Trostle female tennis champion among men

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

September 07, 2004 Last Updated: January 06, 2005 12:14 PM Amateur

BUTLER TWP - Katy Trostle has come full-circle when it comes to Butler Country Club tennis.

Trostle teamed with Nate Succop to help the club win the first West Penn Interclub Junior Tennis team championship nine years ago.

Sunday at the club, she was the only female participating in the men's doubles portion of the second annual Butler Country Club Pro-Am Tennis Tournament - and helped her trio win that event.

Trostle teamed with pro Kenny Nieser to win the men's doubles. Nieser and Liz Giancola finished second in mixed doubles, giving the trio a combined 15 points and the team championship.

"This was fun. … I think it's great," Trostle said of winning a men's doubles event. "I don't think any of the guys took it easy on me, either."

Trostle has played on a men's tennis team at Butler Country Club before. Her family has been a member of clubs for years and she still plays for a Pittsburgh Tennis League and U.S. Tennis Association squad at Lakevue Athletic Club in Valencia.

"It (playing against men) definitely helps my game," Trostle said. "I love the competition.

"Everything is faster - the serves, volleys, the entire game. You learn to respond to it."

Finishing second with 12 points was the trio of pro Mike Tain, Mary Jo Sylvia and Adam Kowalski. Tain and Sylvia won the mixed doubles portion and Kowalski, a junior on the Butler High School team, was the youngest participant in the 24-player field.

"I've always said there should be more team events in tennis," said Whitney Snyder, tournament director and Butler Country Club pro. "Tournaments like this take the emphasis off winning and put it on teamwork and sportsmanship."

Sunday's tournament consisted of eight Western Pennsylvania club pros and the top eight men and eight women tennis players among Butler Country Club members.

Snyder said he had 50 men and 50 women from the club to choose from.

"I based the selections on the players' history, raw ability and who's been playing the most at the moment," he said. "This is the only high-level adult competitive tennis event in Butler.

"This is their U.S. Open. … These people are honored to be selected to play in this," he added.

One player, Melissa Aliucci, joined the event as a replacement for Judy Barkley, who broke her arm in a tennis match last week.

Aliucci is a 1988 Mars graduate who played on the boys tennis team in high school.

"They had no girls high school team then and I had been playing a lot of tennis through the country club here at the time," Aliucci said. "I wanted to play in high school and that was the only way."

Now the mother of two, Aliucci opted for golf as her sport of choice and got away from tennis in recent years. Her participation with Jay Barkley and Greg Jerry Sunday marked the first time she's played tennis this year.

"I thought I did pretty well," Aliucci said. "I plan to get back into tennis now at Oxford (Athletic Club in Wexford)."

Aliucci and Barkley finished third in mixed doubles. The trio finished third in the overall standings as well.

Another person who had gotten away from the game, Gary Schwartz, 55, of Butler, has done quite well since his return.

Schwartz is the fifth-ranked amateur men's 55-and-over player in the United States after he won three seminational tournaments and the interdistrict event that included players from New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

He also won the tennis gold medal in his age group at the Pennsylvania Senior Games this summer at Shippensburg University.

"I was burned out on tennis when I was 40 and didn't play competitively for 10 years," Schwartz said. "I was teaching school, teaching tennis four nights a week and playing tennis.

"I learned I couldn't teach tennis and play tennis. It was one or the other. But when I turned 50, saw my cholesterol was high and other things weren't right, it was time to get back in shape. So I started playing again," he added.

Schwartz teamed with Marci Mustello and Dick Yoder in Sunday's event and tied for fifth.

"This was a great event," Schwartz said. "It was nice to meet the members, a really nice social event. And the pros mixed in well on the court … (it was) definitely a success."

Second Annual Butler Country Club

Pro-Am Tennis Tournament

1st:

Kenny Nieser (pro), Liz Giancola, Katy Trostle - 15 points

2nd:

Mike Tain (pro), Mary Jo Sylvia, Adam Kowalski - 12

3rd:

Jay Barkley (pro), Melissa Aliucci, Greg Jerry - 11

4th:

Chris Celechovsky (pro), Janet Platt, Chuck Lenns - 10

5th (tie):

Koch Conroy (pro), Caroline Jenner, Jack Barkley - 8