8 of our members have participated in the outdoor Norwegian Masters held at both Frognerparken and Asker Tennis Club. A prestigious tournament held once a year to battle for who is ‘best of the best’ in an array of different age categories. We had 7 seniors and 1 junior give it their all in both singles and doubles.
A few highlights were Kathrin Steffen going all the way and becoming the 2015 NM Champion in the Ladies 40+ class! Proud of you Kathrin! And again, Kathrin teaming up with Vibeke Waallann Hansen to go the course before being stopped in the semi-finals in the Ladies double. Our Chairman of the club and partner, making the finals of the Mens doubles 45+. Well played Per Henrik.
And not forgetting our only junior in the tournament this year…Nicholas Uribarri. You’ve come a long way Nic, now keep positive and stay focused. Some good tennis and results this past week all part of the learning curve…which is on its way up!
Below is a summary of each players results and comments from them:
Per Henrik Hovelsrud – Mens doubles 45+ – Finals
The no. 1 seeds, Per Henrik and partner Alisdair Munro went all the way to the final and after a nail biting 3rd set, and having 2 match points of their own, unfortunately the game set and match went to their opponents. ‘2nd place does not count’ is what he said after the match and is already planning his revenge for the next time!
Patrick Valeur – Mens 45+ – 2nd Round, Mens doubles 45+ – Semi-finals (partner Frederik Møller), Mixed double 35/40 – Quarter-finals (partner Kathrin Steffen)
Patrick participated in all he could and gave all he had but, and he says so himself, that it’s back to the drawing board to better this year’s results.
Kathrin Steffen – Ladies 40+ – Champion, Ladies doubles 35/40/45 – Semi-final (partner Vibeke Waallann Hansen), Mixed Doubles 35/40 – Quarter-finals (partner Patrick Valeur)
I´m, of course, pretty happy, also as I had my best performance in the final. Second big title after the regional champs with my best friend and double partner back home in 1992! Great experience, too, with doubles and mixed. A lot of good play, but also a lot to work with. Looking forward to keep up the good training with all you guys!
Vibeke Cecilie Waallann Hansen – Damer Double 35/40/45 – Semi- Final (partner Kathrin Steffen)
A first timer to the NM stage, and what a way to start…semis in the doubles! Well done Vibeke.
Roman Panov – Mens 50+ – 2nd round
One of our newest members to GTK, Roman is always up for a challenge on court. We look forward in following your successes in the future.
Leif Arne Huseby – Mens 80+ – 1st round
Our 2014 indoors Champion unfortunately made an early exit in this year’s tournament. But we have already seen him on the court again…so it’s back to business as usual for Leif Arne
Bjarte Bruland – Mens 65+ – Quarter-finals
Grefsen Tennis Club’s very own Ironman! In his 1st round match, Bjarte lost the 1st set but made a strong comeback to take the next two sets 6-4, 6-4…impressive! With still loads of tennis left in those legs it’s only up, up and away for our tennis super hero!
Nicholas Uribarri – Boys u16 singles – 2nd round, Boys u16 doubles – Quarter-finals (partner Daniel Stålnacke)
Nicholas said after his first match that he played well and was looking forward to his 2nd round match against a much higher ranked player. Unfortunately on the day his opponent was to strong.
He however made up for this by going all the way to the quarter-final in the doubles with his partner Daniel Stålnacke.
Grefsen Tennis Club would like to congratulate each and every one of our players for all the hard work put in during the duration of the tournament! We look forward in following your tennis successes in the months to come.
Keep up the good work…and now back to the practice courts 🙂