CHRISTMAS AT WAFFLE HOUSE: A DIFFERENT HOLIDAY TRADITION WINTER NATIONALS DICTATE TENNIS STARS' CELEBRATIONS.Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News Marlon Reveche spent Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Day. It is often seen as the main event of the day for which the family all gathers and eats together. with his daughter Katarina and several of his other tennis pupils at a Waffle House Waffle House is a restaurant chain with over 1700 stores found in 25 states in the United States.[1] The "low-rent roadside cafe featuring waffles"[2] in Phoenix, listening to ``Feliz Navidad'' on the jukebox A storage device for multiple sets of CD-ROMs, DVDs, tape cartridges or disk modules. Using carousels, robot arms and other methods, a jukebox physically moves the storage medium from its assigned location to an optical or magnetic station for reading and writing. not once, but twice. Kristen McVitty had her Christmas dinner Saturday, needing Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. to pack and make last-minute arrangements before boarding a flight early Monday morning to Phoenix in time for a practice session. Lauren Ritz and her family traveled Sunday more than eight hours by car from Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. to Tempe, giving her a full day to prepare before competition begins today. For several of the area's top tennis players, especially the veterans on the United States Tennis Association “USTA” redirects here. For other uses, see USTA (disambiguation). The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. junior circuit, when it comes to celebrating holidays, family dinners often take a backseat to plane flights and car rides. But ask Marlon Reveche or McVitty or Ritz, and they wouldn't have it any other way. ``It's very rare that a family celebrates a momentous holiday together,'' said Marlon Reveche, who has been bringing Katarina and other area standouts to Arizona for the USTA USTA United States Tennis Association USTA United States Telecom Association USTA United States Trotting Association USTA United States Telephone Association USTA United States Twirling Association USTA United States Trademark Association Winter National Championships for eight years. ``Tennis is a very lonely sport, and the families have to make a lot of sacrifices. But the kids really look forward to going. Even though it's a holiday, they are really upbeat in the airport. ``Over the years, if you were a kid that I coached, you expected to leave on Christmas. And we have a tradition that we celebrate Christmas dinner at the Waffle House.'' Katarina Reveche, a junior at Campbell Hall Campbell Hall can refer to:
McVitty, who like the Reveche family is a veteran of several winter nationals, has become used to condensing con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. holiday dinner and gift exchanges to a bare minimum, spending the majority of her winter break on the go. ``I'm accustomed to not being home for New Year's or having only one day for Christmas,'' said the Calabasas High senior, who received the top seed in the girls' 18-under draw. ``Of course, you'd like to be able to celebrate Christmas dinner on Christmas, but after playing so many tournaments for so many years, you just learn to deal with it. Everybody else has to do it, too.'' Ritz is making her first appearance at the winter nationals, competing in the girls' 16-under event in singles and in doubles with her sister, Jenna. Lauren, a junior at Thousand Oaks, traditionally has competed at the Copper Bowl, which begins the day after the national tournament ends. With Lauren debuting at the year-end event, the Ritz family had to alter their Christmas plans to accommodate Lauren's and Jenna's practice schedule. ``We just knew we had to do it,'' said Lauren, who like McVitty and Reveche recently competed in the California Bowl The California Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game played annually at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, from 1981 to 1991. The games matched the championship teams from the Big West Conference (formerly the PCAA) with teams from the MAC. in Calabasas, one of the final tuneups before winter nationals. ``(Celebrating) on Christmas Eve is something we had never done before. But leaving on Christmas Day was no big deal.'' McVitty, among 21 area players - male and female - competing in the 16- or 18-under divisions, was one of the last to arrive in Phoenix. The University of Virginia-bound standout hopes to be one of the last to leave, looking to continue her success the past two years. McVitty finished second in the doubles tournament - with partner Cosmina Ciobanu of Troy of Fullerton - in the girls' 16-under division in 2003 and placed fifth in singles in the 18-under draw last year. She finished just behind former Calabasas teammate Amanda Fink, now a USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. freshman, and Harvard-Westlake of Studio City junior Hilary Barte and received the sportsmanship award. ``I played well, and I beat some really good players,'' McVitty said of her run last year, in which she won seven of eight matches, losing 6-3, 6-3 to runner-up Megan Alexander of Tyler, Texas Tyler is the county seat of Smith County in East Texas, United States. The city is named for President John Tyler in recognition of his support for Texas's admission to the United States. , in the quarterfinals. ``I always find this tournament to be enjoyable.'' McVitty is the tournament's top seed this year, but after a training session with private coach Brandon Doyle - he also coaches Thousand Oaks standout Sam Querrey Sam Querrey (born October 7, 1987 in San Francisco, California, United States) is a pro American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California. Many tennis experts have touted Querrey as America's next great talent, including Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe. - she believes she is capable of exceeding last year's results. ``I respect all the other seeds,'' McVitty said. ``But this tournament is definitely one of the most important, because it's definitely the best competition. Being able to work with Brandon helped me reemphasize the things I need to work on and help me play the type of tennis I want to play.'' Reveche and the Ritz sisters, coming off successful high school campaigns, also could advance deep in their draws. Tournament finals are scheduled for New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. . ``It definitely motivates me,'' Lauren Ritz said. ``The fact that I'm playing in one of the biggest national tournaments is cool.'' Marlon Reveche just wants to stick around until the end of the week to enjoy another of his favorite holiday meals, a New Year's Day barbecue prepared by Dr. Willis Wagner, the father of Campbell Hall junior Alison Wagner and Harvard-Westlake standout Sam Wagner. ``This is the first year we're not staying for the Copper Bowl, because school starts earlier than it has in the past,'' Reveche said. ``So, I'm really looking forward to that meal.'' Erik Boal, (818) 713-3607 erik.boal(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Campbell Hall's Katarina Reveche (above), her father and friends ate Christmas dinner on the road. Calabasas' Kristen McVitty (left) is the top seed for the USTA Winter National Championships. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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