A Sunnyvale men’s team placed second in a grueling, three-day national tennis tournament featuring the best doubles tennis players in the country ages 65 and older.
Twelve sectional champion teams from all over the United States competed in the US Tennis Association’s National Invitational Tennis Championships held in Surprise, AZ in early February. The tournament was for both men and women at skill levels ranging from 6.0 to 9.0.
The Sunnyvale Men’s 65-plus 6.0 tennis team won the Men’s Northern California Championship to make it to the nationals. The team from the Sunnyvale Tennis Club included players from Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Campbell, Sunnyvale and San Jose and was led by captain Jerry Machle.
At age 87, Machle is retiring after 16 years of leading many teams to sectional and national tournaments. The team’s second-place finish came at its fourth national tournament, besting its third-place finish of two years ago.
“This is a wonderful end to my tennis career,” Machle said. “Next season, now begun, will carry on with the same players under a new captain, Larry Hayes, and they expect to be back at Nationals again. Finishing second best in the U.S. is a very good way to end my coaching career. And thanks for all the friendships!”
The team won its league for the sixth consecutive year and swept teams from Vallejo and Walnut Creek in the sectionals to again represent Northern California at the National Championship.
The 6.0 65-plus men’s team had a tough first round loss (1-2) to the Midwest team from Ohio, but later that night defeated a strong Texas team out of Austin 3-0. Day 2 included a tough battle with the Mid Atlantic team from Maryland, which the Sunnyvale men won 2-1, and ended with a 3-0 defeat of Hawaii. With its 3-1 record, Sunnyvale finished in second place behind Northern and qualified for the semifinals.
On the last day of the tournament, Sunnyvale played the third-place Pacific Northwest team from Seattle, winning a close match 2-1 and qualifying for the finals against Northern, who defeated fourth-place Southern 3-0. In the finals Sunnyvale lost 3-0 to the Northern team, which has won the tournament for the last three years.
Team members are looking for a win at next year’s national tournament.
“Tennis is a game for life, and we are all glad we can still play,” said team member Bill Moniz. “Next year we want to beat Northern for sure.”
