Ayyappan Sreedharan (Sree), who died July 17, 1998, was a tennis guru, a talented player, an extraordinary teacher and a unique individual. He was a long time member of the club and contributed generously to the construction of the first two public tennis courts. In memory of this amazing character this tournament has been played annually since 1999.
In 2013 the Sree and Lyman Tournaments were combined into a single tournament called the SACTA Memorial Tournament. The winner receives the Sree trophy and the runner up the Lyman trophy. This tournament has added the names of Helen Lyman, John MacDonald, Jon Sawyer and others listed below.
John MacDonald, and early member of SACTA, was noted for retiring early, 50, due to government layoffs, but unfortunately did not enjoy a long retirement playing tennis
Helen Lyman, never played but built her own tennis court and allowed members unrestricted access.
Michael Landau, retired from Mercedes Benz, in Germany and was a member for several years before his demise.
Jon Sawyer's departure was a tragedy.
Jack Scovil came from BC every summer.
Lillian Caughey, probably the oldest member of the club.
David Aiken who left us July 2016
Monika Frick - Monika was an enthusiastic member of SACTA, her comments in both German and English entertained us all. She passed away in 2017.
Bertrand (Hutch) Hutchison - a very long time member and supporter of SACTA. He introduced us to "Florida Rules" for serving. (It is unknown in Florida.) Hutch passed away in 2018 just shy of his 101st birthday.
2020 : Judy Sapers was known as the lob queen of tennis as well as being an enthusiastic player and a tremendous supporter of tennis in St. Andrews.
2024: Reed Haley won the Sree Memorial trophy in 2011, was a lifelong tennis enthusiast. Donna Berlage was a summer resident who loved the camaraderie of SACTA. She would often drop in at the courts when driving by. Her licence plate said, ON THE WATER.
2025: Helmut Hauser was known for letting everyone know that he did not want to play tennis with his wife, Lona, for obvious reasons. Faye O'Donnell hosted several year end pot lucks at her summer home when John Perry was the president of the Club
26th Memorial Tournament
What a super day for our 27th Memorial Tennis Tournament! There were 32 registered to play which is our biggest year yet! Wilf was busy at the BBQ making sure all players were fed well 😋. Net on court one was down but out McGiver team had it up and playable in no time. All hands on deck meant the canopy was down and stored in record time. Thank you everyone 😁.
Winners of the Memorial Trophy were Tish Kilburn & John Ralston. Runners up and winners of the Lyman Trophy were Lesley Wells & Aaron Simpson.
Lyman 2025 winners - Lesley Wells & Aaron Simpson
Sree 2025 winners- Tish Kilburn & John Ralston.
Court Wizards - Keith & Mark
Wilf introduction and instructions at 2025 memorial
26th Memorial Tournament
SACTA members are invited to the 27th Memorial Tournament to be played on Saturday August 16
If you can't play in the tournament you're welcome to come to the barbecue to meet some of the new members and socialize with old members. This is a doubles tournament. You will be assigned a partner and we will play an abbreviated 4 game set. The scores for everybody will be tallied and the man and woman with the 2 highest scores will play in the finals. The winner will get the Sree Trophy and the runner up, the Lyman Trophy.
To register contact Wilf, wilfwyl@gmail.com or Jenni, tennisjenni1@hotmail.com
26th Memorial Tournament
You're invited to the 26th Memorial Tournament and Annual Barbecue which will be held on Saturday August 10, starting at 9am. Rain date will be Sunday Aug 11th.
This tournament is held as a remembrance to our past members and the barbecue is a thank you for being a SACTA member and an opportunity to meet our new members. This event is entirely free for members and you don't have to play to attend the barbecue.
We will be playing doubles for the Sree Memorial and Lyman trophies and this will be followed by the barbecue. You don't have to choose a partner, a partner will be assigned after we get all the entries.
To register send your name to wilfwyl@gmail.com by Thursday August 8, 12 pm.
We successfully completed our 25th Memorial tournament today with a nail biting final fought by Tish and Jonathan against Sally and Garry. It was no surprise that Tish would win but she did not do it alone this time. Jonathan not only elevated his game, almost but not quite to her level, but played convincingly enough to ensure their victory. Congratulations to Tish and Jonathan for winning the Sree Trophy and Sally and Garry for winning the Helen Lyman Trophy. This is the first time that anyone has won the Sree Trophy for 2 years in a row so the 26th Memorial tournament is going to be more exciting.
Here are a few pictures from the event 2023 Memorial Photos
Format for tournament:
Start time was at 9 am. All players play 4 sets, 4 games per set so everyone gets to serve once in each set. All serve from the east court nearest the road to avoid serving into the sun (Florida rules). No ad scoring; at deuce the next point wins the game. Players get a different partner for each set as assigned by Wilf. After 4 sets are completed, the 2 men and 2 women with the most games won will play in the finals after a draw is made for partners. The finals will be a regular 6 game set (no ad scoring again). The winner will get the Sree Trophy and the runner up the Lyman trophy.
Results and summary by Wilf:
The 23rd Memorial Tournament was completed successfully on the 13th August with 22 players participating. Last year was the first time this tournament was played in August. Previously it was played in July to coincide with the passing and memory of Sree but now that it has become the Memorial we have discovered many advantages to having this tournament in August. In August all of our seasonal members are here for the summer so we get an increase in participation. All members are invited to the barbecue, whether they are playing or not, so they get an opportunity to meet other members they won't have met otherwise.
Gill Butterfield and Robbi played the first time last year and Robbi, whom we haven't seen all summer, finally came out of hibernation to play. Garry had to wake up an hour earlier to have his latte so he could be there at 9 and that still didn't improve his game. Peter Petrusich is another new member who heard so much about this tournament that he was the first one to arrive at the court before anyone else got there. Alexander Devereaux said he was beginner but after his first ace we were all having our doubts. I told Garry that Tish would only be allowed to play with her left hand but obviously he did not relay the message so next year I will talk to Tish myself now that I know her better after our first hug yesterday. Keith convinced me that his replacement was just a mediocre player and there was nothing to worry about. Keith, your credibility has just plummetted to zero.
The biggest surprise was the co-winner of the Sree Trophy. From his performance in the weekend doubles league he was showing promise but who would have thought he could maintain that level of play! With no help from his partners, Richard, Steve, David and Tish he was able to achieve the ultimate goal of taking the Sree Trophy home. Good ole Ted, so glad that Elaine was there to share that moment with you. The trophy will be in full display in the living room of the Gables beside some of Ted's prized paintings. The Gables will be sponsoring the Memorial in 2024 folks.
The winners of the 2022 Sree Trophy is Tish Kilburn and Ted Michener and the winner of the Lyman Trophy is Debbie Martin-Robichaud and Alexander Lively. Congratulations to all the winners.
ps. No Florida rules next year Deb. Way to go Alexander and please give some lessons to Andrew, he could use it.
Photos by Mike Power are here :
2022 Sacta Memorial Tournament Photos
This was the 22nd consecutive year of this tournament and it seemed fitting that we had 22 players registered to play. We almost got equal amounts of men and women this year to make it a truly mixed event so it was very nice of Ted, the mitch, to "volunteer" to be our token oman.
Last year we lost another member, Judy Sapers. Our condolences to Jonathan on the loss of his mother. However Jonathan came all the way from NYC to defend his championship and for that we are truly grateful.
Here is some useful information regarding this tournament.
Time: 9 am on Saturday Aug 21
Barbecue: 11 am
RULES:
1. Your partner will be selected randomly, by me of course.
2. You will play 4 games per set, no add scoring, and no tie-breaks, even if the score is 2-2.
3. We will play 4 rounds.
4. The Florida rule is an option if all parties agree before play starts.
5. 2 minute warm up and no first-serve-in allowed.
6. The 2 men and 2 women with the most points advance to the finals and the rest of us can enjoy the barbecue.
7. The winners get the Sree Trophy and the runners up the Lyman Trophy.
Thanks for participating and have fun.
And the 2021 winners were:
Sree: Christine Taylor & Pat Scouten
Lyman: Elaine Wilson & Alex Lively
Here is a link to the photos from the tournament.
Congratulations to the winners of the 21 st Memorial Tournament. The Sree Trophy went to Sally McAllister and Jonathan Sapers and the Lyman Trophy to Judith Moses and Dennis Turner.
An interesting observation this year was the two men winners , Dennis and Jonathan came from the USA. Last year two American women, Audrey and Joan, won so it appears that the women led the way and the men followed in their path. You never know what to expect in this tournament. Predicting the winners is always a surprise because you never know who will emerge with the most wins after 4 matches. The best players don't necessarily win. Its all in the luck of the draw. I feel confident that if we offered a $1M prize for choosing the 4 winners this prize will never be won. Food for thought Mary?
Thanks to the 24 participants who played in the tournament Special thanks to those who helped put up the canopies and get the courts ready for play, who cooked and who provided the delicious barbecue for the players and spectators. Thanks to our intrepid photographer Helmut who ventured out in the boiling heat to take pictures Without your support and help this event would not be such a fun event
Here are some pictures from the 2019 Memorial Tournament in Google photos - Memorial 2019
And some selected pictures below of play and the winners.
The winner receives the Sree trophy and the runner up the Lyman trophy.
2013: Sree: Lesley Wells and Peter Lyman
Lyman: Irene Scarratt and Aaron Simpson
2014: Sree: Mary Wobma & David Robichaud
Lyman: Lesley Wells & Jonathan Allport
2015: Sree: Keith Wobma & Sally McAllister
Lyman: Candy Young & Mark Clark
2016: Sree: Candy Young & Trevor Lavelle
Lyman: Francie Lord & Jonathan Allport
2017: Sree: Francie Lord & Aaron Simpson
Lyman: Jenni Loudwell & Richard Clark
2018: Sree: Joan Lowden & Hugh Drummond
Lyman: Audrey Pattison & David Robichaud
2019: Sree: Sally McAllister & Jonathan Sapers
Lyman: Judith Moses and Dennis Turner
2020: Not played due to Covid
2021: Sree: Christine Taylor & Pat Scouten
Lyman: Elaine Wilson & Alex Lively
2022: Sree: Tish Kilburn & Ted Michener
Lyman: Debbie Martin-Robichaud & Alexander Lively
2023: Sree: Tish Kilburn & Jonathan Sapers
Lyman: Sally McAllister & Garry Cook
2024: Sree: Sally McAllister & Andrew Lively
Lyman: Sue Sirr & William McKay
2025: Sree: Tish Kilburn & John Ralston
Lyman: Leslie Wells & Aaron Simpson