassle, though.
Gilroy isn’t exactly conducive to a successful tennis club. In a city of 46,000, the only respectable courts available to the public are the five at Las Animas Park.
So the nearly 300 members of the Gilroy Tennis Club – not to mention all the non-members – have to find a way to squeeze everyone in.
“We keep hearing there’s plans to make the facility bigger, but it’s usually just talk,” Jamora said. “For a club this size, it’s a little ridiculous to have only five courts.”
The teams have certainly made due, though.
Led by a pair of former Gilroy High standouts, brothers Kenny and Robbie Marques, the 3.5 squad finished the regular season undefeated for the first time ever.
From 19-year-old Robbie Marques to 72-year-old Larry Nardinocchi, the team rolled to a 14-0 record in the Monterey Bay League and recorded two victories in last weekend’s playoff round to advance to districts for the first time in several years.
Out of the 214 teams competing in northern California, the group is ranked sixth.
“I think this team has a good chance,” said Kenny Marques, whose victory last weekend sealed a 3-2, playoff-clinching win. “I definitely feel we’re one of the more threatening teams out there.”
The Marques brothers were recently upgraded by the U.S. Tennis Association to 4.0 status and have juggled back and forth between two teams. With the 3.5 group, Kenny (8-0) is the No. 1 singles’ player and Robbie (14-1) is right behind at No. 2.
“My brother finally started beating me this year,” said Kenny with a laugh. “Not a whole lot, but every once in awhile. His game has really improved.”
As for the 4.0 team, it’ll be advancing to the districts for the sixth time in seven years … barely.
After a 13-2 regular season, the team was on the brink of elimination in the playoff finals. The team score was 2-2 and Tony Bontenpi was down 9-4 to his opponent from Seascape. One more point meant no districts.
With around 50 people crowded around the court at Las Animas, though, Bontenpi somehow won seven straight points.
“I still don’t know how to explain it,” Schuman said. “It was like seven minutes of nirvana.”
Now Schuman and his teammates are hoping for a carry-over. Matched up against three other teams in their flight, they’re hoping to advance to sectionals for the first time ever.
“We came right down to the end last year,” Schuman said. “We’re hoping to finally make it this time.”
