Awards & Dinner

Junior Program | After a successful season stretching across six months, our junior program wrapped it all up with an Awards and Dinner on September 26. During the evening, we handed out trophies to the winners and runner-ups of our junior club tournament. Ilya Tihanenoks successfully retained his singles title, beating out an impressive showing from young Alex Baumann in the finals. Jason Wong was also present to receive his consolation winner trophy. He had defeated his older brother Justin and Kenan Hu in the final consolation round-robin contest.

The highlight of the evening was revealing the winners of the three year-end club awards. In the past, six club awards were given out to acknowledge the various junior accomplishments over the season. This year we were able to re-introduced three of six awards back into the program. Winners were selected by votes from fellow juniors and coaches.

Award for Best Effort

Seven juniors made the list of nominations. This award is given to the junior who puts in his or her utmost effort in training and matches. And this year's award goes to 15 year old Paul Kim. "I'm surprised that I've won this award. I'm happy and it does feel good." he said after receiving the award. "Obviously, it will encourage me to work harder to improve my tennis farther."

Most Improved Player of the Year Award

Six nominees made this list. This award is bestow to the junior who showed an all around improvement in his or her tennis including tournament matches as compared to the previous year. Ryan Sandrin, 14, claimed this award for this year. "I didn't see it coming. I thought probably Paul or Marcus would have won or even Claudia." he answered. He was happy to have won the award, but reflected on what it meant to him "this is only a small step in becoming a better player, there are still many other aspects of my game to work on."

Best Player of the Year Award

Four names made the list of nominees: Alex Baumann, William Baumann, Ilya Tihanenoks, and Tyron Wheatley. This award encompasses criteria such as sportsmanship, best effort, attitude, all around improvement in tennis skills and match play, and tournament results. Thirteen year old Alex Baumann, who reached a high of number 30 in the province under 14 ranking, is the youngest amongst the nominees to walk away with the year's biggest award. "I'm surprised." Alex remarked modestly, "Anyone else on the list could have won it." He reflected on this past season and added, "I must say I've made improvement in my tennis this year." He certainly has. Under the new Tennis Canada ranking system implemented at the start of this year, Baumann had an initial ranking in the low 100s and he slowly climbed his way up to No. 30 in early September.

To end the wonderful evening, most of us moved on to Planet Lazer for a few games of laser tag.

AWARD FOR BEST EFFORT

Nominees:

Alexander Baumann

Peter Hu

Paul Kim (Winner)

Meagan Lens

Marcus Thian

Ray (Rui) Wang

Tyron Wheatley

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Nominees:

Alexander Baumann

Peter Hu

Claudia Longauer

Ryan Sandrin (Winner)

Ray (Rui) Wang

Tyron Wheatley

BEST PLAYER OF OF THE YEAR AWARD

Nominees:

Alexander Baumann (Winner)

William Baumann

Ilya Tihanenoks

Tyron Wheatley

Alexander Baumann's 2009 Tournament Highlights

Singles Winner

• Junior Grass Court Championships (July)

U14 Singles Challenger Main Draw

• Coquitlam Junior Open (August)

U14 Singles Championships Consolation Draw

• BC Junior Hardcourts (July)

U14 Singles Challenger Consolation Draw

Doubles Winner (with partner Steven Shen)

• Junior Grass Court Championships (July)

U14 Doubles Challenger Main Draw

• Coquitlam Junior Open (August)

U14 Doubles Championships Main Draw

Singles Runner-Up

• Junior Spring Break (March)

U14 Singles Championships Consolation Draw

• CTC Junior Club Closed (July–September)

U18 Singles Main Draw

Singles Semi-Finalist

• Coquitlam Junior Open (August)

U16 Singles Challenger Main Draw

Singles Quarter-Finalist

• Junior Spring Break (March)

U14 Singles Championships Main Draw

• BC Junior Provincial Championships (June)

U14 Singles Championships Consolation Draw

Singles Round of 16

• Stanley Park Open (July)

U14 Singles Championships Main Draw

• Stanley Park Open (July)

U16 Singles Challenger Main Draw

• Coquitlam Junior Spring Challenger (May)

U14 Singles Challenger Main Draw