C o m m i t t e e R E P OrT s Swimming Continued from page 63 apart by forming a new squad, Pre-Senior 2, to meet the needs of older youth swimmers who don’t fit the year-round elite swimmer profile. The masters won their fourth consecutive title in the Oregon Associations Championships and their first-ever title in the Oregon Open Water Championships (medium team division). Jill Asch, Hailey Bambusch, Jessica Stacy and Scot Sullivan each broke at least one individual state or Northwest Zone record. Thank you Member Coaches Jill Asch, Brad Bachulis, Alexandra Danielson and Catherine Eastman. u Committee members: Joe Cooney, Kathy Dodds, Brad Fennell, Ellen Ferguson, Jeff Gudman, Nancy Hinnen, Dan Jorgensen, Shanna Lonquist, Ken Meyer, Reggie Sherwood, Scot Sullivan, Eric Wan, Ron Williams and Mark Winder. Staff: Jason Amos, Alex Nikitin, Michael Wheeler.
Synchro It was another amazing year for the MAC Synchronized Swimming program, with great successes for the junior and masters synchro participants. The junior program had an outstanding season, with almost all MAC routines qualifying at regionals for the U.S. Junior Olympics. MAC had its best results in years at Junior Olympics, and all routines at U.S. Nationals in Moraga, California, qualified into Finals. Andrea Percic earned a spot on the 13-15 age Tom Wiita group National Team, and represented the U.S. at UANA Pan American Games in Calgary, Canada in August, earning a gold medal in the team competition. In January, Elli Wiita won the Mel Fox Award, and also earned a spot on the Wall of Fame. The junior program also continues its dedication to sportsmanship and team bonding, hosting two synchro-thons each year, as well as a holiday banquet, a very fun Halloween party, and a beautiful end-of-season banquet. The masters also had a terrific season. The program continued its new and popular recreational level of participation alongside the competitive level. The program had strong representation at the U.S. Masters Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in October, where they claimed gold in 20-29 Team, scoring the highest team score at the meet, gold in 40-49 duet with the highest score of all U.S. routines at the meet, and gold in 30-39 duet. MAC also won silver in combo, 50-59 team, 20-29 duet and 30-39 duet, and bronze in 30-39 duet and 70-79 duet. Head Coach and Olympian Lucie Svrcinova and assistant coaches Michele Kraus, Meryl Gasser and Marissa Montejano produced many finalists and champions this year, assisted by member coaches Erin King, Jen Sterrett and Michelle Tillman. u Committee members: Alexis Fraser, Lydia Kirkland, Laura Foster, Erin Isselmann, Anne Miller, Heather Rau, Lisa Girard, Rebecca Kapanoske, Charlene Mann, Boosters Chair Julie Vondeling, Lynn Pettit, Acting Chair Tom Wiita; and Athletic Committee liaison Erin Stammer.
Tennis Tennis has been hopping at MAC this past year! We had three very successful tournaments (singles, doubles and mixed doubles) with the doubles turnout being the highest in 30 years. A new summer mixed doubles league and Wayne’s popular BBQ and Tennis at Gabriel Park occupied the summer months. Over 70 participants enjoyed the end-ofyear Holiday Smash with our dedicated pro staff serving up drills, games and prizes. We updated court curtains and lighting, added a new tennis ball vending machine, and acquired
64 | The Wınged M |
March 2016
Julia Hall
a wide-lens camera to record matches for later review. One of our committee goals this year is to improve communication with the membership through Facebook, club email, posters and fliers. A subcommittee identified program improvements within Junior Tennis, such as creating a Junior Tennis Interest Group. We continue to advocate for more courts, either on-site or at a satellite location. And the courts? They were packed! Well over 1,000 members regularly play tennis, making it, by far, the largest sport at MAC. Strong league participation with City League (250 women) and USTA (500 members playing on 75 USTA MAC teams) continues to increase. Four of our USTA teams went on to the sectional level of competition and we had several members play in national age group tournaments. Finally, some sad news. Our very own Wayne Pickard, MAC tennis director of 32 years, is retiring at the end of March. We will miss his quick smile and one-liners, and wish him well as he spends more time with his family and grandchildren. Thank you to my committed, inspiring committee and to the dedicated tennis staff. You are extraordinary! u Committee members: Fred Buller, Mark Christensen, Jill Craven, Chris Graham, Julia Hall, Karen Holce, Phil Juckeland, Nicolle Lochner, Linda Lovett, Brad Miller, Melanie Morris, Patrick Niedermeyer (Athletic Committee liaison), Wayne Pickard (Head Pro), Sally Papadimas, David Schwindt and Marilyn Soljaga.
Triathlon & Running Every MAC member likely has a running story. More people are building one about the growing sport of triathlon. Our committee is focused on promoting the enjoyment of running, swimming and biking, but also the larger goals of building community and improving performance. With your support, we helped MAC members at all levels of recreation and competition to pursue their goals in 2015, from surviving weekend trail runs to competing in national triathlon championships in their age Ben Cornett group. The sport of triathlon continues to develop a presence at MAC. Dozens of members represented the Winged M in local, regional, national and international events. We hope more MAC athletes cross the finish line and stand on the podium in 2016.
With your support, we helped MAC members at all levels of recreation and competition to pursue their goals in 2015… Three coaches and four athletic members provide ongoing and comprehensive training programs for runners and triathletes of all levels of experience. We encourage anyone interested in the sport to join us for an event or workout and see what great resources MAC has to offer. We hope some of you have noticed a revival of running events at the club in recent years. We host the MAC Indoor Triathlon each March, the MAC Mile in May, Pittock Mansion Run in the September, and Peacock Lane in December. The Winged M was on the course at Shamrock Run and other local races, which gives us excitement about prospects for positive team recognition. In 2016, we are looking for better ways to support the sport of running at MAC. Please send us your ideas and consider joining our committee. Continued on page 66